Fourth Annual Beebe Goes Purple Raises $86,000 for Opioid Awareness and Education
The proceeds from the 4th Annual Beebe Goes Purple Guest Bartending event raised $86,209 for the healthcare system’s Go Purple Fund.
The Go Purple Fund supports the awareness, education, prevention, and recovery in relation to the opioid epidemic in Sussex County. The annual event was founded by the Beebe Medical Foundation’s Young Professionals Group and the most recent event was held on Sept. 19, 2024, at The Starboard in Dewey Beach.
Led by Beebe Medical Foundation team members: Justen Albright, Sean Flanigan, and Amy Keller, the group set out to make a difference in the lives of those affected by the opioid epidemic starting in 2019. Since its founding, the Beebe Goes Purple event has raised over $338,000 for Beebe Healthcare’s Go Purple Fund.
“Beebe Goes Purple began with a group of young professionals eager to make a difference in the opioid crisis in Sussex County, but it has evolved into something far bigger. This movement has united people from all backgrounds, all working together to create positive change in our community,” said Amy Keller, Event Coordinator at Beebe Medical Foundation. “Addiction has touched many of our supporters’ lives, and Beebe Goes Purple provides a way for them to contribute to the solution.”
The Go Purple Fund has been designated to support Beebe Healthcare’s Community Mobile Health Unit with a focus on mental health and addiction medicine. This mobile health initiative provides low-threshold, low barrier clinical care and harm reduction services aimed at increasing access to addiction services for people at high risk.
Beebe deploys a mobile unit and a hybrid team of mental and behavioral health physicians, clinicians, and community health workers to areas with high rates of opioid use and overdose to engage individuals, initiate and continue treatment, provide harm reduction services, and link those with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) to long-term, comprehensive community-based care. By mobilizing critical addiction services, Beebe brings care directly to high-risk individuals and address behavioral and mental health needs in the local communities.
This year’s event held at The Starboard, featured local community celebrities including:
Jena Albright, Justen Albright, April Armstrong, Pam Baker, Allen Carroll, Dr. Bill Chasanov, Nick “Beef” Degnars, Adam DiSabatino, Justin Fisher, Chrissy Freitas, Dr. Katie Johnson, Taylor Knox, Paul Magliato, Mike Maksymow, Dan Matta, Vanessa Megee, Mike Meoli, Barbara Ann Racine-Kerezsi, Ann Raskauskas, Chris Schell, Dr. Paul Sierzenski, Patrick Staggs, Steve Touw, and Veronica Townsend.
Teams paired up for 15-minute shifts to raise funds and serve drinks to friends, family, and Beebe supporters. Justin Fisher and Taylor Knox, of Decade80, took home the prize for raising the most funds night of with $8,001, and Paul Magliato and Adam DiSabatino took home the overall prize, raising $13,015 for Beebe Goes Purple.
“The support for this year’s Beebe Goes Purple was incredible. We have The Starboard, all of our sponsors, our amazing bartenders, and all of our guests to thank for this year’s great turn out and fundraising,” said Sean Flanigan, Gift Officer, Beebe Medical Foundation. “We continue to grow both the event and our impact on the community year after year.”
The 5th Annual Beebe Goes Purple Celebrity Guest Bartending event will take place Thursday, Sept. 18, at The Starboard.
“By leveraging the power of social media and email, our bartenders connected with their friends, family, and colleagues to rally support for their fundraising goals. This approach not only expanded our reach but also brought the community closer together in support of a shared cause,” said Justen Albright, Financial Analyst, Beebe Medical Foundation. “This event has consistently exceeded all expectations over the years, and we are deeply grateful to everyone for embracing our mission to reduce the impact of opioids in Sussex County.”
To learn more about ways to support and give to Beebe Healthcare’s Go Purple Fund, or to get involved with Beebe Medical Foundation’s Young Professionals, please contact Beebe Medical Foundation at 302-644-2900 or online at www.beebemedicalfoundation.org.
Caption: (L-R): Kay Young, Beebe Medical Foundation Executive Director of Development; Katlynn Warner, The Starboard Private Event Coordinator; Steve Montgomery, Owner The Starboard; Doug Moore, The Starboard; Sean Flanigan, Beebe Medical Foundation Gift Officer; Amy Keller, Beebe Medical Foundation Event Coordinator; Justen Albright, Beebe Medical Foundation Financial Analyst