Thank you to all who voted for SPAN for Best Nonprofit in the 2021 Severna Park Voice "Best of Severna Park" reader poll! We are proud to be accepting this title for the third year in a row, but we could not do it without our fabulous supporters and donors!

Thank you to the local Scout Packs and Troops in our community for making SPAN the recipient of your #ScoutingForFood drive. We were blown away by the amount of food we received, and also by the efficiency by which the endeavor was run. Thank you Troop 918 (Severna Park Elks #2482), Troop 993 (Severna Park United Methodist Church), Pack 688 (Shipley's Choice), Severna Park Teen FASA (Michele Seebold - Teen Food Allergy Support and Awareness), and Troop 1644.

Wow, talk about a gift! Clement Hardware donated 20 cases of face masks and 2,500 bottles of hand sanitizer! Not only do we now have enough to put these essential items in every food box, but there were also enough to share with Asbury Assistance network, Light House - Homeless Prevention Support Center, and My Brother's Pantry. Thank you Clement's for always being a loyal supporter of SPAN!

Thank you Severn School for helping us stock our food pantry!

As they have done every year, Severn School conducted a food drive during their Spirit Week, and donated all the food to SPAN. Despite the pandemic, students and their families donated generously.

Severn, we love your dedication to community and service, and best of all, your donations are going to help families right in our local area. #neighborshelpingneighbors

SPAN's volunteers are the best ones around, and SPAN literally could not do what it does without them. On July 30, we held our annual Volunteer Appreciation event, but given the coronavirus state of affairs, we took the safe route; we had a drive-thru event! Each volunteer got a frozen Luigi's Italian Ice plus a gift bag containing a custom SPAN face mask, a SPAN car decal, a bottle of hand sanitizer, and a gift card to The Big Bean. We hope next year we can have a nice catered brunch! Thanks to all of our volunteers for all you do! You are not paid because you are worthless - you are not paid because you are priceless!

At SPAN we are often impressed by the generosity of our local community. But this particular delivery was deeply touching and incredibly meaningful. It was about four car/truckloads full of food.

Here is the backstory: Severna Park United Methodist Church's youth group, MYF (Methodist Youth Fellowship), led by Youth Pastor Lee Ferrell, has been traveling to Appalachia with The Appalachia Service Project for 40 years to do home repair projects for the poor of Central Appalachia. Because of the coronavirus this year the trip was sadly cancelled. Not to let the goodwill of the senior high students be dampened, these hardworking youth put their faith into action by doing a massive food collection for SPAN. There was so much food, the group made two deliveries. We are officially blown away by the generosity of this group! And what's more, they are also making a substantial financial donation to the area in Appalachia that they were unable to travel to.

SPAN is happy to introduce Dylan Roche as Secretary to its Executive Board. Dylan will also serve as SPAN's representative for Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church. Dylan is a lifelong member of Woods Church, where he teaches Sunday School, and also serves on the Families With Children Committee. Dylan is a freelance writer and editor whose work has been featured in local, regional and national publications. His first novel, The Purple Bird, debuted in 2019. 

In addition to SPAN, Dylan serves on the boards of Children's Theatre of Annapolis and Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, among others, and he is the immediate past president of the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce Board. When he isn't writing or volunteering, Dylan can often be found training for his next marathon, or hanging out with his corgi, Tyrion.

For 30 years, SPAN has been helping families in need with food, utilities, prescriptions, and eviction prevention. But we at SPAN are just the messengers - the real gifts come from our amazing donors, starting with our member churches, and including our local businesses, civic groups, scout troops, classrooms, neighborhoods, and of course our many individual donors! Each month we mail out thank-you notes to our financial donors. This past April, in response to the economic emergency due to the coronavirus, we sent out a record-breaking number of thank-you notes. They went out in three different batches, but we have reason to believe that one of the batches might have gotten lost in the mail. We know this because one of our volunteers who had sent in a donation notified us that hers didn't come. If you donated to SPAN but did not receive a thank-you note, please email us at [email protected] and let us know so we can mail you another. Thank you for your understanding, and mostly, thank you for your extreme generosity. You are truly neighbors helping neighbors!

The Severna Park Elks #2482 received a grant, and they are sharing it with SPAN! They delivered a mountain of groceries! Thanks to Skip Stokes, Lynn Bailey, and all of the others who made this possible. We have a ton of food, so if you're in need, now is the perfect time to come to SPAN. We're open this week Monday-Thursday, 10-12:45. Please bring your Maryland ID.

Change in Operations

Beginning Monday, June 1, SPAN will be open Monday through Thursday from 10-12:45 to help with utility assistance, rental assistance, prescription assistance, and food. Please call 410-647-0889 before you come in to determine eligibility. Please be patient as we adjust our operations and tweak some of our rules. The food areas we serve are Severna Park, Millersville, Broadneck, and Arnold. If you do not live within one of our food service areas, we can help you with emergency food or baby products if you have no other source. We will maintain safe practices, with no-contact transactions. Food is distributed through our side door so there is no contact. The areas we give financial assistance to are Severna Park, Millersville, Broadneck, Arnold, Fort Meade, Linthicum, Severn, Pasadena, Glen Burnie, Crownsville, Gambrills, Odenton, and Crofton. Payments are made directly to providers, not to clients. MARYLAND IDs ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL ASSISTANCE.

We are beginning to phase out our free outdoor pantry, and will be stocking it this week with only canned and jarred food plus toiletries.

If you need further resources, please consult the attached list of pantries from the Anne Arundel County Food Bank or call 2-1-1.

SPAN, Inc. is having a FOOD DRIVE! Help us Stuff the Bus on Saturday 5/16 from 1-3 pm at Severna Park Middle School - Lynwood Parking Lot.

Throughout the pandemic, SPAN has continued to assist Severna Park and our surrounding communities. The volume of food and necessities coming in and out of the door has been staggering. All (non-expired) non-perishable food items are welcomed. Items specifically in need are: pasta sauce, jelly, syrup, canned fruit, side dishes (pasta or rice), all hygiene products, laundry detergent, shampoo. Perishables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and apples that won't get smushed are welcome also!

For no-contact dropoff, we will have gloved and masked volunteers who can take your food out of your car for you!

Hope to see you there this Saturday! Please share!

Here is a link to our Wish List and Amazon Wish List. If you can't make it Saturday, you can drop your donation off at SPAN any time!

For the week of May 4, 2020, SPAN will be open Monday-Wednesday, 10-noon, and Thursday by special appointment. All interactions will be conducted via no-contact methods.

Our free outdoor pantry is open, regularly stocked, and available 24/7 to anyone who needs it. It is a tall bin behind the SPAN house. The SPAN house is directly behind Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Severna Park at 400 Benfield Road, just east of Truck House Road.

NOTE: Evictions and utility shutoffs are NOT being enforced until the state opens back up. We still owe money for these, so everyone should try to make payments, if possible. However, you won't be shut off or evicted if you are unable to come up with the money. You also can't be charged late fees.

SPAN is focusing on food, toiletries, baby needs, and prescription medication during this time. If you have a special need; i.e., a prescription, adult diapers, or a particular type of baby diaper, formula, etc. that you need, please email [email protected]. If you have no transportation, we will be happy to help you via your neighbor or family member if you give them permission.

A HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has been donating food and money to SPAN! Our work has been labor-intensive, but we're trying to reach all of those who need help. A special thanks to SPAN VP Mike Monahan and pantry workers Tia Jones Johnson and Elle Johnson for working seven days a week to keep our pantry running!

PLEASE NOTE: We are making decisions one day at a time, and will modify our operations based on recommendations of the Maryland Department of Health. Please check SPAN's Facebook page for our most current updates. SPAN Facebook Page

To our friends and followers: SPAN is committed to serving its community in a way that will maximize benefits while minimizing risk during the coronavirus state of emergency. We will operate during our normal hours, from 10:00am to 1:30pm, until further notice. However, our doors will remain locked. We will conduct transactions through our window, and will streamline the assistance process.

MyBGE is suspending service disconnections and waiving new late payment charges until at least May 1. Anne Arundel County Department of Public Works has suspended water turnoffs indefinitely. The Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Office is not enforcing evictions during this state of emergency.

Kathy Berge of St. Martins-In-The-Field Episcopal Church was named president of SPAN's Executive Board of Directors on January 13, 2020. Her term will last for two years.

Kathy is an Occupational Therapist by profession, who has practiced in the field of psychiatry in Baltimore. Kathy previously served on SPAN's Board of Directors, representing St. Martins-in-the Field. She has been involved with nonprofits for more than 40 years, and is on St. Martin's Outreach Committee, coordinates St. Martin's Winter Relief service for Arundel House of Hope, and currently provides pro bono services to families in need. Kathy has sat on the Board of Directors for multiple organizations for many years and has chaired the Charity Committee for the Foundation for Families. She is currently helping family members set up a charity in Cecil County. We look forward to working with Kathy and continuing to serve our neighbors in need under her leadership.

SPAN's Executive Board for 2020-2022: Kathy Berge-president (St. Martin's), Mike Monahan-vice president(Our Lady of the Fields Catholic Church), Karen Hall-secretary (Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church), and John Howland-treasurer (Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Severna Park).

Sharon Tegler from The Capital newspaper recently wrote a great article about Kathy's new position with SPAN. You can read it by clicking here. 

For the third year in a row, Severna Park United Methodist Church has sponsored a "Reverse Advent" program, where members of their congregation are given a SPAN bag on the first Sunday of Advent, and instructed to put one item in it every day for SPAN. This year, 352 filled bags were returned, but in reality, there were more, because families added extra bags of their own to their SPAN bags. Our house was bursting at the seams with all the food and toiletries, but that's a wonderful thing! Thanks to Francie and Carl Seaman for spearheading this program, and thanks to the generous donors from SPUMC for their kindness! 

We are so proud of SPAN's president of the Board of Directors, Ted Florenz, for being chosen as this month's Volunteer of the Month by the Severna Park Voice newspaper! Ted is finishing up his second two-year term, and we will be sad to see him go, but he has promised to continue being a volunteer! Thanks, Ted, for always giving 110% for SPAN!

To read the article with an interview with Ted, click here: https://www.severnaparkvoice.com/stories/span-volunteer-proud-to-serve-community,30433?