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The Ladies of Charity Calvert County, Inc. (LOC) is a 501 (c) (3) organization incorporated in the State of Maryland. Our members are women primarily from Catholic parishes in Calvert County who are dedicated to the mission of serving Christ by serving those in need. Currently, we have 98 members who dedicate themselves to a variety of ministries, including a busy food pantry. We welcome interested women – Catholic and non-Catholic alike — to join our Association, to share the gift of their time and talents, and to experience the joy of sharing in our mission.
As the organization has grown in members and in donations, we have added ministries to the primary ministry, which is the Food Pantry. As of 2022, we have the following ministries:
- Operate a community Food Pantry that is open on every Tuesday, as well as the 2nd Wednesday evening and the last Saturday of each month
- Provide personal care items not eligible for food stamp usage to Food Pantry clients
- Distribute groceries once per month at the Senior apartments in North Beach
- Provide and pack weekend meals for food-insecure children at Windy Hill Elementary School
- Provide and pack weekend meals for food-insecure children at Windy Hill Middle School
- Provide food for holiday meals to Pantry clients (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter) which are packed and distributed by parish volunteers
- Provide backpacks and school supplies for children in the homes of Pantry clients
- Organize and distribute Christmas gifts for children in the homes of Pantry clients
- Provide personal items and food to residents of the Calvert Nursing Center 4 times per year
- Provide limited emergency financial assistance to clients and members of our local community
- Encourage high school age girls to participate in Junior Ladies of Charity activities
- Actively support St. Anthony’s Parish ministries and community outreach including Prayer Shawl Ministry, Project Echo Homeless Shelter, and Birthright of Prince Frederick
- Promote, support, and collaborate with other local Catholic service organizations including Catholic Charities, Parish Partners, Calvert Council of the Knights of Columbus (based out of St Anthony’s parish), and St. Katherine Drexel Conference of the St Vincent de Paul Society (based out of Jesus the Divine Word’s parish)
- Network with, partner with, and support other community and religious groups to enhance and advance our ministry to serve the poor
Ministry Statistics for the Year 2023
- Four times a year, residents in the Calvert Nursing Center receive gift tote bags. So far this year they have received:
— Valentine’s Day 125 residents received gift bags consisting of a valentine card, small valentine stuffed bear, body lotion, chap stick, valentine shaped pretzels and goldfish snacks
Ministry Statistics for the Year 2022
- We provided Easter meals to 233 families, Thanksgiving meals to 258 families
- 245,000 pounds of food were distributed to 509 unique families who made a total of 3,948 visits
- 171 backpacks filled with school supplies were given to children in Pantry client households
- Four times a year 120 residents in the Calvert Nursing Center receive gift tote bags. So far this year they have received:
— Valentine’s Day they received gift bags consisting of candy and Chap Stick
— Spring they received gift bags consisting of body lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush, word find books, pens, pads, and snacks
— In August we delivered 124 Goodie Bags containing body wash and body lotion, American flags, sunglasses, foldable red, white, and blue baseball caps, handheld fans, pretzels and goldfish crackers
–For Christmas, we delivered 124 gift bags that contained a Christmas card, a blanket, fuzzy socks, body lotion, a calendar, a word search book, pens, note pads, chap stick, and snacks - 30 people in Northern Calvert County were given financial assistance for rent, utilities and prescriptions
Ministry Statistics for the Year 2021
- We provided Easter meals to 169 families, Thanksgiving meals to 246 families, and Christmas meals to 252 families.
- 201,892 pounds of food were distributed to 442 unique families who made a total of 3,831 visits
- 141 backpacks filled with school supplies were given to children in Pantry client households
- Four times this year 120 residents in the Calvert Nursing Center received gift tote bags:
— Valentine’s Day they received gift bags consisting of candy and Chap Stick
— Spring they received gift bags consisting of body wash, body lotion, sunglasses, pens, pads and snacks
— July 4th, they received gift bags consisting of body wash, body lotion, baseball caps for men, visors for women, word find books, small American flags, and fruit cups
— Christmas, they received gift bags consisting of body wash, body lotion, fuzzy socks, Chap Stick, and snacks, and from the Prayer Shawl Ministry they received shawls for the women and lap blankets for the men - 169 children in pantry client households each received Christmas gifts
- 30 people in Northern Calvert County were given financial assistance for rent, utilities and prescriptions