Media Contact:Kelley Callaghan410.934.7537

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Dec. 20, 2023

EASTON – More than 70 children with parents lost to, struggling with, or in recovery from
addiction got Christmas gifts this month thanks to a new program in Easton.
Nicole’s Promise is a program from Grace Street, a recovery community organization in Easton,
and directly supported young people who have lost a parent to addiction with a special
shopping trip hosted by Talbot County Sheriff’s deputies. Nicole’s Promise also included a
Christmas gift drive for children and teens with a parent struggling with, or in early recovery
from, substance use disorder.
Bri S., a peer support specialist at Grace Street in Easton, thought of the program in honor of
her best friend, Nicole, who died of an overdose last March. Nicole left behind six children.
Last week, 19 children and teens, ages 3 to 16, who lost a parent (or both) to addiction met at
the Talbot County Sheriff’s Office in Easton for the Christmas event. After a visit and gift from
Santa, the group rode in a caravan with Talbot County Sheriff Joe Gamble and his deputies and
staff to Target, where each child was given a generous donation to spend any way they chose.
The kids fanned out with the sheriff and his crew and had a blast deciding what to buy. Target
donated wrapping paper, bows and popcorn.
After a generous Secret Santa paid for the gifts, the group headed back to the sheriff’s office for
a visit with an elf, hot chocolate, cookies, pizza, and gift wrapping – plus, an impromptu game
of soccer with the sheriff.
Nicole’s Promise also provided top wished-for gifts for 22 children in Talbot County, and
another 30 in Caroline County, thanks to Mid-Shore Restoring Hope in Women. All total,
Nicole’s Promise provided gifts this holiday season to 71 children and teens.
Grace Street is the area’s first recovery community organization (RCO). RCOs are a nationally
recognized model that help bridge the gap between professional treatment and a successful life
in long-term recovery through enhanced supports and services. Chesapeake Charities received
a one-year grant from Maryland’s Opioid Operational Command Center to establish the Grace
Street RCO.
Easton’s center delivers an assortment of non-clinical, community-centered peer recovery
support services; harm reduction resources; workforce training and development; youth

programming; overdose prevention activities and resources and support groups. The center
helps people establish healthy lifestyles and reacclimate into society, while building recovery
capital and working to reduce stigma often associated with addiction.
Grace Street serves people in Easton and Talbot County, as well as neighboring counties across
the Mid-Shore. Referrals are not necessary, and services are free. The center is open weekdays
and Sundays, 4 – 9 pm. and Saturdays, 2 – 7 p.m. Daytime hours vary. For more information,
visit GraceStreetRecovery.org.
This project is supported by the Opioid Operational Command Center. The views presented here
are those of the grantee organization and not necessarily those of the OOCC, its Executive
Director, or its staff.
Located in Stevensville, Chesapeake Charities is a community foundation that supports more
than 140 nonprofit funds that impact a range of charitable causes including animal welfare, arts,
education, health and human services, and the environment. To date they have generated more
than $32 million in investment and grant funding for charitable projects in ten counties: Anne
Arundel, Calvert, Caroline, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary’s and
Talbot. For more information, contact Chesapeake Charities at (410) 643-4020 or
[email protected], or visit www.chesapeakecharities.org. Chesapeake Charities is
accredited by the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations.
The Opioid Operational Command Center is Maryland’s principal coordinating office for
addressing the opioid crisis. Under the guidance of the Inter-Agency Heroin and Opioid
Coordinating Council, the OOCC leads Maryland’s opioid-related strategic planning and
coordinates the efforts of all state agencies involved in Maryland’s opioid crisis response,
various community partners, and all 24 local jurisdictions throughout the state.

The OOCC can
be contacted by email at [email protected].

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