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Chamber-led ‘Dorchester Goes Purple’ kickoff set for Sept. 2 to spotlight substance misuse
Summary
Chamber of Commerce presenters updated Dorchester County Council on the volunteer-led ‘Dorchester Goes Purple’ campaign, outlining a Sept. 2 kickoff at the county building, planned events through September and community partnership efforts to expand prevention, treatment and education.
The Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce briefed the County Council on the county’s volunteer-run substance misuse awareness effort known as Dorchester Goes Purple and announced a kickoff event for Sept. 2 at the county building.
Chamber representative Bill said the campaign began in 2018 in partnership with the sheriff’s office and has since expanded to include all eight Eastern Shore counties. “The primary objective behind this is to really work on substance misuse,” he said, adding the effort focuses on education, prevention and connecting people to treatment.
The chamber described a slate of September activities it will coordinate: a kickoff with food trucks and a dunk tank, distribution of daily messages and banners, a poster contest for public-school students, publicity through billboards and social media, purple-themed giveaways (socks, wristbands) and partnerships with local faith groups and businesses. Bill said the campaign operates largely with volunteers and “we spend very little money on this program.”
Sheriff’s Office presenter Jeremy said the initiative consolidated activities previously spread among several local organizations, and highlighted the sheriff’s office role in equipping first responders to save lives. “Treatment, we push the treatment because a lot of people think that a drug addict is just a drug addict and he’s worthless. And that’s not the way it is,” Jeremy said.
Council members who spoke thanked organizers and noted county support, including Parks & Recreation purchasing purple socks for youth teams and county staff coordinating with the chamber for logistics. Bill said council had approved use of the county building for the kickoff and encouraged county leaders and residents to participate; Councilman Kramer is scheduled to be one of the first participants in the dunk tank during the kickoff.
Organizers said the chamber will provide a schedule and promotional materials on its website and urged businesses and faith groups to take part in Purple Pulpit Day (Sept. 14) and the All-Shore event (Sept. 27, in Queen Anne’s County this year). They also noted limited fundraising at the kickoff to cover materials and said businesses such as Bay Country Bakery plan to produce purple-themed items with proceeds supporting the campaign.
The presentation concluded with council appreciation for the volunteer-led coalition and confirmation that the chamber would provide event route and promotional details to county staff for posting.
