After son's overdose death, West Dundee family launches initiative to raise money, awareness
After her son, Mathew LeBlanc, died of a drug overdose last May, Nicole Caceres of West Dundee and her family launched a T-shirt business to raise awareness and money for drug prevention organizations.
John Starks | Staff Photographer
Mathew LeBlanc's original artwork adorns the walls of his family's West Dundee home.
A framed printmaking piece in the foyer. A high school self-portrait in his childhood bedroom. A detailed drawing of musician Tom Waits above his bed, created entirely with a ballpoint pen.
LeBlanc's talents were vast and his personality extraordinary, his mom, Nicole Caceres, said. He kept notebooks full of whimsical drawings. He made jewelry, like the ring she was wearing proudly on her finger. He could juggle and walk on his hands and dice an onion in under a minute. And he had a way of connecting with students while substitute teaching, hoping to eventually get a permanent job as an art teacher.