By Jennifer Egan, Director of Marketing and Communications, Tigger Stavola Foundation
The Tigger Stavola Foundation, based in Red Bank, NJ, was founded in 2013 to honor Richard Stavola, Jr., lovingly nicknamed, “Tigger,” who lost his life to an accidental overdose at the young age of 25. The Stavola family and their foundation perseveres to fight addiction, spread awareness, and save lives by educating future generations about the dangers of substance use. Lisa Stavola, the Founding Director and mother of Tigger, explains, “We work tirelessly to alleviate families of the heartbreak of losing a loved one to addiction.”
The Foundation’s early work focused on changing the stigma surrounding substance use disorder and building awareness of it as a disease. In 2016, the Foundation partnered with Monmouth Medical Center RJW Barnabas Health, to introduce the Tigger Stavola Opioid Recovery Room, now instituted across its entire health system. These designated rooms have served over 120,000 individuals to date, providing a dignified setting for individuals seeking treatment to connect with addiction specialists and determine a plan for recovery.
The Tigger Stavola Foundation’s work has evolved tremendously in the 11 years since its inception. The current focus is on education as necessitated by the opioid epidemic and the fentanyl crisis, providing middle schools and high schools across New Jersey with free educational materials and vetted motivational speakers to address the students and surrounding communities. These initiatives are designed to help equip students with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed decisions and lead healthy, productive lives.
With the absence of a national drug education program available to schools, educators understand the value of the resources the Foundation provides free of cost. As Brian Latwiss, Ed. D, superintendent of Barnegat Township, shares, “The dynamic and highly interactive presentation funded by the Tigger Stavola Foundation really kept our seventh and eighth grade students’ attention and helped them recognize the dangers, risks and life-altering consequences of using substances.” Over 120 educational presentations have been delivered to more than 61,000 New Jersey students to date. Additionally, the foundation has awarded $70,000 in scholarships to graduating seniors attending its partner schools.
In November of 2023, the Tigger Stavola Foundation rolled out the Leadership, Education and Drug Prevention (LED) by Tigger program to reach those beyond the school walls with life-saving information via a mobile platform. Teens and young adults can text TIGGER to 43386 to enroll in this free program that delivers hard facts and real reasons not to try substances through engaging videos, trivia and quizzes. Early results show a retention rate of 97% and increased knowledge about the Good Samaritan Law, the effective use of Narcan, an FDA-approved naloxone nasal spray, and that driving under the influence of marijuana is just as dangerous as drunk driving.
In the United States, $22 billion is spent nationally on addiction treatment, but only $2 billion is spent on education. The Tigger Stavola Foundation provides many opportunities to help fund its multifaceted educational programs. Please visit tiggerstavolafoundation.org to learn more or to donate. Upcoming events for kids include Santa at Garmany on December 7th and the annual Polar Bear Plunge on March 23rd at Edgewater Beach Club.
The Tigger Stavola Foundation partners with Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic to provide 24/7 Addiction Navigation services to support individuals seeking help with substance use disorder. For assistance, please call 732-865-1559 and press option 2 to connect with a counselor immediately.
Jennifer’s responsibilities for the Tigger Stavola Foundation (TSF) include creating content, driving media coverage and managing donor communications. She oversees creative expression and messaging across all media channels to advance the Foundation’s mission.
Prior to joining TSF, Jennifer led communications and was a Board member of the Kortney Rose Foundation, which raised money for pediatric brain cancer and helped establish the Children’s Brain Tumor Network, housed at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She also served on committees for the women’s health empowerment organization, WEforum and is currently the Grants Outreach Chair for Impact 100 Jersey Coast, a women’s giving collective that has awarded nearly $3M in grants to 35 local organizations.
Before working in the nonprofit space, Jennifer designed and executed public relations campaigns for high profile clients such as IBM, Martha Stewart, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Weight Watchers and Live Nation while holding senior level account management positions at several top New York City public relations agencies. While working in-house at IMAX Corporation, Jennifer managed media and investor relations and supported film launches.
Jennifer continues to provide persuasive communication consulting in her role as Strategic Advisor at The Plunkett Group. She earned a Master of Science degree in Strategic Communications from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Writing from the University of Pittsburgh.
