Cambridge Community Prepares Kids to go Back to School
(CAMBRIDGE, Md) – The halls of South Dorchester High School in Cambridge are already bustling and school isn’t back in session yet. As the Dorchester County community is lending a hand to help over a thousand kids.
Ashyrra Dotson with Eastern Shore Wellness Solutions says the group has been putting on this big back to school bash since 2015.
With the goal of making sure as many kids as possible get the help they need from supplies to haircuts.
The group’s president tells us, “It is essential to help families, make sure that the school, the children are ready for school, prepared, reading ready, and just have all of the things that they need. We’re here to help the ferret, in and around the community…”
When we got to the high school Monday morning, nearly 800 kids were being in one way or another.
For guardians and educators alike, being able to help bridge the gap for the next crop of students is what they believe a community should be doing for its youngest members.
“That gives them a chance to just build some confidence and to build and cultivate some of that self-esteem that helps us, become better learners and better educated. And so we will afford this event because, again, the services, the community, but also give, community vendors an opportunity to meet the families that we work with…” says Mace’s Lane Middle School Community Liaison, Chris Branch.
While Yvette Mercer, a Cambridge woman with grandchildren in the school system says this event makes students better because of the community effort.
She says, “Me, myself, being a grandparent, I feel like when my community is active, it makes the kids want to be active and do better.”
And in a year where Dorchester County Public Schools are facing federal budget cuts, being able to help out a large number of kids like this is a welcome occasion
Dotson says, “Being a nonprofit organization that is 100% grant funded, it is essential that we partner with community organizations and schools so that we can get the students the things that they need and help our parents here in Dorchester County.”
According to Eastern Shore Wellness Solutions, they helped over 1,1oo students during the 2024 event.
Dorchester County goes back to school on Tuesday, September 2nd.
