Month: January 2024

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

Whether preferring to use them or not, most folks hadn’t given too much thought to self-service checkout kiosks recently…until the Severna Park branch of Kohl’s closed and removed their spacious checkout counters and replaced them with a sizeable number of self-checkout stations like the one above and a small row of employee-manned checkout counters against one wall off the menswear department. The evening we shopped at Kohl’s, the self-service area was totally empty but there were long lines moving through the employee-manned counters.

A few weeks later, while browsing the Internet, we spotted an article on the design, technology and science website Gizmodo titled “The Self-Checkout Nightmare May Finally Be Ending” by Thomas Germain. It was the first of several articles on the same subject.

The gist of the article was that consensus is growing among analysts and insiders that self-checkout has been a negative for consumers and retailers alike.

“In 2023, Target restricted self-checkout kiosks in some stores to ten items or less. Walmart pulled the machines out of a number of locations altogether,” said Germain.

He added that Dollar General adopted self-checkout tech in 2022 but the project was not successful and CEO Todd Vasos said the retailer plans to increase the number of employees in stores – especially in the checkout area.

Similar items in publications including The Atlantic, The Guardian, Scripps News, cnn.com, yahoo.com, msn.com and tastingtable.com, point to theft as the biggest problem.

According to Germain, shoppers are reportedly 21 times more likely to sneak items past machines than human cashiers but consumers also steal unintentionally because the self-checkout process is so cumbersome.

A Scripps News headline says Walmart, ShopRite, Wegmans, Costco and Five Below are among the retailers that have announced self-checkout policy changes. A January 24th post by Scripps reporter Justin Boggs cites a study published in the Journal of Business Research by researchers from Drexel University and the University of San Diego which indicates that self-checkouts also can damage customer loyalty.

The study concluded that customers needing to scan more items found the checkout experience less rewarding. They experienced negative consequences with larger orders, such as the extra effort to bag purchases.

While admitting there are positives for retailers, TastingTable.com reporter Dave McQuilling believes self-checkouts place an unnecessary burden on shoppers. He described them as “a dystopian innovation that costs jobs, shifts responsibility onto the consumer, and serves as a startling example of how companies are happy to inconvenience people if it serves their bottom line.”

Severna Park resident Lauren Garber sometimes uses self-checkouts but has noted the rise in crime associated with them.

“The costs of these thefts go back to the consumer at the end of the day. The insurance agencies can’t keep up with the theft taking place because nothing is being done to prosecute these people,” Garber said.

Garber is not the only shopper paying attention. We spoke with two other Severna Park residents who are out and about in the community.

Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber of Commerce CEO Liz League keeps a sharp eye on what is happening with area retailers. She has personally experienced the extra work and technical problems endured by shoppers with a large number of items.

“When my husband Jim and I have gone shopping for items for the Chamber’s Friday picnics, we’ve had baskets and baskets of food and found it difficult to put those through self-checkout,” League said.

“You may have to wait in line, but when you check out at the counter with an actual cashier, you don’t have to weigh it yourself, worry about entering the right price or bag it and you are able to pay with cash or a check.

She added that she wonders how the stores are even able to track theft. Aware that some stores invest heavily in self-checkout systems in hopes of saving money by eliminating jobs, she feels that the investment is counterproductive and not good for the economy.

“The health of our communities depends on ample employment opportunities,” she said.

Linda Zahn, who was League’s predecessor as CEO of the Chamber, is now retired but is quite active as a volunteer. She still has many friends and contacts within the Severna Park business community and sees them often.

“There are people who like self-checkout and people who really miss the customer service,” she said. “I feel bad for retailers today who have to compete with online sellers while dealing with all the issues that brick and mortar stores must contend with. Self-checkout is an option for local business owners that works well for some. However, I can sure appreciate the stores’ perspectives as far as theft is concerned.”

Zahn thinks, overall, the only edge brick and mortar retailers have over online sellers is customer service.  So, they have to make the shopping experience a good one. 

“If people want their groceries checked out for them, do it,” she says.

Anne Arundel County plastic bag ban here to stay ?

Most local residents hadn’t really noticed when the Anne Arundel County Council joined Baltimore and Prince George’s County by enacting their Bring Your Own Bag Plastic Reduction Act (Bill 19-23) in 2023. Thus, when the bill prohibiting the retail distribution of plastic bags in the county took effect at area grocery stores on January 1, 2024, many shoppers found themselves confused and perplexed.

Understandably, ecologically concerned citizens were pleased. Though plastic bags can be recycled and remade into a variety of useful products, they do constitute a threat to marine life in our streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay.

They are exceptionally practical, however, and people are already saving the bags they currently have.

A recent Forbes article titled “New Jersey Bag Ban Followed By Increased Use Of Plastic” by Patrick Gleason caught our attention, however. Gleason highlighted a law banning plastic and paper shopping bags at stores enacted by Governor Phil Murphy and New Jersey state legislators in 2020. According to a new study, passage of New Jersey’s anti-plastics law has been followed by a near tripling of plastic consumption at Garden State checkouts.

“Four years on, there is evidence that New Jersey’s bag prohibition not only failed to curb plastic usage, it backfired,” he wrote. “According to a new study released on January 9 by the Freedonia Group, 53 million pounds worth of plastic shopping bags were used in New Jersey prior to implementation of the state’s bag ban, a figure that has risen to 151 million pounds since the prohibition was instituted.”

Gleason added that the study found that the reusable bags New Jersey shoppers have been forced to use since the bag ban took effect (some are made from plastic) are rarely reused, only two to three times on average. With many people using reusable bags as single use bags, the state’s plastic and paper bag prohibition may be doing more harm than good in practice.

We asked for some perspective on the plastic bag ban from Garber, League, and Zahn.

“Most people hate it and don’t care to be told by county government what we can use or not use,” Garber said. “I consider it another form of a tax since you must buy paper bags to carry your groceries. They cost 10 cents per bag at Safeway or 20 cents at Giant and the Severna Park Giant actually ran out of them. Of course, you are also urged to bring your own reusable bags, many of which are made of plastic anyway and tend to get dirty.”

She pointed out that the main problem with plastic bags (which can be recycled) is that people litter. A lack of individual responsibility and moral character are responsible for the situation she opines.

League considers plastic bags very practical for many uses – especially if you are a person without means. She has always recycled them.

“Not a single plastic bag goes to waste at my house. Like many people, I use them to line my garbage can.”

League can understand why people dislike paying for paper bags since food costs are so high that customers don’t want to spend a single penny more.

Zahn reflected that she has heard people complain about the inconvenience of using one’s own bags to shop.  Of course, there are still paper bag options, but most people wish they were free.

“As for the bags, it used to be a choice of paper or plastic.  Why take away plastic but charge for paper?” Zahn asks.  “They should give them to customers when they are requested as in the past.”

As of late December, it was reported that the City of Annapolis is exempt from this countywide initiative though they are considering independent legislation.

Jing Ying Institute’s Self-Defense Workshop for Women and Teen Girls on February 18

The world seems a more dangerous place these days. However, Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi is offering an excellent Self-Defense Workshop for Women and Teen Girls on Sunday, February 18 from 2 to 4 pm.

The workshop will start with a discussion on safety to help you avoid trouble. That will be followed with a lesson on escape techniques for situations you may not be able to avoid. Finally, self-defense techniques will be covered for fighting back when you aren’t able to escape easily.

During the Chinese Lunar New Year, Jing Ying Institute is offering the self-defense workshop at a reduced price as a service to the local community. Owner Nancy Greer tells us 100% of the proceeds will go to The Bernie House, an organization that provides long-term transitional housing to a family made homeless by domestic violence.

The cost is $25 and you may register for the workshop by visiting Best Martial Arts Program in Annapolis, Severna Park (jingying.org).

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

Few obvious traces of Severna Park’s beginnings remain. Successive waves of residential and commercial construction have obscured or overtaken landmarks that were once beacons of our 118-year-old hometown. But there are still traces of Severna Park’s origins. Driving through the community of Linstead, for example, you can still see the farmhouse pictured here (courtesy of historian F. Scott Jay) that was built in 1758. The photograph shows the house as it appeared in 1906.

In addition to Jay, sources for information gleaned over time include the late Nelson Molter, the book “Severna Park Reflections” published by Bay Media, Inc., and the Severna Park Old Timers, Erman O. “Lanny” Dill, the late Kathleen Giddings Hankins and the book “Linstead on the Severn, A History” by the Residents and Friends of Linstead.

A look back before Severna Park was formed

It’s important to remember that Severna Park was but one part of the larger community of “Boone” when formed in 1906. The rustic town, born in the late 1800’s, endured until June 16, 1925 when its address officially became Severna Park.

Boone’s origins date to the 1600’s with a 26,000-acre land grant from King Charles I to George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore. By the 1700’s, the Lords Baltimore had conveyed the acreage in the form of three grants. Norman’s Fancy, Randall’s Purchase and Hopkins’ Addition would form the nucleus of Boone.

The Randall’s Purchase parcel would provide the core. Sold in 1721, it was owned briefly by John Earnshaw and then John Worthington.

In 1725, according to a yellowed account in historian F. Scott Jay’s collection, the parcel was sold to Richard and Hester Linstid (Linstead) and called “Randall’s Range”. The couple had a notorious reputation and perished in 1750, leaving their 10-year-old son, John, and 13-year-old daughter Elizabeth destitute.

John Linstid Sr. served in bondage to a weaver until he was 21, but owned Randall’s Range and paid taxes on it from 1759 to 1771 and again in 1774 before disappearing temporarily from the records. It is theorized he was a Loyalist who fled to England during the Revolution. He is buried in the Boone-Linstead graveyard. This account is substantiated by George Acre, associate editor of the book “Linstead on the Severn, A History”.

Joseph McCubbin purchased the land in 1774, transferring it to a daughter, Dorcas, and her husband, William Hammond, in 1806. It was renamed Cedar Neck. The Hammonds apparently acquired the adjoining grants, but in doing so overextended themselves. In 1817, the 227-acre property was put up for auction and purchased by the John Linstid, Jr., Linstid Sr.’s son, returning the property to the family.

Two years later, Linstid Jr.’s son George inherited it. At his death, in 1856, the working farm was divided into three 91.5 acre lots for his three children, one of which went to Elizabeth Linstid Boone, wife of Thomas Boone.

In Boone farm’s early years, a modest farmhouse served the family. In 1852, School No. 14 (Boone School) opened at the present site of Severna Park Elementary School. Around 1853, the Boone homestead was constructed. The lovely antebellum house serves today as Severn School’s Alumni House.

The homestead overlooked fields of fruits, vegetables and grain. The family is known to have maintained slaves. Neighbors were distant and amenities few. To obtain supplies, attend church, or mediate legal problems, they had to travel to Annapolis via horse-drawn vehicles.

Growth came slowly. An 1860’s map of the county’s Third District shows farmsteads bearing names prominent today – Linstid, Robinson, Tydings, Gray, Stallings, Pumphrey, Stinchcomb, Giddings and Hopkins.

Century’s end brought the area’s first church, Piney Grove Methodist, and the nearby Earleigh Heights Post Office. Necessities could be bought at Boone’s Store built and operated by Tom Boone.

Significant change occurred in 1896, when the Boones sold a strip of land to the Annapolis & Baltimore’s Short Line Railroad. Trains soon brought passengers and goods from Camden Station in Baltimore to Bladen Street in Annapolis. By 1906, Boone Railroad Station had opened and the community’s name was official.

Commerce boomed. Julius Grotsky completed a four-story building that sold groceries, feed and fuel and became Boone’s first post office.

Summer vacationers followed, flooding the trains enroute to holiday destinations on the Severn and Magothy. A hotel resort at Round Bay created a sensation.

Far-sighted developers capitalized on the trend. In June and July of 1906, The Severn Realty Company of Baltimore acquired portions of the former Boone and Linstid properties, subdivided them, and sold the lots for vacation homes. The company’s young lawyer, Oscar Hatton, moved to Boone and founded a “park” at the beach, constructed water and electric facilities, and served as judge and justice of the peace.

Still, there were only about a dozen houses when Roland M. Teel opened Severn School in a rented house on Springdale Avenue in 1914. At age 80, Teel reminisced and noting that the community was then referred to as Boone or The Park and that Benfield Road was just a dirt road.

Though small, Boone was not isolated from world events as demonstrated by a letter to Severn School from concerned father H. G. Peddle, President of J. Frank Shull Company in Philadelphia.

“In anticipation of the new draft law, I suppose Frank could register in Boone just as well as New Jersey”. The letter went on to inquire if tuition would be refunded if Frank was called for duty in World War I.

In the 1920’s, summer cottage residents fished, gorged themselves on local produce and partied hard spreading their cash among Boone’s farms and merchants. Forerunners of the county’s renowned “truck farms” shipped fresh meats, fruits and vegetables to Baltimore and business opportunities abounded.

Erman O. “Lanny” Dill’s grandfather, Edward O. Dill, cruised to Cypress Creek from Baltimore on his boat in 1915 and discovered a 100-year-old farmhouse on 16 acres which he purchased from Thomas A. Brown.

Edward started the family’s plumbing business in 1925.

“Upon hearing where Dill Plumbing began, people assumed Boone was somewhere in the sticks in Western Maryland,” Lanny Dill noted. “It was in the sticks alright, but it was right here in Severna Park”.

Boone never did shed its image as a rustic backwater. Despite new stores, churches and a new rail station, its rural origins remained. A new chapter with a refined name, “Severna Park”, began on June 16, 1925.

We’ll have that chapter for you in an upcoming column, outlining the progress and changes that took Severna Park from small town to established suburb by the year 2000.

Parenting for a Different World to host “Happiness Hour” Friday

Parenting for a Different World is hosting a free event this Friday, January 19th, to encourage teens and adults to practice healthy relaxation and coping skills.  It’s the organization’s alternative to a happy hour. Called “Happiness Hour”, the event will be held at the Yoga Barn from 5:00 – 6:00 PM.  

Valerie Smith, who shared this news with us, describes Parenting for a Different World as a local, grassroots non-profit organization offering free programming and resources for families to help youth thrive.

“We’ll devote one short hour to starting your weekend with blissful stretches, meditative breathing and healthy lifestyle tips,” Smith said. “We’ll have the fun of building vision boards and talk about setting goals and finding ways to achieve those goals while maintaining balance.”

The free “Happiness Hour” event is open to middle-schoolers through adults. The Yoga Barn is located at 44 Earleigh Heights Road. Attendees are invited to bring their mat if they have one and to bring magazine clippings of interest for the vision boards. For information or to register, visit PDWorld.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

When it’s raining, snowing or just plain cold, there is nothing like a bowl of soup to warm one up. Thanks to Good Neighbors Group’s seventh annual S(o)uper Bowl of Caring food drive, many families in need will be able to put soup – and much more – on their tables.

According to Good Neighbors Group founder and executive director Julie Shay, the 2024 S(o)uper Bowl food drive is well underway with 42 neighborhoods across Anne Arundel County participating and possibly more.

“We’re also adding an additional food pantry this year – bringing the total to six recipients of the foods donated,” Shay said. “The one we’re adding is St. Luke’s Episcopal Church food pantry in Eastport.”

Equally pleased to add a new food pantry, S(o)uper Bowl 24 Coordinator, Kathie Hamlett, reeled off the names of the other five pantries which include SPAN, ACAN, Celestial Manna, My Brother’s Pantry, and the Anne Arundel County Food Bank.

Well before Shay started GNG’s S(o)uper Bowl food drives, we’d attended one smaller SOUPER BOWL drive by a youth group at a local church and we’d heard of others. So we were curious where the idea for a winter food drive originated.

Research reveals that the Souper Bowl of Caring phenomenon began in 1990 with a simple prayer by seminary intern Brad Smith while leading a small youth group at Spring Valley Presbyterian Church in Columbia, SC.

“Lord, even as we enjoy the Super Bowl football game, help us be mindful of those who are without a bowl of soup to eat,” Smith prayed.

His prayer inspired the desire to channel the energy and enthusiasm of Super Bowl weekend – a time when people come together for football, food and fun – to raise money for those not so fortunate. Thus, was born the national Souper Bowl of Caring movement.

The concept behind the earliest drive, launched by 22 South Carolina churches, was that individuals and groups could collect dollars in soup pots and canned food for those in need and send every dollar and food donation directly to a local charity of their choice.

Shay loved that idea and launched Good Neighbors Group’s first S(o)uper Bowl food drive in 2018. Though smaller in number of neighborhoods involved, the first drive was quite successful. The annual initiative grew by leaps and bounds. By 2023, GNG had 56 neighborhoods participating with 11 new ones rivaling their best year since starting the drive.

“The amount of food collected was enormous and exceeded previous totals. We collected 18,000 items and helped fill the food pantry shelves of all our recipient charities,” said Shay.

Both Shay and Hamlett are pleased that the food drive seems to bring neighbors and their neighborhoods closer together as the years have gone by. They love that so many children are involved because the kids get so much enjoyment from helping.

According to Hamlett, each neighborhood has a captain who is responsible for collecting all the donated items at their home or, if the neighborhood is a larger one, at other designated drop off places. They also keep a tally of items donated and award points for each item. Once collected, the captains and/or helpers must transport the donations to one of the six charities depending on which one their neighborhood is assigned. The drop-offs happen over a three-day period from February 8th thru 11th, Super Bowl Sunday.

To make the food drive more fun, there is a casual competition among the neighborhoods with prizes awarded for three categories. One prize is awarded for the neighborhood with the largest volume of items donated, another is for the highest percentage of homes donating in a neighborhood, and a third is for the neighborhood for the biggest increase in donations from the previous year.

“We have neighborhoods signing up all the time and we have room for more. So I’d just like to remind everyone that, if they know of any community that would like to join our effort, they can sign up through our website Home – Good Neighbors Group,” said Hamlett.

Good Neighbors Group’s immediate focus for the New Year is threefold. In addition to the all-important S(o)uper Bowl 2024, GNG will hold blood drives every other month with times and dates noted on the website. Thirdly, the organization’s 22nd Annual Earth Day Festival will be held April 27 from 10 am till 2 pm at Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company at the corner of Ritchie Highway and Magothy Bridge Road.

 Meantime, keep your eye peeled for ever-on-the-go Julie Shay whether at a GNG Pop-Up Shop at Park Home or BD Provisions, working on one of GNG’s Rogue Gardeners’ projects, or at the Earth Day Celebration. You’ll find whatever she’s doing to be fun and fulfilling.

• 

• 

Theater In The Park musical “Newsies” onstage at AACC’s Kauffman Theater

We hear from Theater In The Park founder Jennifer Lee Kraus that teen, junior and mixteen productions of the musical “Newsies, Jr.” continue this evening through January 14. For tickets, visit Theater in the Park – Home (onthestage.tickets).

Kraus also described a Musical Theater Dance Class that promises lots of mid-winter fun for kids 9 through 16. The classes will be held each Thursday through March 14th from 6:30 to 8 pm at Boone Station Hall at the Severna Park Community Center.

Students will be familiarized with the structure/routine of a dance class and learn tools that help them become stronger dancers. They’ll dance to songs of different genres from some of their favorite movie musicals like Teen Beach Movie, Newsies, and Mean Girls as well as numbers from Disney movies. For information visit Musical Theater DANCE Workshop – Musical Theater Workshop for Kids (theaterinthepark.net).

A Pajama Party benefitting Chrysalis House….. Talk about midwinter fun!

Ladies, this one’s for you. On Wednesday, January 24th you are invited to join a la mode intimates at 2444 Solomons Island Road to a Pajama Party from 2 to 7 pm. The unique women’s boutique hopes you will join them for an evening of laughter, connection and the joy of giving back. Your presence and contribution will make a meaningful difference in the lives of women living at Chrysalis House, a safe place for women struggling with substance abuse to get the support needed to recover.

Well known for their fashionable lingerie, a la mode intimates will be offering complimentary bra fittings throughout the event. There will be refreshments by Theresa Kurtz, Realtor, wine tasting by The Wine Concierge. Best of all, the only cost for attending the benefit is your gift of pajamas, socks, camis, or other night apparel. You may RSVP by text to Theresa at 443-254-1042 by January 22.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

Chatting with Walk The Walk Foundation’s director Nicole Dolan on January 2, one could clearly see how delighted she was to show off a handwritten thank you note from a family who’d received a delivery of Christmas presents from the organization.

From Walk The Walk Foundation’s beginnings almost two decades ago, its Gifts for Children initiative at Christmas has been its most important program. In fact, the organization was founded in 2005 by Severna Park residents Dave and Kim Mitchell to honor the memory of a child they lost during the holidays.

It began with Kim wanting to buy a Christmas gift for a child the same age the son they lost would have been. She reached out to an aunt who was a school principal in a small, impoverished West Virginia town. Along with friends eager to help them, the Mitchell’s were able to buy gifts for 60 children. The couple continued helping kids in West Virginia but realized there were needy children in their own backyard and people willing to help. So they expanded their efforts to cover Anne Arundel County and established their non-profit.

By the time Dolan and her husband Jeff took over the leadership of Walk The Walk Foundation in 2022, the Gifts for Children program was able to provide Christmas gifts for the families of 300 children.

Hoping to expand the program, the Dolans set their sights higher for Christmas 2023. Even so, donations for the Gifts for Children program exceeded their wildest expectations.

WTWF donors provided gifts for over 600 Anne Arundel County children.

“We’ve been doing this for many, many years now,” Dolan said. “We partner primarily with the county’s Department of Social Services‘ holiday program which identifies the families in need for us. We then request names, sizes and other information for each child in each of the families and pass that information on to people who volunteer to be donors. The donors buy gifts for the kids and deliver them to us for distribution.”

Dolan further explained that Walk The Walk Foundation partners with non-profit Opportunity Builders, Inc. in Millersville to lease a large warehouse space where donors bring their gifts.

Delivery day for 2023 was December 11th – a very busy day for WTWF volunteers as they accepted the giftsand arranged them in pre-numbered spaces to be picked up for delivery.

The volunteers were very careful in keeping track of the gifts. Depending on how many children were in a family there might be one, two, three or four boxes so they had their work cut out for them. Aided by College Hunks Hauling Junk (Annapolis), many of the gifts were delivered to other organizations (including Annapolis Area Christian School and Bell Grove Elementary School in North County) for families from those areas to pick up.

Getting feedback from the families and children who received the gifts was exceptionally rewarding for Nicole and Jeff Dolan, all the volunteers and the donors.

“One of the things I love about our program is that we incorporate a couple of special things,” Nicole said. “First, we invite the families who come to pick up their gifts to bring a small donation of their own…like a package of baby wipes or baby lotion, for example, so they can feel like they are helping in their own way. In addition, every family receives a Christmas card and an ornament from Walk The Walk Foundation. In the card they’ll find a smaller thank-you card and self-addressed envelope back to us. Families are also provided a number where they can text us a thank-you or a photo that we can share with those who donated their gifts. It’s wonderful to hear back from them.”

The need at Christmas time has always been great across Anne Arundel County but, because the foundation has perfected what they do, they’ve increased their capacity to serve more children. They tend to focus on kids in areas where they can have distribution through partners like Annapolis Area Christian School because they know that needy families struggle with transportation.

It seems that 2023 was a success for Walk The Walk Foundation in every way. While a banner year for its signature Gifts for Children program, its other ongoing programs did well too. Not to be overlooked, a WTWF team participated in last year’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge Run to raise funds. They also began the holiday season by capturing third place competing against other local non-profits decorating Christmas trees at South Anne Arundel County Rotary Club’s 10th Annual Lights of Kindness celebration at Homestead Gardens in Davidsonville.

As 2024 begins, there is good news for the Dolans and the Walk The Walk Foundation supporters. They have been so successful that they’ve outgrown the temporary warehouse space they have been using and are preparing to move into a bigger space.

Otherwise, it’s business as usual. The organization continues to serve as a Diaper Bank year-round supplying 15 organizations with an exact number of diapers to distribute every month. Volunteers come in on a regular schedule to repackage the diapers into packs of 25.

As we head toward warm weather, Nicole and husband Jeff, as the numbers and logistics guy, will be working on plans for WTWF’s annual School Backpack Drive and Backpack Packing events. Last year they raised donations for and filled 1,500 backpacks that were distributed to 30 different schools. They hope to better that number in 2024. As you might guess, volunteers are always welcome. If you would like to volunteer or make a donation, you can visit Nonprofit Organization | Walk the Walk Foundation | Annapolis MD (wtwf.org).

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.