LETTER TO THE EDITOR The Rev. Robert P. Hahn and Jacqueline Miller, Huntingtown. The writers are the respective CEO and president of End Hunger In Calvert County.
On behalf of the 15,000 people End Hunger feeds every year, we express a heartfelt thank you to Northern High School’s Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students for their dedication and commitment to ending hunger in Calvert County.

For years, these student members have supported End Hunger as well as many other worthy causes in our county through their fundraising and charitable activities. The past two years, however, they’ve truly exceeded all expectations.

In all, 70 FBLA students served over 400 hours at The End Hunger Warehouse sorting bulk orders and food deliveries that were then distributed to our 44 Partner Feeding Organizations. They also helped prepare taxes for low-income people saving them thousands through our Calvert Cash free tax program.

Most impressive, they won second place nationwide against over 12,000 competitors in the Maryland Spring State Leadership Conference for the work they’ve done with End Hunger In Calvert County. Finally, these fine young men and women put together an event titled “The Give Where You Live Auction,” which brought together businesses and amazingly raised over $12,000 to support End Hunger In Calvert County.

This is particularly significant because this success not only validates the very goals of the FBLA, but it demonstrates that, at least here in Calvert County, we are generating a crop of future businessmen and businesswomen who will not ignore their social responsibility to “love thy neighbor” while in pursuit of the American Dream. But rather, they understand and embrace our great national value that corporate success includes and demands corporate responsibility. In short, they embrace the vales of #givewhereyoulive.

This should give all of us not only a great sense of pride in our young people, but also a great sense of confidence that moving forward, our county will continue to produce future generations who believe that in Calvert County we are all still family.

So again, we say thank you to the students, the faculty leaders, the local businesses and parents who joined forces to not only help End Hunger In Calvert County, but also to remind us that here in Calvert the flame of hope still burns high and strong.