Marco’s Mission, a non-profit dedicated to educating and spreading awareness about the risks of drug use, will be leading an assembly at Menlo in late February. Marco’s Mission was founded just five months ago, in October of 2024. Junior Tania Troper and senior Zoe Schauer were motivated to found Marco’s Mission after their brother and cousin, Marco Troper (‘23), passed away after an accidental overdose last February. “Our main mission is to educate teenagers about not only the risks of substance abuse and overdose, but what to do if you know someone who’s struggling with addiction,” Schauer said.
Presenting at high school assemblies throughout the Bay Area is one way that Troper and Schauer have been able to spread awareness. “We want to share Marco’s story because what we really want is for other teenagers to be able to relate to him and be like, ‘this could be me,’ because he was a really normal guy,” Schauer said.
“Marco did not choose to be addicted. And unfortunately, it ended up happening to him, and once he was in the addiction, it was extremely hard for him to get out of it,” Troper added.
Troper noted that these assemblies are formatted around a timeline of Marco’s life. “We share his whole story, from when he was not addicted at all, to when he passed away,” Troper said. The end of their assemblies tend to be more fact-heavy, covering topics such as Narcan — a nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdose.
Throughout their events, Troper and Schauer underscore a fundamental message. “A key focus of Marco’s Mission is challenging students’ common misconception that they are invincible to addiction. That’s what Marco thought,” Troper said. “That’s absolutely false; it can happen to pretty much anybody on this planet.”
Troper and Schauer presented at The Nueva School in December, where they used their personal experience to share key information on recognizing the signs of an overdose, as well as steps to take if someone you know is struggling with addiction. “[We shared things like], ‘This was our first sign that Marco was addicted,’” Troper said. “‘[We also shared], this is what we wish we did more of,’ something like, ‘Talk to his friends more to see their perspective’ or ‘Let my parents know sooner,’” she added.
Along with their upcoming presentation at Menlo, the two are planning to visit other Bay Area schools, including Eastside College Preparatory.
Beyond what’s visible on the Marco’s Mission website and throughout their assemblies, the operations are just as complex: a balance of funding, challenges and partnerships. A registered 501(c)(3), the organization has an Instagram and website, both of which Troper and Schauer attribute the traction that the nonprofit has gained. “I feel like there’s not many organizations, where we live at least, that are focusing on this cause or this topic,” Troper said. “A lot of people haven’t seen this type of thing before. It’s getting more people’s attention.”
Their efforts brought along other opportunities as well, such as partnering with Song for Charlie, a national nonprofit that focuses on fentanyl overdose. “They’ve been able to give us a lot of good tips, their slides and information,” Schauer said.
Yet Troper acknowledged that this growth can come with difficulties as well. “I would say one challenge is some schools can be pretty hard to work with; we’ve had some instances where schools completely just ghosted us,” Troper said.
Feb. 13, 2025 marked one year since Marco’s passing, a time to spend reflecting on his life story as well as the impact the organization has had in the past year. Marco’s Mission is not slowing down anytime soon. With talks with the Santa Clara Health Department about organizing a Narcan distribution and information session, as well as discussions of creating a safe space and community for teens struggling with addiction through Marco’s Mission, the organization hopes to continue expanding its influence.
“A lot of people perceive addiction as a moral failing, and it’s hard for people to see that it is a chronic relapsing disorder and it should be treated as a disease,” Schauer said. A core tenet of Marco’s Mission is to challenge and transform the shame and stigma surrounding addiction. “We’re trying to change the way people perceive people struggling with addiction and rather approach it with empathy,” Schauer said.
