The “Thank You for Showing Up” Recognition Series is the Women & Girls Fund’s effort to share stories of local people who go beyond saying “What can I do for you?” to offer simple acts of kindness to help someone in need. “Showing up” is about seeing a need and taking action. Such supportive gestures of caring and generosity of spirit are all around us in the Mid-Shore and make our communities stronger.
SARA CHAPPLE, a rising senior at Easton
High School, is a young woman with a mission – to educate her peers about the dangers of alcohol and substance abuse in honor of a friend in recovery who died in a tragic accident.
With the help of well-known local mosaic artist, Jen Wagner, Sara picked a dragonfly mosaic pattern as the basis for a fun, experiential learning project that incorporated working on the mosaic while giving an educational program on the impact of alcohol and other mood/mind altering substances.
To fund”The Traveling Dragonfly Mosaic Drugs and Alchohol Education Program”, Sara raised money through bake sales and a letter writing campaign, and received so much support from friends, family, and local businesses that she was able to purchase supplies for the project plus a new computer for The Gratitude House, a substance abuse recovery residence in Talbot County, where her friend received help in her recovery process.
Pre-covid, Sra diligently made presentations to various groups, including her youth group at Christ Church, Easton. While the pandemic kept everyone at home, her family gathered around their dining table to add tile to the intricate design, and eventually, fellow Girl Scouts were able to help complete the mosaic. After hundreds of hours of work, the dragonfly mosaic has been presented to The Gratitude House.
Sara’s efforts brought youth and adults together to learn about the ongoing opioid epidemic while creating a beautiful, hopeful piece of art. Additionally, she participated in the September 2019 Fed-Up Rally, Talbot Goes Purple events, and created two radio spot announcements that were broadcast on WCEI during Substance Abuse Awareness Month. It’s exciting, too, that this long-term project earned Sara the highest award in girl scouting, The Girl Scouts Gold Award.
Thank you, Sara, for showing up!