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
Wrapping up their Holiday Caring Program only days before Christmas, SPAN, Inc. directors Maia Grabau and Michelle Sabean were rushing to gather some food, a gift item and a few gift certificates for a holiday dinner for a last-minute call from family in need.
“Our official donor gift drop off day at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church took place almost two weeks ago and the Christmas gifts/Christmas dinner items were already distributed,” said Grabau.
“But every year, we get calls asking for gifts up to the day we close. We just had calls from two different moms with five children each who hadn’t signed up for the Holiday Caring Program but could afford no presents for their families and hoped we could help.”
Grabau had fortunately held back some grocery and Walmart gift certificates donated by member churches and she and Sabean were putting them together with a few items from the pantry.
December 23rd would see the end of a very successful year for SPAN and the beginning of a promising 2025.
As Director of Development Sabean, had spearheaded the organization’s second biggest fundraiser, the Twelfth Annual Stride for SPAN Turkey Trot 5K or One Mile Fun Walk at Kinder Farm Park on November 2nd which was a wonderful success.
“We’d taken a pause due to the pandemic but had built the program back up over the last three years, raising more money and attracting more participants,” she said. “We raised close to $20,000 this year thanks to our sponsors including major supporter Severna Park Automotive and more than two dozen other community businesses and organizations.”
As Director of Operations, Grabau organizes SPAN’s Holiday Caring Programs for Thanksgiving and Christmas matching donors with families needing help. Normally, between 150 and 200 families learn about the program through schools or Social Services and sign up for the program. This year, several of the organization’s member churches, including Severna Park United Methodist Church, Baldwin United Methodist Church, Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, Trinity Bible Church, Asbury United Methodist Church and some individual donors took on extra families. (In addition, Baldwin United Methodist Church donated $2,600 worth of grocery and Walmart gift certificates and Severna Park United Methodist Church provided a large number of Target gift certificates to supplement donations.)
“Those churches’ generosity enabled us to provide a Christmas meal and gifts for 500 children belonging to 200 families,” Grabau said.
Both women said they and SPAN’s volunteers have been very, very busy recently considering that the economy is in such sad shape.
According to Sabean, the organization is totally self-sustaining and reliant on financial donations from individuals, local businesses and churches willing to help.
“For the past two years, donations made it possible for us to provide more than 2.5 times the amount of emergency financial assistance we do in a typical year,” Sabean said. “On average SPAN gives about $100,000 in financial assistance a year. In 2023, SPAN provided over $287,600 in financial disbursements. The need for emergency financial assistance increased dramatically recently and we’ve had to lower the maximum amount we can distribute to clients needing financial assistance.”
“Many more people are asking for help with utility turnoffs. Unfortunately, they owe much more money than in past years – up to $1,000 per family. We are unable to provide that large a disbursement. Therefore, these families (already stressed by job layoffs, illness or other problems) must go to more than one social services agency to raise the full amount.”
Sabean added that SPAN’s directors and Board are working hard to raise more money from fundraisers and donations but it’s hard to keep up. (Six percent of Anne Arundel County residents are below the poverty line and many others are in a category with the acronym ALICE (Asset Limited Income Constraint Employed), so those folks are basically living from paycheck to paycheck.)
Moving ahead though, the New Year looks promising. At the moment the SPAN food pantry is well-stocked. The busiest time for receiving pantry donations is between autumn and March thanks to large donations from various organizations’ food drives like Good Neighbors Group’s S(O)UPER BOWL of CARING initiative.
A “Sing In The New Year” benefit concert starring Kate Caldwell and Max Ochs is being held, Sunday, January 12th at 4 pm at Boone Station Hall and should be a lot of fun. As it happened, guitarist, singer and songwriter Caldwell was visiting SPAN at the time of our visit and shared some details about the concert.
A Severna Park resident since 1979, as is Ochs, Caldwell was well acquainted with SPAN, Inc. having known the organization’s founders. She met Max Ochs for the first time last spring when he attended a concert she performed at St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Church. The two got on famously and decided it would be nice to do something together – perhaps a benefit concert to would help others.
“We decided on SPAN, Inc. as the benefactor of our concert and Boone Station Hall as the performance venue. (We both admire the hall’s amazing acoustics.) Since Max and I love to do music that involves a lot of people singing, we’d invite the audience to sing in the New Year with us on some numbers,” Caldwell said. “We’ll perform a variety of folk favorites that people enjoy singing along with as well as originals and blues. We’ll have a reception afterwards.”
Caldwell had Ochs on speed dial and called him for his input. A finger-style guitarist and song writer, the long-time Severna Park resident is well-known for being associated with the Anne Arundel County Conflict Resolution Center and several anti-poverty programs. Thus, he’s had an opportunity to interact with many charitable organizations, including SPAN which he’s long admired. Both singers enjoy helping others through the music and other activities.
“I’m delighted to be able to do the benefit concert with Kate, especially since we’ll be donating every cent to SPAN,” he said.
According to Kate, there is no official ticket price but a suggested donation of $20 would be appreciated.
The most exciting thing about what’s ahead for Sabean and Grabau is that SPAN, Inc. will celebrate its 35th Anniversary throughout 2025.
“We put off celebrating our 30th Anniversary which occurred in 2020 during the pandemic so we’ll be having two wonderful events to celebrate our 35th,” Sabean said. “We’ll be holding an official Anniversary Ceremony in the sanctuary at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church on April 1st. Then, on Saturday, April 5th, we’re holding a huge birthday party on the parking lot of Severna Park United Methodist Church.”
She added that she and Grabau are looking for photos and memories of SPAN from all those who’ve come in contact with SPAN over the years. People are invited to send their photos and memories through Facebook , Instagram or email at spanhelps@yahoo.com.
We look forward to joining the 35th Anniversary celebrations and to contributing some memories and photographs of our own.
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.
