Thanks to local business for End Hunger donation

LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Rev. Robert P. Hahn
, Huntingtown.

On behalf of Calvert’s neediest families, End Hunger In Calvert County extends its deepest gratitude and thanks to Geoff Wannamaker and the entire team at Bayside Auto Group for their generous donation of $23,100 to feed the hungry in our community. During the month of October, the dealership donated $100 for every car they sold. This donation represents six months of food for 15,000 people.

The best part is that it’s Bayside’s employees and customers, under Geoff’s leadership, are the ones who accomplished this. Together, they united around a local cause to make a real difference in the lives of Calvert County residents.

Geoff Wanamaker and the leadership at Bayside Auto Group have created a culture in which they care about people.

They understand that caring about people and giving back to your community is not just good for business; it is good business. And that’s really all we have to do, care about people.

Together with our 44 partner feeding organizations, End Hunger In Calvert County distributes over 1 million pounds of food into Calvert County every year.

It’s community partners like Bayside Auto Group who embrace our “Give Where You Live” motto that truly make this level of care possible.

Store conversion benefits End Hunger, residents

The recent conversion of local Food Lions to Weis Markets resulted in over 300,000 pounds of food and product donated to End Hunger In Calvert County.
During the store changeovers, the Huntingtown food charity coordinated the efforts of seven tractor-trailer loads to pick up and deliver the 300,000 pounds to its 12,000-square-foot warehouse in Prince Frederick.
The trucks were stuffed with frozen meats, cheese and dairy products, paper products, hygiene products, baby supplies, cookware, pet supplies and more.
Once the trucks arrived at the End Hunger warehouse, volunteers from Bayside Auto Group, Girls Scout troops and individuals from the community sorted and packed it to distribute to End Hunger’s 44 partner organizations.
“It was easy to say yes, this is who End Hunger In Calvert County is,” the Rev. Robert Hahn, CEO of End Hunger, said in a news release. “We have been saying for over eight years that hunger in Calvert County is not a food problem; it is a distribution problem.”
Because of the abundance and short shelf life of some products, End Hunger worked with food pantries and hunger relief programs statewide to provide product to neighboring jurisdictions.
“People are eating across the state of Maryland because over eight years ago Calvert County said yes to the idea that hunger in our community can be eliminated,” Hahn said. “This is a huge testament to the heart of our community. You can no longer deny that hunger in our community is real and that together we have moved the needle.”
For more information about End Hunger, go to endhungercalvert.org.

Realtor collecting End Hunger food items

Exit 1 Stop Realty in Dunkirk is collecting non-perishable food items for the End Hunger In Calvert County campaign.
Donations can be made at the office at 10130 Southern Maryland Blvd. Items needed are canned soups, fruit, vegetables and beans, canned tuna, chicken, salmon, cereal, dry pasta, pasta sauce and tomato sauce, just to name a few. Any donation is appreciated.
“We appreciate being a part of this wonderful community and welcome the opportunity to give back,” owner Connie Stommel said in a news release.

Bayside Auto Group Partners with End Hunger in Calvert County

Dealership Will Donate $100 For Every Car Sold in October
Bayside Auto Group is partnering with End Hunger In Calvert in support of End Hunger In Calvert County Month.
During the month of October, Bayside Auto Group in Prince Frederick will make a $50 donation in the customer’s name for every car sold. The dealership will then match it, for a total of $100 going to feeding the hungry in our community.
“As a local business owner, I support local organizations like End Hunger In Calvert County because I know where my donation is going. I can see it make a difference right where we work and live.” says Geoff Wanamaker, President of Bayside Auto Group. “Knowing that we are making a difference in our own backyard is what motivates me and my staff and we are proud to be part of the solution here in our home town.”
End Hunger In Calvert County is a network of 44 Partner Feeding Organizations; every food pantry in Calvert County is part of End Hunger. Together they feed over 15,000 people a year – that’s over 1 MILLION pounds of food being distributed into Calvert County every year.
“What makes a community the true definition of community is when its own people take care of its own people,” says Jacqueline Miller President of End Hunger In Calvert County. “Here in Calvert, we take care of our people and when businesses show their support the way Bayside Auto Group is, that is when we see the power of our give where you live motto. The problem is real, but so it the solution and in Calvert County we are making a real difference.”
End Hunger In Calvert County is an Accredited Charity of the Better Business Bureau for meeting all 20 Standards of Charitable Accountability. The Better Business Bureau found that $0.93 of every dollar donated to End Hunger In Calvert County goes into programming and providing food for the needy.
End Hunger In Calvert County is a local charity committed to moving people from dependency to self-sufficiency. End Hunger In Calvert County has 44 Partner Feeding Organizations that serve over 15,000 people a year.

Dragon boaters keep the speed and fire going

North Beach, MD – It was great day to be in North Beach and on the Chesapeake Bay. Old-fashioned (think 8th century) speed-boaters drew a crowd and raised big bucks for Calvert County’s battle against hunger. The Saturday, June 18 event was the Fourth annual End Hunger in Calvert County Dragon Boat Festival.
Over 30 teams—each with 19 crew members—competed for trophies in a series of 200 meter races.
At the end, the grand champion trophy was held and hoisted by a team called “High Speed, Low Drag-on,” which bested the crew “Dragon Boat Z.”
The other four finalists—third through sixth-place—were “Wake Busters,” “Thai Paddlers,” “The Corksmen” and the “Corksmen 2.”
“They did all the work,” said High Speed, Low Drag-on” captain Rachel Califf of her winning crew. “They all paddled well.”
“This was the biggest and best yet,” said the Rev. Robert Hahn, senior pastor of Chesapeake Church and CEO of End Hunger in Calvert County. Hahn told The BayNet before the awards ceremony that a total of the money raised by the event was not available but was likely to be well over $50,000. “There’s a variety of ways this event makes money,” he explained. The boat crews pay an entry fee ($2,000 per crew) and vendors also contribute. Corporate sponsors aid the cause by covering the other expenses the event occurs.
During his post-race address at the awards ceremony, Hahn thanked the Town of North Beach for its efforts in making the logistical challenges of such an event a little easier.
In addition to the top six teams, several other trophies were presented. One of them went to “Team North Beach,” which recaptured the Mayor’s Cup a year after losing it to Chesapeake Beach. A boat crew from Exelon, “Just Another Day in Nuclear Paradise,” won the Power Cup from a team representing Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative.
A special acknowledgement, the Hill-Climber Award, was presented to the team “Mussels and Mermaids. The crew overcame adversity posed when one of its mates—Kayla Amos—was killed, along with her husband, in a motor vehicle collision on Valentine’s Day.
Hahn has already announced that the race will again take place next year. When it was held for the first time in June 2013, the End Hunger in Calvert County event was the first dragon boat race ever on the Chesapeake Beach. This year it won’t be the only dragon boat race in Calvert County. A dragon boat race is scheduled for this August in Solomons.
For more information about End Hunger in Calvert County, visit www.endhungercalvert.org/
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com

Northern FBLA to attend national competitions

Northern High School’s Future Business Leaders of American will attend the national FBLA competitions in Atlanta on June 28-July 3. The chapter has 32 members who qualified at states to compete in nationals, according to a press release by NHS FBLA reporter Dominic Brady.

The Maryland FBLA state competition was at the Hunt Valley Inn on April 14-16. There, the chapter had the largest professional division group in all of Maryland, the release states. Along with the competitors who qualified for nationals, three other students — Brady, Kyle Chiu and Daniel Carey — will also attend to experience a national leadership conference.

The school’s FBLA chapter also did a great deal for the community this year with three major projects: the Community Service Project, the Partnership with Business and the American Enterprise Project.

For the community service project, the chapter supported the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which is dedicated to funding Type 1 diabetes research. This project had a personal connection for the chapter, as one of the advisors, Mrs. Jackson, has a daughter with Type 1 diabetes. Her daughter, Tiffany Jackson, was one of the leads on the project, which raised thousands of dollars through events like the annual silent auction and a 5K run. Along with Tiffany, the other leads on the project were Abby Chew and Janelle Lindstrom. The project earned first place in Maryland.

For the business partnership project, the chapter supported End Hunger in Calvert County by hosting a schoolwide food drive, volunteering at End Hunger events like the bike race and obstacle run, assisting at several warehouse distribution days and helping the staff with the Calvert Cash program. The leads on this project were Alissa Lambert, Tommy O’Brien and Christian Kincaid. This project also received first place in Maryland.

For the enterprise project, the chapter partnered with Kid’s Campus Early Learning Center. Chapter members went to Kid’s Campus and taught the children lessons on financial literacy and various business skills. The target population was third- through fifth-graders twice a month at the facility. The chapter also participated in American Enterprise Day at the center, sharing future career plans and what freedom means to the chapter members. The leads on this project were Taylor Jackson, Samirah Brown and Clark Outridge. The project earned third place in Maryland.

Northern’s FBLA thanks Safeway, Ace Hardware and all of its patrons for donating over these last several weeks. Twenty-five chapter members will attend the upcoming conference, along with four teachers from Northern High, costing over $35,000. The chapter also thanks the NHS administration, FBLA members and their families and all the sponsors over the year.

Students competing at nationals include: Maddie Ashworth (introduction to business presentation), Abby Chew (community service project), Sam Cleary (computer game and simulation programming), Shayla Cook (banking and financial systems), Joe Fowler (agribusiness), Taylor Jackson (community service project), Christian Kincaid (partnership with business project and networking concepts), Alissa Lambert (partnership with business project and social media campaign), Janelle Lindstrom (community service project), Will Longsworth (cybersecurity), Hannah McBride (banking and financial systems), Saylor Mealing (social media campaign and local chapter annual business report), Ryan Magee (computer game and simulation programming), Rachel Niswander (introduction to information technology), Tommy O’Brien (partnership with business project and accounting 1), Clark Outridge (American enterprise project), Taylor Rossi (public speaking 1), Justen Serraro (computer game and simulation programming), Noah Stawinski (introduction to business presentation), Abby Sweeney (FBLA principles and procedures) and Andrew Younkers (introduction to information technology).

More than just coffee

At Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown, church, Honduras, ending hunger and coffee all go hand in hand.
“It’s a lot bigger than it looks,” said the Rev. Robert Hahn.
First, there’s the church, which is central to the whole thing. Then, there’s End Hunger in Calvert County, the nonprofit that, through various community partnerships, is aimed at ending hunger locally. Then, the church supports a medical clinic in Honduras in partnership with other churches. While some churches support missionaries or missions organizations in various external locations, Chesapeake Church focuses on Honduras.
A new coffee shop called The Lobby Coffee Bar, which opened March 5 and moved to being open seven days a week April 18, is located in the church’s lobby at the intersection of all three aspects, Hahn said. By supporting coffee growers in Honduras (where coffee is a major export), by using a supplier and roaster who uses Honduran beans, the coffee shop supports the economy of the country in which the church is involved. Hahn said he has met with coffee growers in Honduras.
The coffee shop is staffed by graduates of the End Hunger cafe management program and the shop is owned and operated by End Hunger. Through the cafe management program and the culinary training program, End Hunger provides job training to help people be more employable. The cafe management program especially helps young people, Hahn said, as they can learn how to make coffee and other related skills to support themselves during college, thus decreasing the financial burden on themselves and their families. Baristas are paid about 15 percent more than those who work at national chains.
In turn, whatever proceeds come from The Lobby Coffee Bar will go to End Hunger or Honduras. The shop’s not profitable yet, but in time, it will be.
Hahn said the coffee bar isn’t intended to be a place where someone just grabs a cup of coffee and leaves.
“We’re looking to engage the Calvert County community,” he said.
It’s the hope that entertainment will be offered in addition to other special events like game nights. Additionally, businesses could use available space for meetings and the space could act as a hub for families and young people, providing somewhere for young people to hang out other than a bar. There’s also the hope that a lunch and dinner menu will be available.
The prices of the menu items are more affordable than those of chains, as the prices aren’t driven by profit, Hahn said.
Justin Rollins was a member of the inaugural cafe management class through End Hunger and is now a full-time coffee operations manager at The Lobby Coffee Bar. Before, he worked as a facilities technician at Chesapeake Church. His previous position was more behind the scenes, but working in the coffee shop allows for more connections with people.
“Now I’m usually the first person people see,” Rollins said.
Becca Lewis was in the second cafe management class. Now she’s one of the three full-time managers. Before working at The Lobby, she was a nanny.
Lewis said employees are encouraged to talk with customers and to make relationships the highest priority.
“It’s much more than giving people coffee. … It’s meeting people where they’re at,” Lewis said.
The Lobby Coffee Bar is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. For more information, go to www.chesapeakechurch.org/thelobby.
By SARAH FALLIN sfleischman@somdnews.com Twitter: @CalRecSARAH

Van Hollen tours End Hunger in Calvert County

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md., 8th) met with the Rev. Robert Hahn to tour the End Hunger in Calvert County program at Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown on April 6.

“We are always grateful when any of our elected officials visit the End Hunger program. We believe that the partnership of the nonprofit sector and the private sector and the public sector is what makes our program effective, unique and a great value to all the citizens, not just of Calvert County, but the state of Maryland,” said Hahn.

The program is a distribution center that supplies and equips partner food pantries to serve individual families, but it also serves another purpose.

“Our goal is to move people from dependency to self-sufficiency. So, we have training programs, such as our culinary program and our café management program, which take unemployed people and underemployed people and get them into a living wage,” continued Hahn.

The café management program is a free five-week job training course to prepare those who are interested in a career in the hospitality industry to include a coffee shop, café or bakery as a barista or manager. An advocate of programs that expand access to healthy meals to families year round, Van Hollen was eager to see the local operation that also provided career development.

“I was really impressed with the End Hunger Café Management Program because that was clearly an effort to provide job training and opportunities so that people could get jobs that pay the rent and put food on the table in such a creative and sustainable model,” said Van Hollen.

To bring attention to the difficulty families experience living on a fixed income and dependent on the federal food programs, Van Hollen took the Food Stamp Challenge in 2007, living off $21 for one week, the then-average federal nutrition benefit amount a person received on food stamps.

“It becomes clear very quickly that [$21] is very difficult to live on. It just highlighted the importance of having some basic food and nutrition program …” said Van Hollen. “A lot of people who are on the federal food programs are people who are working full time, or trying to find full-time work or working part-time and it’s just hard to make ends meet.”

According to Van Hollen, the Republicans on Capitol Hill have been targeting that program for very deep cuts, referring to the GOP’s proposed $157 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as well additional funding cuts to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Women’s Infant and Children’s (WIC) and child nutrition programs.

As the ranking member on the House Budget Committee, Van Hollen said he has been working very hard to block repeated attempts to reduce federal nutrition benefits, as well as seek alternative ways to ensure families and their children have access to quality foods.

“We need to approach hunger from every direction through the kind of local efforts to provide food on an emergency basis, the federal effort and then these other innovative approaches like … End Hunger Café Management,” said Van Hollen. “The goal, of course, is to help find jobs that pay a living wage.”

A proponent of the “Buy Local, Buy Fresh” mantra and instrumental in allowing geographic preference in school food purchasing in the 2008 Farm Bill, Van Hollen wants to facilitate, at the federal level, more local growing and fresh food options be available to people on the federal programs, especially kids, so they can get a healthy start.

“It’s really hard to get healthy foods at $21 a week,” said Van Hollen. “We’d not only have food available, but they’d be healthy and nutritious.”
By TAMARA WARD

Community remembers couple killed in Valentine’s Day crash

Friends, family and those affected by the lives of Daniel and Kayla Amos gathered at Chesapeake Church in Huntingtown on Sunday to celebrate the lives of the young couple killed in a Valentine’s Day car accident in Anne Arundel County.
A head-on crash in Edgewater involving three vehicles Feb. 14 resulted in the deaths of Daniel Brian Amos, 21, and Kayla Nicole Amos, 20, residents of California, according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department.
On Feb. 21, Chesapeake Church, where the Amoses regularly worshipped and served, was filled to capacity to revere the lives of the young couple who were celebrating their six-month wedding anniversary on Valentine’s Day.
“We were challenged by the lives of Dan and Kayla to live out our faith in an excellent manner and to honor God with our lives as they did,” Kevin Amos, Daniel’s father, said at the ceremony. “We feel comforted and loved and supported by this community to do just that.”
Kevin Amos spoke highly of his son’s work ethic, stating that he put his all into everything he did. Daniel started off as a custodian at Chesapeake Church, working that job for two years until a guitarist position was available.
“Dan was a fantastic worker who loved Jesus, music and what he did,” Nathan LaBorie, arts director at Chesapeake Church, said in a phone interview. “It’s funny because he worked for me on paper, but we were a team. If anyone deserved to have an ego or have an attitude, Dan did, but he didn’t because he was just a humble, gentle young man.”
Kayla Amos was remembered as a kind, gentle woman who was a perfectionist at heart. She was also described as being very religious, serving various positions for the church and in the community.
“One could not ask for a greater role model of a big sister,” Samantha Cosner, Kayla Amos’ sister, said at the service. “Kayla has taught me so much in my life, and in this time she is not only teaching me, but everyone who knew her, how to find hope and healing in Christ. How else can we live on?”
“I really cannot believe I am standing here,” Larry Patin, stewardship pastor at Chesapeake Church, said at the ceremony. “Six months ago, I stood before many of you as I married Dan and Kayla. It doesn’t seem real.”
Kayla worked as a sales consultant for Maertens Fine Jewelry & Gifts in Lusby. She was also part of the church’s team to open a lobby coffee shop.
Patin read an answer Kayla wrote in her job application when asked why she wanted to be a part of the coffee shop.
“I want to be a part of the coffee shop because there are so many evangelism opportunities that can naturally happen in that kind of setting,” Patin read. “A church coffee shop is something that I wanted to be involved with. But I never imagined that I would get the opportunity to build it here at my home church. This is how I want to grow God’s kingdom here at Chesapeake.”
“What can I add to that?” Patin asked. “In those few words Kayla proclaimed her love for God and for those that don’t yet know him.”
Some of the couple’s closest friends addressed the congregation at the ceremony, thanking Dan and Kayla for the various lessons they have taught over the years, whether inadvertently or on purpose.
“The outpouring that everyone is seeing is a ripple effect,” Jacqueline Miller, president of End Hunger In Calvert County, said in a phone interview. “It’s quite ironic to us because it was two very quiet introvert people who have made such a ripple on the community.”
Witnesses to the crash told police a northbound 2002 Toyota Camry driven by 27-year-old Lauren Renee Scott of Edgewater crossed the center line on Solomons Island Road near Swallow Lane and struck the southbound 2011 Honda Civic, driven by Daniel Amos, near the shoulder of the highway.
A 2008 Ford Crown Victoria traveling southbound struck both vehicles, overturning the Honda, according to Anne Arundel County police.
The occupants of the Ford declined medical treatment at the scene.
Daniel Amos was declared dead at the scene by fire department personnel. Kayla Amos was flown to a shock trauma hospital in Baltimore with critical and unstable injuries. She died the next day.
Scott was flown from the scene with serious injuries and is currently recovering, according to Cpl. Jacklyn Davis of the Anne Arundel Police Department.
Anne Arundel County police said neither speed nor alcohol appeared to be a contributing factor to the crash. The traffic safety division of the police department is handling the investigation and will submit a report to the state’s attorney.
“At this point I don’t know if [Scott] will be charged,” Davis said in a phone interview Monday. “When the report is finished, it will be sent to the state’s attorney’s office. It could take up to nine months before we know. Hopefully not, though.”
By ANDREW CEPHAS

Northern High students help end hunger

Students in Northern High School’s Future Business Leaders of America organization have been working closely with End Hunger in Calvert County as part of its Partnership with Business Project. These activities have included the annual End Hunger Obstacle Run, a campaign to raise awareness for the Calvert Cash program, and a schoolwide food drive in the month leading up to Christmas, where the school raised over 850 pounds of food, or 936 food items, to donate to food pantries in the Calvert County area.
Our partnership with End Hunger has been beneficial not only in that FBLA members benefitted End Hunger’s mission, but they also promoted awareness of the hunger crisis in the county. Through the partnership with End Hunger, FBLA members have said they developed an appreciation for the group’s ambitious goals, while at the same time learning about its structure and business model.
Project coordinators Tommy O’Brien, Alissa Lambert and Christian Kincaid are thankful to have the opportunity to work with such a talented organization. We thank our FBLA advisers, Nancy Wilt and Theresa Jackson, for supervising the project and helping make it a success.