Judging from the overflow of Easter boxes surrounding Michele Sabean on the floor of her office at SPAN, Inc. headquarters at 400 Benfield Road, the Easter Bunny was one busy hare.
“Actually, we’ve had 100 ‘bunnies’ in the form of generous donors providing Easter dinners for 100 families served by SPAN,” Sabean said. “Each box or bag contains the makings for a nice dinner and a gift card for perishables like a ham along with chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Easter peeps or other treats for children. Some boxes also contain useful items like diapers that are always in high demand.”
Sabean, SPAN’s Director of Development, and Maia Grabau, the Director of Operations, spent the past two weeks shifting bags and boxes from table to floor as more and more donations poured in. By Monday, they’d become even busier as families began stopping by to pick up their Easter boxes.
According to Sabean, the Easter dinner initiative is a lesser-known part of SPAN’s Holiday Caring Program that is supported primarily by the congregations of Our Lady of the Fields Roman Catholic Church for the dinner boxes and St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church for Easter baskets. There were other donors, however. Some were former clients “giving back for the help they received by helping others”.
Looking beyond Easter, both Sabean and Grabau are excited by upcoming programs and events. In fact, they are currently looking for volunteers to help with the relaunch of the annual Turkey Trot 5K at Kinder Farm Park in November following an absence of two years due to COVID 19. The annual fundraiser – SPAN’s biggest – is not only coming back on Saturday, November 5 but will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary.
The race around the park’s 2.8 mile paved perimeter trail is very popular with runners from around the county. There is also a 1-mile walk around a special loop better suited to families with children. Having the course loop back to the starting point means kids who move at different speeds can’t really get lost.
“The 5K is great as a fundraiser since SPAN collects registration fees from the competitors and also receives sponsorships from local businesses,” Sabean said.
Spectators are encouraged to cheer the competitors on from multiple points along the course or at the finish line. After the race, there are sponsors’ tables to visit and refreshments to sample.
Anyone wishing to volunteer for the Turkey Trot 5K can visit the website at SPAN Serving People Across Neighborhoods (spanhelps.org) or by contacting the office at 410-647-0889.
Almost back to its normal schedule, SPAN, Inc. already has a loyal group of volunteers to help with other programs and events. They’ll have a booth at The Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber’s May 7th SHOP LOCAL Fun Fiesta on May 7. On July 4th, they’ll march in the Severna Park Independence Day Parade with their shopping carts.
On September 10th, SPAN will present a cabaret benefit concert featuring a return performance by popular vocalist Laurette Hankins-O’Connell at Boone Station Hall. In October, SPAN will have a booth at the chamber’s SHOPTOBERFEST and, of course, will be staging the Turkey Trot 5K in November. By then, SPAN will already have kicked off its Holiday Caring Programs for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The contributions of donors for the Holiday Caring Programs take on added importance this year. Not unexpectedly, Grabau and Sabean have noticed that the number of clients asking for financial assistance or help from SPAN’s food pantry has risen as inflation has soared.
According to Sabean, a client who came in earlier mentioned that her family was happy if they could manage the cost of the bare necessities, but she was asking for toilet tissue and toiletries, paper towels, and other necessities that are hard to afford.
She and Grabau are crossing their fingers that inflation doesn’t hamper the ability of their donors to contribute to SPAN and its food pantry. Funds are particularly needed to help with client evictions and medical and utility bills.
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A job well-done for the Easter Bunny at Lisa’s Cakepops
A sigh of relief was heard from the Lisa’s Cakepops bunnies (aka Lisa, her husband Glen and their staff) as the last of 14,000 bunny, chick and egg cakepops were shipped off. Founder and owner Lisa Edelman Schneiderman has seen her business boom over the last few years both locally and nationally. The company was simultaneously marketing Easter Cakepop Decorating Kits that are a hit with children.
From the moment she opened Lisa’s Cakepops, Schneiderman had great success with the custom-made pops she’s specializes in. Thanks to the amazing creativity of Lisa, Glen and staff, ecommerce sales for their customized pops (which began in 2017) were doing very well. That’s before the Schneidermans began working closely with two Maryland-based catalogue companies with national distribution.
In spite of the recent Easter rush, Lisa commented that she and Glen were feeling somewhat refreshed.
“We never take any time off but after the heaviest Christmas and Easter seasons we’ve experienced, we were at the end of our ropes,” Lisa said. “We took a couple weeks off and had time to enjoy ourselves and think about things. And now I’m feeling excited and looking forward to spring with its graduations and weddings. I’m also pleased that we’re now creating pops featuring company logos. We’re doing tons of them. ”
Glen, who emerged from the kitchen, was working with a staff member on several different varieties of cakepops that would fill the top shelves of the showcase. He, too, was happy to be back to work.
For information on Lisa’s Cakepops or to place an order, visit Lisa’s Cakepops (lisascakepops.com).
AAUW hosts Maryland branches in celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Title IX
The Anne Arundel County Branch of the American Association of University Women recently held a statewide convention at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Annapolis. AAUW members from nine branches around the state attended. The event celebrated the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.
Title IX is the law that ensures that all education programs and activities receiving federal funding must protect students and employees from sex-based discrimination.
Speakers included two-time Olympiad Nancy Hogshead-Makar and Title IX expert Sara Colina, a professor at Georgetown University. Afterward, attendees toured the State House and dined at Latitude 38.
For information on the Anne Arundel County branch of the American Association of University Women, visit AAUW Anne Arundel County (MD) Branch.
