Talbot County Department of Parks & Recreation supports Talbot Goes Purple

EASTON– Voting is underway for Talbot Goes Purple year three’s shirt design, created by campers at Talbot County Department of Parks & Recreation.

About 70 summer campers, ages 5-12 from both public and private schools across the county, created the designs during week two of camp at the Talbot County Community Center. Each child created a poster that represented how to keep people from doing drugs, as part of Talbot Goes Purple (TGP). One of those posters will become this year’s shirt design.

Voting on the design is available on the TGP Facebook page and closes at midnight on August 1, 2019.

“Most of our kids had already heard of Talbot Goes Purple,” said Emily Gilmer, recreation manager for Talbot County Department of Parks & Recreation. “We gave them paper, crayons and markers and are really excited with what they came up with.”

The camper creations include messages like, ‘We are United; Fight the Epidemic; Just Say No,’ and longer messages like, ‘Stop Drugs! We are Talbot County and we say drugs are a no-no!’ Several of the students included tobacco and alcohol on their creations, with statements like ‘Do not smoke it is bad for you.’ And many of the posters include messages that doing drugs means going to jail.

“We’re impressed with what these campers came up with for TGP,” said Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble. “We plan to create collages of the designs and hopefully hang them up at various points across the county, so the kids can see that our community supports their efforts.”

Gamble spoke with campers this week, as part of Talbot Goes Purple’s education and awareness prevention efforts. His talk included information on the Good Samaritan Law, and education on the dangers of e-cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana and opioids.

“We’ve got to continue the conversation and expand the discussion to include the ‘path to addiction’ that includes early use of substances that lead to addiction by our kids,” said Gamble. “Most kids don’t start with opioids – we’ve got to take a stand against our kids using any substances, including vaping, marijuana and alcohol.”

Talbot Goes Purple promotes education and awareness, including the creation of purple clubs in our middle and high schools, through which students learn that they do not need drugs or alcohol to meet life’s challenges. The project also encourages the ‘new conversation’ between teens and parents, one that includes messages that prescription painkillers aren’t safe to use recreationally.

For the third year of Talbot Goes Purple, a kick-off celebration is again planned for early September – more information will become available closer to the date.

Leading up to the kick-off and starting September 1, 2019 local businesses and communities can again ‘Go Purple’ as a show of support and solidarity in addressing our substance abuse program. Lights and other materials are available online at www.TalbotGoesPurple.org.

Talbot Goes Purple is in partnership with Talbot County Public Schools and Mid-Shore Community Foundation.

More information is available at www.talbotgoespurple.org. Find us on Facebook (and vote!) @TalbotGoesPurple or contact us at talbotgoespurple@gmail.com. Anyone wearing purple is encouraged to post pictures and tag us on Facebook.

All support is tax-deductible and made through the Mid-Shore Community Foundation.

Information on parks & recreation is available at www.talbotparks.org.

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~ Talbot Goes Purple