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.
