Walk to benefit work of St. Vincent de Paul Society

THIS ‘N' THAT

Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009

"Last year, we had 220 people participate," Belanger said Friday morning. "We did really, really well … We raised a little over $20,000."

Belanger is hoping this year's walk, set for Saturday, Sept. 26, in Leonardtown, goes at least as well.

"We're hoping for as good a crowd as we had last year. We are hoping for better," she said.

Friends of the Poor Walks are held across the country and raise money for St. Vincent de Paul societies, which provide community assistance to those in need. "It's the largest lay charity in the world. We help with mortgages, rent, SMECO, medication, food," Belanger said, referring to the society with which she is involved at St. Aloysius Catholic Church. "We help however we can."

She said the current economic situation has stressed the society's resources. "We are seeing a lot of new people needing help who've never needed help before."

The Sept. 26 walk is designed to help with this increased need. Walkers collect pledges and/or make donations to designate for a St. Vincent de Paul society. There are five in St. Mary's County and three in Charles County. The St. Mary's County walk is the only one scheduled in Maryland this year, according to Belanger.

The 5K walk will follow a course through Leonardtown, the same course as the annual Run for Hospice.

The Friends of the Poor-Walk a Mile in My Shoes will start at Father Andrew White School in Leonardtown at 9 a.m., rain or shine. The walk will also feature a post-walk brunch, door prizes, face painting and balloons for children and live entertainment. Free blood pressure screenings will be offered by Health Connections.

Participants can register at www.svdpfriendsofthepoorwalk.org. There is also same-day registration the morning of the walk at 7:30 a.m. For more information contact Belanger at 301-904-7990 or go online to www.walkforthepoor.com.

"We're really excited," Belanger said. "We want the community to come out."

Basket bingo to aid St. John's School

St. John's School in Hollywood will host a benefit basket bingo on Thursday, Sept. 17, at the Monsignor Harris Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. and bingo starts at 7 p.m. Admission is $20, which includes a pack of cards for 20 games and a door prize ticket; additional cards will be available at $5 per pack. Children must purchase an admission ticket and be accompanied by a paying adult.

The prizes will include filled Longaberger baskets in various themes. There will also be a Chinese auction, pull tabs, door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. Food will be available for sale as well.

For more information or reservations, e-mail Lindagreer@gmail.com or call Phyllis at 301-373-5871.

Desegregation film distributed

The Lexington Park office of Booz Allen Hamilton has distributed 100 copies of the documentary, "With All Deliberate Speed: One High School's Story," about the desegregation of Great Mills High School between 1958 and 1972, to local libraries, colleges, historical societies and the county schools.

Produced by St. Mary's College of Maryland's chair of Theater, Film, and Media Studies, Merideth Taylor, this documentary is based on 18 oral histories drawn from more than 30 interviews with former teachers, administrators and students collected by Taylor with help from students and teachers at Great Mills.

Booz Allen Hamilton's senior consultant and Lexington Park Workforce Leadership Council African-American Forum lead, Raneene James, attended the film's public screening at Great Mills High School auditorium in June. Several of Booz Allen's Lexington Park employees attended Great Mills High School and James wanted to help make the film part of the local school curriculum. She collaborated with Taylor and approached Booz Allen for funding to duplicate and distribute the film so that the broader Southern Maryland community would have access to it for educational purposes.

A grant from the PNC Foundation Legacy Project and the Maryland Humanities Council made the documentary possible. Additional support for the documentary project came from St. Mary's College in partnership with St. Mary's County Public Schools and the Unified Committee for Afro-American Contributions.

Dinner and auction to benefit CCA's efforts

The Patuxent River Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association Maryland will hold its third annual fundraising event to support oyster restoration, kids fishing camps and other community service projects Saturday, Sept. 19, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Sotterley Plantation in Hollywood.

The bull and oyster roast will include raffles and silent and live auctions with fishing and hunting trips, jewelry, artwork, meals at local restaurants, fishing equipment and other items. A highlight of the auction will be a two-hour wine and cheese cruise aboard the Wm. B. Tennison.

The Patuxent River Chapter is distributing 1.5 million oysters to approximately 400 local residents who will grow them at their piers until they reach adult size. At that point, the oysters will be placed on sanctuary to continue filtering water.

Tickets for the event are $55 for an individual and $100 for a couple and include a one-year CCA membership. Tickets and information can be obtained from Heather McGuire at sahmcguire@gmail.com.

Synagogue to celebrate new year

On Sept. 18, Jewish people will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and the birthday of the world, according to Rabbi Hannah Greenstein of Beth Israel Synagogue in Lexington Park.

Rosh Hashanah is a time to refocus on the beauty found in our life-sustaining world, Greenstein wrote in a statement.

Rosh Hashanah is also a time for spiritual renewal. "To help us focus on the sweetness of life, we eat apples dipped in honey. The apples remind us of the fruits of creation, and their round shape symbolizes the endless circle of life," she said."We also blow a ram's horn, or, ‘shofar.' The blasts of the shofar serve as call for us to reflect on the year that has passed and to focus on our hopes for the year ahead."

Rosh Hashanah also marks the start of the season of the Jewish calendar called the High Holy Days — a time for repentance for wrongdoings committed against others. Starting at Rosh Hashanah, those who observe the season ask forgiveness from others and grant forgiveness to those who have wronged them. The High Holy Days end with Yom Kippur, beginning on the evening of Sept. 27, when participants ask for forgiveness from God for the sins committed during the previous year.

Beth Israel Synagogue invites interested members of the community to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and the High Holy Day season with its membership in Lexington Park. For more information about service times and dates, call 301-862-2021 or visit www.bethisraelmd.org.

scraton@somdnews.com