AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
As always, Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi’s owners Nancy and Billy Greer ended their annual three-month Silent Auction with a Holiday Party. This year’s auction benefitting wheelchair basketball team, the Memphis Rollin’ Grizzlies, took place from October through the second week of December and officially ended during the party at 4 pm on December 14th. According to tradition, the moment was celebrated with a group photo.
Jing Ying Institute has held the Silent Auction for more than 15 years contributing the money raised to 10 organizations. They’ve made significant contributions via sponsorships to other groups as well. The Institute’s monetary contributions have amounted to almost $162,000 over time, and their in-kind donations (baskets & gift certificates to other silent auctions/fundraisers) add up, conservatively, to around $75,000 Nancy Greer noted.
“We began by hosting the yearly Silent Auctions as a benefit for SPAN, Inc. and raised $50,000 for that organization alone,” Greer said. “However, we eventually realized that other local organizations needed our help and we’ve subsequently done them for Partners In Care, Good Neighbors Group, the YWCA camps and the Burnie House among others. This year, for the first time, we’ve chosen to benefit the Memphis Rollin’s Grizzlies’ Youth Basketball Team, an organization that is not local but one that is very important and dear to our hearts.”
When Billy Greer’s youngest brother, Al, was nine years old, he and his mother Aura were in a car that was hit by a drunk driver. Al was paralyzed from the waist down. As one can imagine, his life was dramatically changed. In 1982, he started playing wheelchair basketball and it made a huge difference in his life. He moved to Memphis in 1998 and started playing with the Memphis Grizzlies Wheelchair Basketball Team in 2010, becoming head coach in 2016. Now in his mid-fifties, Al coaches both adults and youth, ages 6 to 18.
The Greer’s were inspired to support the team through the Silent Auction after attending the Rollin’ Grizzlies’ playoffs in Memphis earlier this year. They found the players’ level of skill amazing and the games very competitive and exciting.
The team’s youth program started two years ago, and that’s where Jing Ying Institute’s focus is. The program’s mission is to improve the quality of life for adults and youth with spinal cord and lower extremity disabilities and to advocate for disability inclusion in all aspects of society.
As is true of every Silent Auction for charity, the response to this one from individuals, organizations and community businesses has been amazing. There were tables of auction items set up on the main floor opposite the areas reserved for the party.
Auction items also occupied the second-floor area where workshops are usually held. We saw lots of great donations there from local businesses like Side Street Framers & Gift Gallery, Whimsicality, Savvy, and Fieldstone Animal Inn.
We ran into Alex Galamore and son Oak there. Oak had earlier completed and won his first sash. The youngster was somewhat intrigued by a 1929 Travel Air Mystery Ship Model B Airplane Bank.
Having gotten underway at 2 pm, the holiday party was in full swing with Christmas carols playing in the background. Jing Ying students are a fairly tight-knit group, so the party felt somewhat like a family gathering. Though people continued checking out the Silent Auction tables, most were helping themselves to a tasty buffet of homemade food, much of which was contributed by the students.
Tables were set up here, there and everywhere and people migrated to them forming casual conversation groups.
New students Holly Gue and daughter Gabby were delighted when joined by longtime Kung Fu students Christy Karnes and son Aidan who had seen them in class and come over to ask how they felt they are doing.
Holly, who’d contributed some awesome turkey meatballs to the buffet, said she and Gabby had joined the family Kung Fu class just a month ago, but they’d already seen some beneficial changes. Though the class is an hour long, a large portion is devoted to stretching, both feel they are more flexible because of that. Gabby, in eighth grade at Rockbridge Academy, pointed out that Kung Fu is very rigorous.
“Sometimes it’s hard keeping up with the rest of the class,” Holly admitted.
Christy Karnes noted that she started Kung Fu when she was 48 and did well, earning four sashes before injuring her ACL and easing up a bit. Aidan, a junior at Archbishop Spalding High School, has made excellent progress earning multiple sashes.
The fun continued to build as Melissa Wittke’s casual shoulder massage turned into a group endeavor that was a lot of laughs for the participants and those who watched.
Just as the microphones went live and Nancy Greer announced that there were only three minutes left for bids to come in, we met longtime student Wendy Ng & her husband Bruce Norris. Between them, the couple placed quite a few Silent Auction bids. Both are in their seventies and come to class regularly from their home in Elkridge.
“We enjoy class and many of Jing Ying Institute’s activities,” Ng said. “But we also believe Kung Fu is important to keep our joints moving and retain our muscle memory. I think of it as toning if you want to learn how to use your body well.”
At the stroke of 4 pm, the Silent Auction ended and bid winners were being announced. We were unable to stay for much longer but, by the time we left, Wendy Ng had already won two bids.
One of the last of an absolute flurry of annual holiday festivities in the Severna Park and Arnold areas, Jing Ying Institute’s silent auction will have a long-lasting effect in sustaining the efforts of Al Greer and the Memphis Rollin’s Grizzlies youth programs. Not only do those programs offer a physical outlet for youngsters with disabilities. They also push each other to take on new challenges, try new things and offer support through the ups and downs of life.
Around The Park Again looks forward to the New Year and keeping our readers abreast of local news.
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.
