CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Gamble to be honored by Chesapeake Charities

The Star Democrat - 9/29/2017

STEVENSVILLE - Chesapeake Charities announced the awards recipients to be honored during its Nov. 16 luncheon, "A Celebration of Charity," at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club in Stevensville.

The event will focus on the individuals and organizations that are finding solutions to the heroin and opioid crisis, and Joe Gamble was named Volunteer of the Year for his personal dedication to the cause.

Linda Kohler, Chesapeake Charities executive director, said, "The distinguished 2017 honorees have made extraordinary contributions to solve the opioid crisis in prevention, treatment and in rehabilitating lives. By recognizing the truly remarkable work they are doing, Chesapeake Charities hopes to elevate the conversation about solutions to this daunting problem."

Volunteer of the Year, Gamble, sheriff of Talbot County, is on a mission to educate and inform the people in his community about the heroin and opioid crisis, leading the large-scale youth drug prevention initiative, "Talbot Goes Purple."

An initiative of the Talbot County Sheriff's Office and Tidewater Rotary, TGP promotes education and awareness, including the creation of purple clubs in the high schools, through which students learn they do not need drugs or alcohol to meet life's challenges.

"Support for TGP has come from every sector, every demographic, every corner of the county and Joe has become the face of the movement. He's talking and people are listening - and acting," said Lucie Hughes of Tidewater Rotary.

Going beyond his role as Talbot County Sheriff, Gamble makes himself available to families and people in the community, relentlessly working to help change the response to what he calls, "the deadliest drug epidemic in our history."

Named Philanthropist of the Year, Bernie Fowler Jr. is a visionary leader who used his own personal struggles to transform a farm into a place of hope and new beginnings for those who have felt forgotten. He is helping families struggling to put food on the table, addicts, inmates in the justice system and youth tempted by the lure of the drug culture.

In 2012, he formed Farming 4 Hunger to provide people in his hometown better access to fresh fruits and vegetables while simultaneously helping local farmers struggling to make ends meet. In growing this organization, Fowler formed a partnership with the Maryland Department of Corrections and has personally mentored 90 felons as they worked the many different phases of farming. When the opioid epidemic struck home, he added prevention and recovery activities and then developed the 2nd Chances program, which is reducing recidivism, increasing valued assets to the workforce and breaking through the wall of addiction in the community.

The Nonprofit of the Year award goes to Samaritan House of Annapolis. Since 1971, Samaritan House has been part of the solution for drug addicts and alcoholics, helping men on their journey to an addiction-free life. Founded by recovering addicts who saw a need for residential care, they serve approximately 75 clients per year, providing a continuum of care after medical detoxification. It provides individual and group counseling, case management, relapse prevention, life skills training, peer groups and family counseling, as well as career/vocational counseling. It provides a place to ease people recovering from addiction back into society while building a network of support around them that lowers their chance of relapse.

"We are privileged to honor these special people and to recognize their commitment to improving the quality of life in the Chesapeake Bay region," Kohler said. "We are also grateful to our sponsors: Chesapeake Bay Beach Club, WHBG Inc., Anne Arundel Medical Center, Shore Bancshares, Ride Entertainment, Customer Relationship Metrics, Island Dental Studio, Chaney Enterprises, Steve Schuh and the Schuh Family, and Peter and Diane Pappas, David A. Bramble Inc. and Retirement Planning Services for making this event possible with their generous support."

Tickets for the Nov. 16 event are $100 each and will go on sale Oct. 9. Sponsorships are available. For more information, email info@chesapeakecharities.org.

A community foundation located in Stevensville, Chesapeake Charities supports a wide range of charitable causes, including arts, education, health and human services, animal welfare and the environment. All of its 85 component funds have a common cause - a passion for making a difference in their communities. Chesapeake Charities serves organizations in eight counties: Anne Arundel, Calvert, Caroline, Charles, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne's and Talbot. They have invested more than $9 million in the Chesapeake Bay region since 2005.

For more information, contact Chesapeake Charities at 410-643-4020 or info@chesapeakechari ties.org, or visit www.chesapeak echarities.org.