TALLMADGE, Ohio — A Summit County mother has taken her personal tragedy and turned it into something positive to help children caught in the middle of the substance abuse crisis.
Chris Klonowski, 48, of Tallmadge, lost her daughter, Amanda Klonowski, to an overdose in 2017. Amanda and a man she had dated were found dead after taking cocaine mixed with carfentanil.
Amanda Klonowski graduated from Tallmadge High School in 2010, then later graduated from Kent State University with a degree in psychology. She also struggled with addiction.
"My daughter, she was a good person," Chris Klonowski said. "She was sweet. She was kind. She was much more than what her death was."
To help with her grief, Chris Klonowski started making jewelry, key chains and bookmarks with angel wings on them as a way to honor Amanda.
Her original plan was to give the pieces to family members as gifts.
However, Chris created the Honor Amanda Foundation and about a year after Amanda's death, the mother realized she could help local teens by selling the angels and creating scholarships.
"It all came to me at once and I got really excited about it when the idea hit me that I could use these angels to help kids who have been impacted by substance abuse," she said.
Chris Klonowski has only been selling the jewelry for six months, but has already raised $19,000.
The mother recently started awarding the money to several Summit County high schools.
"I have $11,500 in scholarships to five different schools for 13 different students," Chris Klonowski said.
Five seniors at Stow-Munroe Falls High School are among the recipients. In one way or another, all of them have been touched by the drug epidemic. Some have lost loved ones, others have relatives in jail because of drug crimes.
"Having this come from the struggles that I've endured is huge for me," said Emily Moore, who is getting one of the scholarships.
Another recipient, Andrea Brumley, said the award helped her realize she wasn't alone.
"It's nice to have something that almost, like, brings you together. You don't realize that there are so many other kids who are impacted by the same type of things," Brumley said.
Chris Klonowski has been extremely touched by the kids' stories and can relate to the anguish they feel from drug and alcohol issues in their families.
She plans to continue awarding more scholarships to help students pursue college while also keeping Amanda Klonowski's memory alive.
"It lets me be happy without attaching guilt to the happiness, to know that the reason why I'm happy is because I'm honoring her," Chris Klonowski said.
More information on the Honor Amanda Foundation can be found here.
