The Impact

Cooper’s death has had an undeniable impact on the local community, which the Cooper Davis Memorial Foundation hopes to use to continue spreading awareness and keep Cooper’s memory alive.

On Saturday, June 18th, the foundation held the Fighting Fentanyl 5K at Mill Valley. The event raised over $23,000 going toward spreading Fentanyl awareness.

“To us [the Fighting Fentanyl 5K was] an awareness event disguised as a 5K,” Libby said. “The 5K got the people there and gave us the platform to tell Cooper’s story once again.”

Among the community members who participated in the event was junior Audrey Holick, who ran the race with her mom and sister.

“I think [the 5K] was really well done,” Holick said. “I really think they were able to take something so horrible and make it into something almost positive, something that could change the community. Instead of just focusing on the death, they thought of what they could do with it, and I really like that. I think they did a really good job with it.”

Like Holick, junior AJ Vega also ran in the 5K and has been impressed with the Davis’ family advocacy.

“I think they’ve done a very good job to help [inform people about] how big of an issue this is,” Vega said. “We got a poster of Cooper Davis at the school’s center and people are signing that, which is really cool. I think they’ve done a good job and the 5K was a good, good fundraiser because it’s your to do the exercise and then at the same time you’re fundraising for something that’s a very big issue. [I give] credit to them, they’ve done a lot to help spread awareness.”

Aycock hopes that people will continue to learn from Cooper’s story.

“[Cooper’s death] impacted every person in different ways, no matter how you knew Cooper” Aycock said. “He was one of my best friends forever, we were always together. Some of the people who were around him when he was doing those things, I hope that they learned from him. I just hope everybody takes it however they need to.”

Although Libby recognizes that there are still plenty of steps to take to prevent future deaths, she emphasizes the importance of informing people of the dangers of drug usage.

“There is still a lot of work that needs to be done,” Libby said. “And the only defense we really have is awareness.”