EASTON – Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble and Tidewater Rotary invite everyone to attend a lighting ceremony and community events this September in support of Talbot Goes Purple.
Talbot Goes Purple is an awareness and prevention program that empowers our youth and our community to ‘Go Purple’ as a sign of taking a stand against substance abuse. The initiative includes purple clubs in our middle and high schools through which students learn they do not need drugs or alcohol to meet life’s challenges. The purpose of the project is to promote the ‘new conversation’ – one that includes prescription drugs.
This is year two for the initiative, and the community can again display purple lights and gear starting Sept. 1 and throughout the month as a show of taking a stand against substance abuse.
“We’ve made great progress having the ‘new conversation’ and educating our kids and families about the Good Samaritan Law and Narcan,” said Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble. “Still, overdose deaths continue to climb and we’ve got to continue this conversation if we are going to turn the tide on this deadly epidemic.”
The community is invited to the kick-off and lighting ceremony, set for 7:30 p.m. September 5, 2018 at the Talbot County Courthouse. Right after the ceremony at about 8 p.m. please join Talbot Goes Purple, Recovery for Shore and Mariah’s Mission Fund for a walk of solidarity and support for recovery. The walk will start at the courthouse, go up Goldsborough Street, down Harrison to Dover and conclude at the courthouse. Please wear purple!
The month concludes with two FREE screenings of the film, ‘If Only.’ Presented by the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and Millennium Health, ‘If Only’ is a short film that raises awareness about the dangers of teen prescription drug misuse and abuse. Screenings are set for 6:30 p.m. at Easton High School on Sept. 25 and 6:30 p.m. at St. Michaels Middle High School on Sept. 26. Each event also includes an information resource fair at 5:30 p.m.
Also on September 5, 2018 please join us prior to the kick-off for this year’s first purple games at Easton High School. Both the 4 p.m. Junior Varsity soccer game and 5:30 p.m. Varsity soccer game are designated purple events – any student wearing purple gets in free! We also encourage anyone in attendance to wear purple as a show of support for the students and the project.
For purple gear, visit our online store at www.TalbotGoesPurple.org. Get your lights online or at
ED Supply in Easton or the Lumberyard in St. Michaels or on our website – and turn them on starting Sept. 1 and throughout the month.
More information is available at www.talbotgoespurple.org. Find us on Facebook @TalbotGoesPurple or contact us at talbotgoespurple@gmail.com.
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Talbot Goes Purple is in partnership with Talbot County Public Schools and Mid-Shore Community Foundation. Generous support for the project at the ‘purple’ level includes: Easton Utilities; Michael & Nancy Klein Foundation; Michael Marcell Memorial Fund; Preston Automotive Group/Safehouse/iFrog; Shore Bancshares; Star Democrat; St. John Foundation; University of Maryland Shore Regional Health and West and Callahan.
Talbot Goes Purple is a component fund of the Mid-Shore Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization – donations to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.