Together, we can light a spark of hope in someone’s recovery journey

Raising Awareness, Inspiring Recovery, Saving Lives

After two years in recovery, Leo Howe's life was a beacon of potential and light; tragically cut short by fentanyl poisoning in 2023. In the wake of this shocking and mind numbing loss, his mother, Beth, sought to transform her grief into a force for good by partnering with Not a Glum Lot.

Not a Glum Lot (NGL) is a nonprofit that provides FREE fun and exciting activities to addicts who are new to recovery, helping them understand that joy and happiness are possible in sobriety.

Learn More About NGL

Leo’s Legacy Fund has been created to honor his memory and ensure that NGL can continue its vital mission of saving lives through sobriety-focused recreation. This designated fund will serve as a long-term investment resource for NGL, providing support for the organization's administrative and overhead expenses.

The fund’s immediate goal is $50,000, creating the foundation for a sustainable source that will ensure NGL’s work can continue for years to come. Every dollar contributed to Leo’s Legacy Fund is an investment in saving lives, honoring Leo’s memory, and supporting those who are courageously rebuilding their futures.

Your contribution honors Leo’s life, his fight for sobriety and helps countless others find joy and happiness in sobriety, ensuring they can build fulfilling lives free from addiction.

Remembering Leo

Ways to Give

Our Goal:

To establish an administrative reserve for Not a Glum Lot by raising $150,000

Not a Glum Lot has established an Agency Fund with the Chisolm Trails Community Foundation to strengthen the impact of Leo’s Legacy Fund and to:

  • Ensure third-party oversight of fund assets.
  • Leverage economies of scale and professional investment strategies.
  • Support the administration of complex charitable giving vehicles.

In collaboration with the Chisolm Trails Community Foundation, NGL will work to build fund assets to levels that provide for annual distributions of grants to support the organization’s administrative expenses from investment returns while preserving the core principal of Leo’s Legacy Fund. As the fund grows, NGL will expand fund distributions to provide sober living home scholarships to individuals who are new recovery.

Ways to Give

  • Donate Online

    Donate online with a one-time or monthly gift, and don't forget to leave a “donation” note to share a memory of Leo!

  • Donate By Mail

    Mail Check Donations to Not A Glum Lot with a Leo’s Legacy Fund Designation.


    1719 Pebble Brook Dr, Austin, TX 78752

  • Other Ways to Give

    For information about other ways to give, including gifts of stock, donor-advised fund designations, or other planned giving methods, contact: Patrick Hensley (pchensley@wearenotglum.org)

    Contact

We're Not Glum

NOT A GLUM LOT is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit org. We provide fun activities to Austinites recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.

9,234

Event Participants

335

Adventures

52

Community Partners

100

% Lived Experience Leadership

Not A Glum Lot

Feel Good, Feel Happy, Feel Excited

Learn more

Founded in Austin, Texas, NGL provides transformative recreational experiences for individuals in early recovery. Addiction often leaves individuals feeling isolated, anxious, and fearful that a sober life will be dull or unfulfilling. NGL combats these fears head-on, offering activities that show participants a new, exciting, and fulfilling way to live without substances.

Not a Glum Lot is led by a volunteer Board of Directors, 100% of whom are recovered addicts. The board is instrumental in planning and running NGL’s events, shifting responsibilities each month for tasks such as venue registrations and logistics, recruitment within the Austin recovery community, and soliciting in-kind donations and event sponsorships.

Through events such as group outings, sober adventures, and monthly community gatherings, NGL helps participants experience the natural joy and connection they once sought through drugs or alcohol. These experiences help rewire the brain, releasing dopamine and endorphins naturally, and give individuals a renewed sense of hope.

With effective collaborative partnerships with sober homes, treatment centers, and sobriety groups, The NGL board organizes safe, exciting, and trust-building recreational activities for the recovery community that directly combat the depression, isolation, and anxiety that precede a relapse.

NGL Events

Depression, isolation, and anxiety are common in early recovery, and providing connections and friendships via recreational activities is a life-saving measure. The more they enjoy their life without drugs and alcohol, the less likely they are to relapse and potentially overdose. NGL coordinates three types of outings, all of which are free to all persons in the beginning stages of recovery, regardless of income, ethnicity, religion, age, or gender.

Gatherings

We welcome anyone and everyone to these outings and typically see up to 150 people at each monthly gathering. Some of these are returning participants, but many are people who are new to addiction recovery and searching for a way to enjoy life and build a community while sober.

Closed Events

Our closed events usually consist of a particularly breathtaking experience. We collaborate with the managers of recovery houses to identify individuals who would most benefit from a unique life experience in a supportively sober environment.

RSVP Events

RSVP Required events happen several times a year and are usually a specific group event with a nominal cost attached - which can quickly bloom into a much bigger cost if we pay for participation above the number of individuals that actually turn up.