Volunteer of the Month: Karen Ayoub – Road2Recovery

by Mel Rubenstein

I think we are all frightfully aware of the opioid crises in this country, and yes, right here in Central New York. There is good reason for this awareness because more than 4 million Americans take opioid prescription pain relievers for nonmedical uses. But, the good news is that there are organizations and people that are helping these users fight the addictions … people like Karen Ayoub.

One day I saw a sign about a rummage sale to benefit an organization I had never heard of. It was called Road2RecoveryCNY. Curiosity got the better of me and before I knew it, I was talking to Dr. Tim Endy and his wife Darlene, founders of the organization. Darlene told me that Road2RecoveryCNY is a non-profit volunteer organization that helps people suffering from opioid addiction by providing financial assistance to those in need and want long-term treatment. When I asked if she had a volunteer to recommend to be featured in this column, she said that would be Karen Ayoub.

When I first contacted Ayoub about being featured in this column she was hesitant, saying that there are many others involved in this effort. (This is the typical response I have received from many other volunteers featured in this column, but when they realize readers of the column may be motivated to volunteer after reading it, they relent.)

Karen Ayoub was born in Wellsville, New York and attended Alfred University where she received a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She took advantage of that education by working for the Price Waterhouse accounting firm in Rochester where she became a senior manager. It was here that she met her husband, David, who also worked for the accounting firm. The couple moved to Syracuse when David was offered a position with a firm, at which he is now a partner.

Karen became a stay-at -home mom after she had three children. Well, stay-at-home did not really mean stay-at-home for Karen Ayoub. Once her children were in school she volunteered in many capacities for the school and was involved in the Junior Achievement program. She said; “It’s nicer getting paid in hugs and kisses than in dollars.”

Ayoub explained, “Junior Achievement has prepared instructional curriculums for grades K-12 that foster work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy skills. As a volunteer I went into area schools and presented the Junior Achievement course materials in the classroom and tried to supplement the materials with real life business experiences as a way to help the students understand the relevance of the course material.  It is a fantastic program that the schools/teachers can participate in as a supplement to their regular school curriculum.  I volunteered with Junior Achievement when I lived and worked in Rochester and then again, more recently here in the Syracuse area schools. That is until I started devoting my spare time to Road2RecoveryCNY.”

When Karen was part of a dog walking group she met Darlene Endy and heard why she and her husband founded Road2RecoveryCNY. Endy said, “Our son was addicted and we lived a nightmare, fearing that each time we said good-bye it might be the last time we saw him alive. We thought there was no hope. Finally, he asked for help with his addiction. When we learned that our insurance would not pay for his treatment, we dug deep and paid for it ourselves. This experience changed his life, and ours. Now our son is sober, healthy, and happy. He’s active in the community, sponsoring others and setting an example of how to live a sober life. We are so grateful for his recovery that we wanted to pass on this hope and healing to others in the Central New York community. We started with sponsoring one person, then another, and then another. Actually, our motto is: Saving lives, one life at a time. We realize that there are many more out there who do not have the resources to pay for effective, long-term treatment, but our own finances cannot support all those in need. So, we created Road2RecoveryCNY to do just that, and share our story so that people could realize that there is hope for recovery from addiction.”

Road2RecoveryCNY helps young adults affected by opioid addiction ranging in age from their mid 20’s to their 30’s. Candidates are evaluated for their need for financial support and appropriateness for funding by the Candidate Selection Board. Selected candidates receive financial assistance from Road2RecoveryCNY so they can enter long-term addiction treatment, consisting of 90 days of residential inpatient treatment followed by 90 days of supervised sober living at a drug rehab facility in Austin, Texas. The cost of this program is approximately $22,000 per individual.
After hearing this story Karen Ayoub immediately volunteered to be the bookkeeper for Road2RecoveryCNY. She said, “We are such a small grass roots volunteer charity that we all do a little of everything. My responsibilities are bookkeeping, budgeting, and financial reporting to the board of directors, but we all pitch in to help with fundraising because it is imperative to our success.”

One of the fundraisers is the “Play It Forward” Doubles Tennis Tournament which is hosted by Drumlins Tennis Club on Saturday and Sunday in June. Sponsors’ banners and entry fees, and a silent auction benefit Road2RecoveryCNY with several thousand dollars. Another fundraiser is ‘Setting the Stage,’ held at the Red House theater. Red House is donating all proceeds for one September performance of Rent to Road2RecoveryCNY, and Darlene will tell the story of Road2Recovery. Karen added, “We also rely on the generosity of the community for donations received via our website and Facebook.”

Karen Ayoub said all three of her children know someone who is struggling with drugs, and they are nice kids from nice families. She said, “I have met mothers of kids who have died from an overdose … its everywhere, at all economic levels. It will take all of us to fix it. These young people struggle everyday with the addiction. During rehabilitation there are ups and downs and not all are successful, but many are.”

When Karen Ayoub has the time she enjoys kayaking, knitting, running and tennis.

For information about Road2RecoveryCNY visit their website  at: road2recoverycny.com.

To recommend someone with a stellar record of volunteering to be featured in this column contact Mel Rubenstein: [email protected] or 315-682-7162.

Karen Ayoub and Darlene Endy,