The Ladies of Charity Calvert County are celebrating 55 years of service to the community!
On May 18 on Ascension Thursday in 1968, the Ladies of Charity of St. Anthony’s was formed to help the poor in the community. 24 Ladies joined and started a clothing store to raise funds for the poor. About 40 years ago, the Food Pantry became the primary ministry. Over the years, we have increased the number of clients, the amount of food we distribute and the number of active volunteers. Thank you for your support!
Join Us Monday, May 1 at Plaza Mexico Fund Raiser
First Step! Pantry Soil Testing
State of MD Bond Issue Grant
THIS IS A REPOST BECAUSE WE INADVERTENTLY LEFT OUT SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION IN THE RUSH TO POST. A BIG THANK YOU GOES TO MAYOR PAT MAHONEY FOR INTRODUCING US TO SENATOR MICHAEL JACKSON. MAYOR PAT THEN BROUGHT THE SENATOR TO THE FOOD PANTRY TO SEE OUR OPERATION. THE REST IS HISTORY!
GREAT NEWS!!! Thank you, Senator Jackson!
For the last few months, we have been reporting on the State of MD Bond Issue Grant. This was sponsored by State Senator Michael Jackson in the amount of $265,000 for our Pantry Rebuild. Today we learned that Senator Jackson announced that we were awarded the $265,000!
This was included in a long list of news items from Senator Jackson’s office:
The Ladies of Charity Food Pantry in North Beach was awarded $265,000 in capital funding to help build and expand a new facility to better serve those facing food insecurity in North Beach, Chesapeake Beach, and throughout portions of Calvert County and all of Southern Maryland.
Thank you to all who have been praying for funding for our Pantry Rebuild and thank you to Senator Jackson. You may remember that the Senator has a special affinity for the Ladies of Charity because his mother was a Lady of Charity and he volunteered with her.
Also thank you to Father John Enzler, the outgoing CEO of Catholic Charities, who suggested that we pursue a bond Issue grant.
Peggy McKelly
Co-Chair of Fundraising
Dolores Marinaccio Project Spring 2023
The Ladies of Charity provide gift bags once per quarter for the residents of the Calvert Nursing Center in Prince Frederick. For our Spring delivery we packed and delivered 123 gifts bags to the Center. The bags contained a Spring card handmade by our Cathy Wright and her five grandchildren, a Spring blessing pin, body lotion, a word search book, a pen, a note pad, chap stick, and snacks. Also, the purpose for providing goodie bags, or care packages, to the residents at Calvert Nursing Center is to let them know they are being thought of, especially those without family.
Easter Distribution April 2023
The Ladies of Charity provide meals to our pantry clients for Easter which are packed and distributed by our volunteers (see the video above). We distributed 183 meals to our pantry clients and 40 meals to our senior apartments.
Lenten Food Drive March 2023
The Ladies of Charity held its annual Lenten Food Drive in March this year (see the video above). The parishioners were most generous and donated 2,343 pounds of food and $6,508. Thank you!
Induction Ceremony For Our New Members
Our annual ceremony was held on March 11, 2023, to induct our newest members. We wish to welcome them to the Ladies of Charity of Calvert County. Thank you for joining us!
Food for the Poor and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Food Drive
A total of 213 cases of food were picked up in Indian Head on Friday. Some were shared with other food ministries in Calvert County, but the Ladies of Charity received over 3,000 lbs. of food which is now all neatly tucked away on site thanks to the MANY helping hands (Ladies of Charity, Knights of Columbus, and family members) who came out to help.
Thank You to the Town of North Beach!
Great news and DRUM ROLL! Mayor Mike Benton, from the Town North Beach, presented to the Ladies of Charity, Calvert County a check in the amount of $10,490.16 for our pantry rebuild. This money comes from the proceeds of the 2023 North Beach Polar Bear Plunge. Thank you, Mayor Benton, and all those who supported this year’s event.
Calvert Nursing Center Ministry Valentine Delivery
The Ladies of Charity provide gift bags once per quarter for the residents of the Calvert Nursing Center in Prince Frederick. For our Valentine delivery we packed and delivered 125 gifts bags to the Center. The bags contained a valentine card, small valentine stuff bear, body lotion, chap stick, and valentine shaped pretzels and goldfish snacks. Also, the purpose for providing goodie bags, or care packages, to the residents at Calvert Nursing Center is to let them know they are being thought of, especially those without family.
Farewell to Dolores Marinaccio
The Ladies of Charity would like to thank and bid farewell to Dolores Marinaccio, one of our very active member volunteers, who passed away last week. Dolores is shown volunteering at the North Beach Polar Bear Plunge, having a great time! She will be greatly missed!
Barbara Glover, our Food Pantry Manager, wrote this lovely tribute to Dolores:
A classy lady who was a true servant of Christ. Dolores’ life was punctuated with humor – she continued to remind me I “fired” all the elderly Pantry volunteers when Covid hit – just days before her passing. From her perch above the North Beach boardwalk she watched the world go by. If she spotted you down below, she would holler at you to come up and join her if you had the time. We Ladies of Charity were the recipients of Dolores’ final chapter of service to her church. Dolores was an active member who freely gave of her time and regularly participated in planning how to marry our resources with unmet needs in the community – she dreamt up and initiated the Nursing Home Project we now have serving Calvert County Nursing Center once she could no longer serve as a regular Pantry volunteer. Family and friends were mainstays in Dolores’ life. Her 80th Birthday Celebration was a public display of just how many people Dolores was important to, and her family’s bedside vigil during her health crises of the past few years is one to be envied by most. Rest now at peace, dear Dolores. May we be ever reminded of you as one who continued to serve others until God called you home.
The Ladies of Charity Calvert County are feeling grateful and would like to thank and acknowledge the Rural Maryland Council for awarding us a grant in the amount of $6,500. These funds were used to facilitate food and volunteer safety and promote ease of moving food and equipment.
The Ladies of Charity Help Out at the North Beach Polar Bear Plunge
Our wonderful ladies and other volunteers worked the North Beach Polar Bear Plunge.
Video from the LOC Christmas Distribution on Saturday, December 17, 2022
We were blessed today to have so many volunteers to help us give out approximately 180 Christmas meals to our clients. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Jesus the Good Shepherd Food Drive
We are so blessed to receive 660 pounds of donated groceries from the many parishioners of The Convent Community of Jesus the Good Shepherd Parish. Thank You!! it’s so wonderful to have such good neighbors that help support our food pantry.
Windy Hill Elementary School Food Drive
We are so grateful to Windy Hill Elementary School for their donations to our Heartfelt Program. This program helps us keep many little tummies fed on weekends. Thank you, Windy Hill!!
Calvert Nursing Center Ministry Christmas Delivery
The Ladies of Charity provide gift bags once per quarter for the residents of the Calvert Nursing Center in Prince Frederick. For our Christmas delivery we packed and delivered 124 gifts bags to the Center. The bags contained a Christmas card, a blanket, fuzzy socks, body lotion, a calendar, a word search book, pens, note pads, chap stick, and snacks. Also, the purpose for providing goodie bags, or care packages, to the residents at Calvert Nursing Center is to let them know they are being thought of, especially those without family.
Thanksgiving
The Ladies of Charity Calvert County provided Thanksgiving groceries for 258 families in the local community this past weekend. Families received a turkey, pie, produce, rolls, stuffing, vegetables, etc. – everything needed for a thanksgiving dinner. Our volunteers did outside packing on Friday and distribution on Saturday – two very chilly days. Thanks to all who helped make this event successful!
LOC Fall Retreat
The LOC held a very successful retreat on Saturday, October 22, 2022, for our members. The facilitator, Vicki Wenderlich, spoke on the topic “Choosing the Better Part.” Among other subjects, she touched on, why Jesus Christ is interested in your friendship, how he wants you to fulfill your purpose in life, and that he knows you were made for more.
The retreat helped the participants to examine and strengthen their faith, find inspiration, gain perspective, and renew their energy, in order to better serve our clients and fulfill our mission. Our mission is to strive to follow the example of Jesus Christ by serving those in need with compassion, respect, and humility. We work to relieve poverty in all its forms. Our ministries focus on the nutritional, financial, emotional, and spiritual needs of our neighbors and on outreach projects to our community.
KUDOS to the LOC Male Volunteers
Dave, Keith, John and Ray.
Keith says he is a “Laddie: of Charity!
The “she-shed” is in the background.
area. Trailer with freezers is
in the background
a client’s car.
The Ladies of Charity Calvert County would like to thank the LOC spouses and friends who tirelessly volunteer in service to our Food Pantry. These men have donated in total thousands of hours over the last couple of years as we have worked through COVID challenges and facility challenges. Most of our food distribution work is done outside (rain or shine) now, and food and supplies are distributed over four locations due to facility repair issues.
Our regular male volunteers (several LOC spouses) work with us every week pre-packing non-perishable groceries, delivering bread, unloading fresh produce, setting up tables, tents, and signs, sorting and organizing food donations, filling food orders taken by greeters, and loading food in client cars. When something is too heavy, the men are there to help. We served 443 families in 2021, with more than 200,000 pounds of food distributed.
When we needed to move our freezers and refrigerators into a trailer, our LOC spouses were there to do the moving and setup. We needed to move supplies from the Pantry building into an external shed. Then the “She-shed” became a temporary office and needed a window. Once again, the LOC spouses were there to help add storage in the shed, move the supplies and install the window.
One of our male friends designed our Food Data Base that now allows us to take client orders on a tablet and print tickets telling volunteers what food items to assemble for each client. He then stayed with the project to help automate related ministries such as holiday meals, school supplies and Christmas gifts. What a wonderful upgrade from pieces of paper!
When we have Holiday Meal distributions where we serve hundreds of people in a 2 hour period, our local Knights of Columbus also come out to help with traffic control, order taking, and food distribution. We provided holiday meal groceries to 665 families in 2021. We are blessed to have an abundance of help on those days.
Annual Crab Raffle 2022
The crab raffle made $3,683 to fund the food pantry. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported our crab raffle by purchasing a ticket to win a bushel of crabs with all the fixins.
And the lucky winner was Greg Beckman, pictured at right with Theresa Griffin, our crab lady.
If it’s summer time in southern Maryland, then the Crab Lady is sure to make an appearance!
For more than 20 years, the Ladies of Charity Calvert County have raised funds for their food pantry by selling raffle tickets for a bushel of the Chesapeake Bay’s famous blue crabs, along with everything needed for a family crab feast. While proceeds from these raffles have always been good, ticket sales skyrocketed in recent summers when LOC member Teresa Griffin donned her Crab Lady outfit. Whether stationed outside a local family-owned grocery store, at the weekly North Beach farmer’s market, or in the parking lot of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, the Crab Lady catches the eye of friends and visitors alike as fellow LOC members answer questions about the pantry and fill out ticket stubs.
The winning ticket is always drawn early in the evening on Labor Day, when the lucky winner is awarded a gift certificate for a bushel of crabs from long-time generous donor George Klein of Tyler’s Tackle Shop and Crab House. He or she also receives Old Bay seasoning, plates, cups, bowls, utensils, and a variety of crab-themed items such as pot holders, kitchen towels, coasters, and trivets, all of which are donated by LOC members.
The many hours of selling tickets on some of summer’s hottest days have been a challenge, but they have paid off in raising thousands of dollars over the years to keep the food pantry stocked and to provide financial assistance to clients with emergency needs. The Ladies of Charity Calvert County are grateful to all those in the community who provide such generous support each year and who remain steadfast fans of the Crab Lady.
Backpack School Supply Ministry 2022
Long before the children and grandchildren of our food pantry clients started back to school, the Ladies of Charity Calvert County were hard at work on providing them with backpacks and supplies for the new school year. Project chair Phyllis Morgan reached out via email and St. Anthony of Padua’s (North Beach) parish bulletin for donations of such items as pens and pencils, dry erase markers, lined filler paper, pocket folders, composition books, and highlighters.
Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of LOC members and parishioners we had more than 150 brand-new backpacks to distribute, plus an abundance of the supplies needed to fill them. Several LOC members volunteered to stuff the backpacks with grade-appropriate school supplies, and Phyllis and Peggy Edgington distributed them at each food pantry opening until August 23rd. By the time school started in late August, they had given away almost all that were on hand, 171 backpacks.
Plaza Mexico Fund Raiser
Once a quarter, Plaza Mexico in North Beach, MD, has hosted a Monday night dinner opening to benefit the Food Pantry. Plaza Mexico counts anyone who eats dinner in or carries out a meal as a participant; a portion of the meal proceeds are donated to the Ladies of Charity.
First Friday in North Beach and
Twin Beaches Health and Wellness Fair 2022
Our “Pretty Peddlers,” Peggy Garner, Joyce Cofield, Terri Morauer, and corn lady Theresa Griffin, have been hard at work at the First Friday events in North Beach manning a booth on Friday, May 13th and June 3rd. Maureen Hudson shared information about our ministries, our organization, and our construction plans while giving out snacks and collecting donations at the Twin Beaches Health and Wellness Fair in Chesapeake Beach on Saturday, May 14th. Thanks Ladies!
Calvert Nursing Center Ministry August Delivery
The Ladies of Charity provide gift bags once per quarter for the residents of the Calvert Nursing Center in Prince Frederick. For our August delivery we recently packed and delivered 124 gifts bags to the Center. The bags contained body lotion and body wash, American flags, foldable red, white, blue baseball caps, handheld fans, and pretzels and goldfish snacks. Also, the purpose for providing goodie bags, or care packages, to the residents at Calvert Nursing Center is to let them know they are being thought of, especially those without family.
Polar Bear Plunge 2022
This year the Ladies of Charity were again presented with a check in the amount of $9348.69 from Mayor Mike Benton and Councilwoman Elizabeth Lawton which will be put toward our pantry rebuild project. The Ladies of Charity were the recipients of the net proceeds of the 2022 North Beach Polar Bear Plunge. Each year North Beach selects a charity to receive the proceeds of t-shirt sales and corporate donations. This year it was a cold and rainy day and this energetic group of ladies volunteered at the event, sold pizza, baked goods and hot chocolate to raise funds for their organization. Congratulations ladies and thank you North Beach!