TRIMBLE, Ohio — This spring, Tomcat Bridgebuilders received a $49,800 grant to support its continuing drug-use prevention and awareness campaigns in Trimble Local Schools.
The funds, allocated by OneOhio Recovery Foundation, come from Ohio’s series of settlements from opioid distributors and pharmaceutical companies. Tomcat Bridgebuilders were among the communities and organizations that received more than $150 million in funding.
Tomcat Bridgebuilders has organized drug-free activities, initiatives and messaging in Trimble Local Schools since 2005, as well as funding scholarships, food bags and sports programming for students and their families.
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Becky Handa, co-founder and president of Tomcat Bridgebuilders, told the Independent that Tomcat Bridgebuilders utilizes grants to expand its outreach and messaging.
The two-year grant from OhioOne Recovery Fund will fund Tomcat Bridgebuilders’ drug prevention causes and initiatives, including Red Ribbon Week at Trimble Local Schools, prevention and awareness billboards, guest speakers, and after-school activities like after-prom, Tomcats Unplugged, and other student drug-free engagement opportunities.
“This grant is really allowing us to continue to support the community and fund the programs that we know are working well,” Handa said.
The grant will also help fund the production of a second volume of “Young Voices from a Small Town,” a series of essays by Trimble fourth–eighth graders about their experiences with addiction.
“When you ask somebody to tell you their story, they have something to say,” Handa said. “Our kids wrote some of the most vulnerable, insightful, beautiful essays. It was like peeking into a diary of some of our kids who just really allowed that to be an opportunity to share some of the hardships and adversities they have faced because of their family’s history of addiction.”
This includes stories about students in foster care, losing family to an overdose, and seeing neighbors go in and out of drug treatment.
“These kids really band together and start finding strength in their voice and in being able to share that and not keep it all in anymore,” Handa said. “I was so moved by these kids and their stories, and I really wanted them to know their voice matters.”
Student essayists from the book have presented at the 2025 Ohio Prevention Conference and 2026 School Success Conference. The second book will feature student art and photographs, as well.
The grant will also help facilitate new initiatives, as drug-use trends in teens and young adults change. Although opioid use may be less prevalent in youth, Handa has noticed a rise in THC, vaping and tobacco use. In 2020, 41% of Athens County residents reported being smokers, significantly higher than the national average of 23%, according to the 2020–2024 Athens County Community Health Assessment.
“As one thing [opioids] declines, we get even new things that are trending, so having those youth give us input on what they’re seeing and allows us to create programming and education around those dangers, hopefully before it becomes another epidemic,” Handa said.
Kathy Trace, also a founding member and former president of Tomcat Bridgebuilders, wrote the OneOhio grant. She said the money will be spent on messaging, recovery and prevention.
While writing the grant request, Trace also received positive feedback on Tomcat Bridgebuilder’s impact in drug-use.
“When researching this grant, I talked to some law enforcement, county and local, and I was really happy to hear what they had to say,” Trace said. “They felt like we had done a good job and they had seen an impact.”
The grant will help the Bridgebuilders continue their efforts, and keep students drug-free and aware of the dangers, according to Handa.
“We had a major drug problem across this nation,” Trace said. “But we did try to step up and help each other. I’m proud of that.”
Tomcat Bridgebuilders hosts community and school-wide events, volunteer opportunities and projects; learn more via its Facebook page and website.
