Together we celebrated AND raised our goal of $35,000!

Our Milestone Recognition Service and Ribbon Cutting was a beautiful opportunity to gather, reflect on SPAN's impact over the years and envision our future.

It was wonderful to see many from our member churches, current and former volunteers and other members of the community. It reminded us how SPAN continues to serve people across neighborhoods and how deeply our community is connected through that service.

• A couple of our clients joined us to share how SPAN has impacted them and their families.

• We received many citations acknowledging SPAN's work including from: Governor Wes Moore, County Executive Steuart Pittman, the Anne Arundel County Council, Senator Dawn Gile and Delegate Heather Bagnall of District 33, and Senator Bryan Simonaire, Delegate Brian Chisholm, Delegate Nic Kipke and Delegate LaToya Nkongolo of District 31 and the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce.

• After the ribbon cutting we celebrated with an open house. In preparing for this event, it has been fun seeing old pictures and hearing from some of the community who have part of improving our SPAN building over the years. Thank you!

SPAN's 35th Birthday Fest brought many different parts of the community together in celebration!

The rain held off and we enjoyed a fun Birthday Fest with music from Blame Lee and Controlled Chaos. We had carnival games run by many church and community groups and special visits from Eco Adventures and the Fire Department.

It was especially wonderful to witness multiple community groups and local churches coming together in a shared mission of service, fellowship, and support. That spirit of unity and compassion is at the very heart of what SPAN stands for, and it was wonderful to see it brought to life in the form of Birthday Fest!

It was a good competition with people bringing food to donate and fill the truck of their favorite team! The Orioles fans were numerous and generous! Thank you to all for the donated food!

You make SPAN's work possible!

Together we have accomplished so much over the 35 years!

It is the Scout groups collecting food, Churches supporting SPAN, businesses sponsoring our Turkey Trot, individuals dropping off bags of food and checks...

Together we have helped so many!

Cheers to 35 Years!

Reaching our goal of $35,000 is a HUGE help as SPAN continues to meet the need and help our neighbors.

A Big Thank You to our Sponsors:

Legacy Sponsors: LaBarge Financial, Edward Jones: Alexis Lecouras and Blue Cedar Consulting

Milestone Makers: Severna Park Automotive and St. Martins in the Field Episcopal Church

Anniversary Allies: Bay Area Community Church, Kalas Funeral Home and Crematory and Pasadena Animal Hospital.

And all of our Heritage Family Sponsors!

The Armstrongs

The Greaves Family

Gwen & Jerry Hoyt

Kevin & Ellen Kinsella

Andy & Joanne Petrik

SPAN Volunteer & Board Member

The Monahan Family

Anonymous Heritage Family Sponsors

Alexis Lecouras

In early 1990, six Severna Park churches united to address a growing demand for emergency assistance beyond their individual capacities. By working together, they created a dignified and efficient process to help those in need, consolidating resources to maximize impact. Over the past 35 years, SPAN, Inc. has served an estimated 100,000 people. In FY2024 alone, we provided food and financial assistance to 4,097 individuals. Your dedication has been vital to this mission—thank you!

Here is a Severna Park Voice article about SPAN's 35th Anniversary:

With Your Help, SPAN Has Touched Many Lives

To celebrate this remarkable milestone, we are hosting two special events and warmly invite you to join us:

Milestone Recognition Service & Open House

Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:30pm
Location: Our Shepherd Lutheran Church
Celebrate with speeches, a ribbon-cutting ceremony, and an open house with light refreshments.

35th Birthday Fest

Date: Saturday, April 5, 2025
Time: 12:00–4:00 PM
Location: Severna Park United Methodist Church parking lot (rain plan:  Fellowship Hall)
Enjoy a free-admission celebration with food trucks (Chevy’s, Green Valley Marketplace, Always Ice Cream), live music, and carnival games hosted by our member churches and community groups. Food will be available for purchase. Donate food to fill the truck of your favorite baseball team.

In conjunction with these events, we’ve set an ambitious $35,000 fundraising goal through sponsorships to ensure SPAN’s continued impact. The number of SPAN clients and their needs have been increasing during these challenging economic times. 

We look forward to celebrating with you!

Click here for Corporate Sponsor Form	Click here for Family Sponsor Form

The last few months have been filled with generosity and fun!

From our Turkey Trot in November to our Thanksgiving and Christmas Holiday Caring and lots of events in between - this Community has been busy, having fun and helping our Neighbors!

SPAN's 12th Stride for SPAN Turkey Trot has held on a beautiful fall morning, November 2nd. Many joined us for a great morning! Over 180 were registered to walk or run, including large teams from Creative Force Dance Center and Bodkin Striders. Thanks to our sponsors we made more than $23,000 with the event! It will go a long way in helping our clients with utility turn-offs and evictions! Thank you! We are looking forward to our next one November 1, 2025 again at Kinder Farm Park!

We are grateful for so many generous community members, especially during the holiday season!

Every year SPAN has a Holiday Sharing Program to help brighten the holidays a little for some who are dealing with a lot. This year we helped over 160 families with food for a Thanksgiving meal and close to 200 families at Christmas. Together you provided gifts for close to 500 children! A huge thank you to Asbury United Methodist Church, Baldwin Memorial United Methodist Church, St Andrews By the Bay Parish, St Martin's in-the-Field Episcopal Church, Severna Park United Methodist Church, Trinity Bible Church, Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church and all the other groups and individuals who sponsored families this year! Thank you so much - so many are grateful for your generosity! Merry Christmas!

We are thankful for the support from all 13 of our member churches! Their support comes in many forms - volunteer time, collections of food, help with our Holiday Caring and other special events. This time of year Severna Park United Methodist does the amazing Reverse Advent Program, filling blue SPAN bags with food for us during the Advent Season!

Many individuals and business have donated to SPAN, especially this time of year. We appreciate all of the community support - it is what makes our work possible!

We are also thankful for the students who help us - many join us to help with our special events throughout the year such as our 4th of July Parade, Turkey Trot, Holiday Caring S(o)UPER BOWL FOOD Drive and others. We also have students who collect and donate food, put together birthday boxes and create beautiful greeting cards for us to share!

Registration is open for the

12th Stride for SPAN Turkey Trot

5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Walk.

Early Bird pricing until October 7th.

Click Here to Register for the Turkey Trot

Saturday November 2nd at Kinder Farm Park

Timed 5K starts at 9am

1 Mile Fun Walk at 9:25am

Packet Pick Up is Race Morning or Friday November 1st from 5-7pm.

Friday Packet Pick up is at SPAN, 400 Benfield Rd., Severna Park

Same day registration is available at the race.

In the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce's 4th of July Parade SPAN won first place for Organization/Club. Our display highlighted the work SPAN does not only as a Food Pantry, but also with Emergency Financial Assistance. This year our HUGE boxes of food were joined by a dancing house and light bulb shaped balloons.

The need has been high lately. The number of households SPAN helped with emergency financial assistance and the number of families helped with food are both higher than last year's numbers.

Mark your calendars for SPAN's 12th Stride for SPAN Turkey Trot. The event will be the morning of Saturday November 2nd at Kinder Farm Park. Plan to join us for a great fall morning and a 5K Race or a 1 mile Fun Walk.

Registration information coming soon.

Currently looking for local businesses to join us as sponsors in SPAN's main fundraising event - see information below. Contact us for more information: [email protected] or 410-647-0889. Click here for Sponsorship Form.

Cabaret Performance & Silent Auction to Benefit SPAN

Cabaret created and performed by Laurette Hankins-O'Connell

Pianist/Duet Singer: Anita O'Connor

Sunday, April 21, 2024   4pm (doors open at 3:30pm)

One hour show plus intermission

St. Martin's in-the-Field Parish Hall                       375 Benfield Road, Severna Park

Tickets $25

click here to purchase tickets

100% of the net proceeds go to support SPAN.

Tickets must be purchased in advance via credit card or check sent to SPAN.

If you can't make it, please consider sponsoring Laurette and Anita's efforts with a donation to SPAN!

Concessions and wine will be available for cash only purchase.

Silent auction by check, credit card or PayPal.

Registration is open for the 11th Stride for SPAN Turkey Trot 5K Race and 1 Mile Fun Walk.

Early Bird pricing until October 9th. Click here to register:

https://register.chronotrack.com/r/75552

Saturday November 4th at Kinder Farm Park

Timed 5K starts at 9am

1 Mile Fun Walk at 9:30am

Packet Pick Up is Race Morning or Friday November 3rd from 5-7pm.

Friday Packet Pick up is at SPAN, 400 Benfield Rd., Severna Park

Same day registration is available at the race.

Mark your calendars for SPAN's 11th Stride for SPAN Turkey Trot. The event will be the morning of Saturday November 4th at Kinder Farm Park. Plan to join us for a great fall morning and a 5K Race or a 1 mile Fun Walk. Registration information coming soon.

Currently looking for local businesses to join us as sponsors in SPAN's main fundraising event - see information below. Contact us for more information: [email protected] or 410-647-0889.

Current sponsor list includes:

Cabaret Performance & Silent Auction

to Benefit SPAN!

Cabaret created and performed

by Laurette Hankins-O’Connell

Pianist/Duet Singer: Anita O’Connor

Musicals, Movies and Moxie—Oh My! is an exuberant and occasionally irreverent salute to a wide array of Broadway and movie musicals. This upbeat “backstage tour” includes a smorgasbord of showtunes hand- picked from more than six decades of Broadway’s best!          

Saturday, June 17, 2023

7pm (doors open at 6:30pm)

One hour show plus intermission

Boone Station Hall, Severna Park Community Center

623 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd., Severna Park

Tickets: $25    

100% of the net proceeds go to support SPAN.

Tickets must be purchased in advance via credit card, PayPal or check sent to SPAN.

Click Here for Payment Link

Please indicate that payment is for the show, in memo line or by email.

           If you can’t make it, please consider sponsoring Laurette & Anita’s efforts

with a donation to SPAN!

Concessions and wine will be available for cash-only purchase.

Silent auction by check, credit card or PayPal.

A huge thank you to all the Turkey Trot Sponsors, Donors and Volunteers for making our 10th Stride for SPAN Turkey Trot a success! It is great to be back at it again! It was a wonderful fall morning! Looking forward to seeing you all again next year!

We grossed over $16,000 which will be deposited in SPAN's general funds to help people facing evictions, utility turn offs and with medical bills.

Thank you for helping us help others!

Pictures below.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Platinum ($1,500):

Severna Park Automotive

Team Caropreso with Keller Williams Flagship

Gold ($1,000):

Blue Cedar Consulting

Bug Squashers of Maryland

Long & Foster Severna Park

SPAN Volunteers

Silver ($500):

Alexis Lecouras/Edward Jones

Chesapeake Hearing Center, Inc

Creative Force Dance Center

Lean on Dee

Severna Park Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

Severna Park Taphouse

Shore United Bank

The Bank of Glen Burnie

Bronze ($250):

Bay Hills Eye Care

Cafe Mezzanotte

Fit4MOM Chesapeake

Environmental Automotive Services

Gardiner & Appel Group

Jing Ying Institute

McDonalds

Severna Park Auto Body

Thank You to Our Prize Donors:

Clement Hardware

Firehouse Subs (Severna Park and Waugh Chapel)

Franklin Toys

Froyo House

Ledo Pizza and Pasta (Severna Park)

Lures Bar and Grille

Park Home

Pour Dog House

Side Street Framers & Gift Gallery

Subway (Crownsville)

Thank You to Our Food and Other In Kind Donors:

Be My Guest Catering

Big Bean Coffee

Dunkin Donuts (Severna Park)

Giant (Severna Park)

Party Up My Yard

Wegmans

As you well know, many families are facing financial challenges due to the current inflation. These challenges can make it difficult to provide a holiday dinner or Christmas gifts for their children.

The SPAN Holiday Caring Program helps local families by providing holiday food baskets and Christmas gifts for children.  To do so, we depend on the generosity of people like you!  Would you consider becoming a sponsor?  

As a sponsor, you will be matched with a family and asked to purchase food and/or gifts for the family. Short on time?  You can simply provide gift cards in lieu of food or gifts or consider donating to SPAN to fund our year-round programs for low-income families.

To become a sponsor, please complete our online form before November 3rd. The link to the sponsor form is:

Holiday Sponsor Form Link

For more information, please email [email protected] or call 410-647-0889.

Thank you for considering this unique opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people who are struggling to keep their heads above water!

RACE DAY - Saturday, November 5th

Where: Kinder Farm Park

When: Can start to arrive at 7:30am

Start Times:   5k Race Time: 9:00am

                       1 Mile Fun Walk: 9:30am

Parking is available at Kinder Farm Park (fee to enter park will not be collected for registered participants).

Packet Pick-Up Information: Friday, November 4th, 5-7PM, 400 Benfield Rd., Severna Park (located behind Our Shepherd Lutheran Church) You may also pickup your packet the morning of the race, but remember to arrive early to allow time.

Register for the race here:  SPAN Turkey Trot active registration

Sponsorships are still available for another couple of weeks - For more information, email: [email protected].

A huge thank you to our sponsors!

Platinum Level:

Team Caropreso

Severna Park Automotive

Gold Level:

Blue Cedar Consulting

Bug Squashers of Maryland

Long & Foster Severna Park Office

Silver Level:

Alexis Lecouras / Edward Jones

Bank of Glen Burnie

Chesapeake Hearing Centers

Creative Dance Force

Lean on Dee

Severna Park Family & Cosmetic Dentistry

Severna Park Tap House

Shore United Bank

Bronze Level:

Bay Hills Eye Care

Cafe Mezzanotte

Environmental Automotive Services

Fit4Mom Chesapeake

Gardiner & Appel

Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi

McDonalds

Severna Park Auto Body

Broadway Bonanza

 A Cabaret Performance to Benefit SPAN

Created and performed by Severna Park Native, Laurette Hankins-O’Connell Pianist/Duet Singer: Anita O’Connor

An exuberant and occasionally irreverent salute to a wide array of Broadway musicals of the 20th century. This upbeat “backstage tour” includes a smorgasbord of showtunes hand- picked from more than six decades of Broadway’s best.

REVIEW from Capital Gazette, June 2019: “Blessed with an extraordinary voice, great comedic timing and a generous spirit…Gifted with wit and self-deprecating humor, Hankins-O’Connell charmed the audience” -- Sharon Lee Tegler

Saturday, September 10, 2022, 7:00pm (doors open at 6:30)

Severna Park Community Center

Boone Station Hall, 623 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd., Severna Park

A one hour show with an intermission

Tickets:  $25

100% of the net proceeds goes to support SPAN

Concessions and wine will be available for cash-only purchase.
Silent auction items will be available by check or PayPal.

Space is limited. Tickets must be purchased in advance using check or PayPal. You may mail a check to SPAN, 400 Benfield Rd., Severna Park, MD 21146 or you may pay via PayPal at [email protected] . In the message section, state that your payment is for the show, and indicate how many seats you want. Questions: email [email protected].

It was great to see everyone at the 4th of July Parade! We love our community!

Thank you to Chartwell Young Leaders who joined with us for the event and a huge thank you to all along the parade route who donated! This is a slow time of year for our pantry donations. Thank you for helping! It was wonderful to see everyone along the parade route!

SPAN has one primary fundraiser for the year - our 5K Turkey Trot. After a two year hiatus it is returning! Our 10th Annual Stride for SPAN will be held at Kinder Farm Park on Saturday November 5, 2022!

Currently we are looking for sponsors. As a SPAN sponsor, you or your company or organization will make a difference in the lives of local individuals and families in need. Your sponsorship dollars go directly to funding SPAN. We keep expenses at a minimum to maximize helping those in our local communities. There are four levels of sponsorship for this great community event!

We are also looking for volunteers to join us in planning the event. All sorts of opportunities available - let me know if you would like to join the fun planning team!

Go to active.com and look for SPAN to register for this race at Kinder Farm Park in Millersville, MD.

Click here to register for the race on www.active.com

SPAN's huge Holiday Caring Program is for Thanksgiving and Christmas and thanks to our generous community we were able to provide food and gifts for many families again this year! Thank you!

We would like to provide some of our clients with food for an Easter Dinner celebration and have put together a SignUp Genius link for that opportunity. The link is below. The food list is chosen to provide as many of the items as possible needed to complete some traditional Easter dinner foods - and a grocery gift card to cover the other parts.

Click Here to Sign Up to Provide Easter Dinner Food

You may drop off the box of food at SPAN, Monday - Thursday from 9am-2pm. Drive around to our back and we will meet you at the porch door. Call to let us know you are there 410-647-0889. Please deliver the food by Thursday March 24th. Thank you!

A huge thank you to Severna Park United Methodist Church! This is their 4th year of doing a "Reverse Advent" program in December. Church members fill our blue SPAN bags with food items each day during advent. More than 200 bags were returned this year filled with food! Our office was filled several times around Christmas with the delivery of the bags! Thank you especially to Francie and Carl Seaman, Donna Barnabe and Bob Wimbrow for organizing and delivering the bags.

Thanks to our very generous community, SPAN was able to help over 150 families with Thanksgiving meals and over 170 families (300 children) with Christmas food and gifts for the children! The support from the community was tremendous! So many individuals, businesses and community groups came together to help others!

In addition to the food and gifts for Christmas, two of our amazing volunteers made ornaments to give to many of the families, The Blended Essentials put together gift bags for all of the mothers and we had several Christmas trees to give thanks to the SUN Networking Group!

Thank you so much to everyone who made our Holiday Caring possible, many more than I can name - both those who contributed items and those who gave time to make it possible! So many contributed to making this event a success! You were a blessing to so many and I wish I could pass along all of the appreciation from those receiving!

Merry Christmas!

It was great to see everyone at the Shop Local Shoptoberfest event on Saturday October 23rd! Thank you to Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce and others who organized it!

Lots of children enjoyed playing our fishing game. And it was a great opportunity to talk with community members about SPAN.

SPAN raised more than $200 that day including a generous donation from Kwon's Tae Kwon Do! Thank you to our great community members who gave! Thank you also to students from the Severna Park High School Thespian Society for helping at the booth and to Rolly Pollies, WEBBY Dance Company Annapolis, Eco Adventures and Music Together Chesapeake for our wonderful raffle prizes!

There were lots of creative costumes in both the kid and dog costume contests.

It was beautiful weather and a fun day - we enjoyed being in the community and sharing about SPAN!

Thank you Severn School for your amazing Spirit Week donation of food for SPAN! Every year Severn School collects food for SPAN during their Spirit Week. The generous donations help fill our shelves and provide help to those in need locally.

The van was packed full of food and toiletries and came to unload three times during the week! The last time there was so much food that they brought a 2nd truck also!

Severn School thank you so much for all that you do for SPAN and our clients!