Holiday Sharing

WITH ALL THE SUVs crowding the roadways, skyrocketing home values and other signs of gushing wealth, it would be easy to assume that nearly everyone is on easy street. Not so. The poor are still with us, and their need persists, says Christine Poulsen, special programs manager of the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services and queen bee of the Holiday Sharing program. Holiday Sharing brings together donors of food and toys for needy families and strapped seniors. The program, in its 21st year, is a collaborative effort between Social Services and the Medical Society Alliance of Anne Arundel County.

The Bible tells how Jesus fed thousands of people with just a few fish and loaves of bread. The story is meant to show Jesus' miracle-making power, and also to teach a fundamental lesson in compassion. The Rev. Henry B. Hunt and members of Mount Hebron Memorial Church of God in Christ have taken that moral to heart. Yesterday, as they have done for nine years, the church members opened the doors of Heaven's Gate Eatery, a church subsidiary, offering a free sit-down Christmas dinner for anyone who wanted to come.

The joy of the holiday season. A turkey on the Thanksgiving table. A toy in a child's Christmas stocking.The folks behind the "Holiday Sharing" program started sending out letters last week to local businesses and other groups, asking for donations to help make the holidays memorable for needy families in Anne Arundel County.Books, crayons and toys for Crystal, 6, and her brother Michael, 4, filled the Reichert household in Glen Burnie last Christmas, thanks to the program."Tears just came to my eyes," said their grandmother, Eileen Reichert, 59, who cares for her grandchildren alone since her husband died two years ago. "We had so much come in. I've never seen so much in all my life."

WITH ALL THE SUVs crowding the roadways, skyrocketing home values and other signs of gushing wealth, it would be easy to assume that nearly everyone is on easy street. Not so. The poor are still with us, and their need persists, says Christine Poulsen, special programs manager of the Anne Arundel County Department of Social Services and queen bee of the Holiday Sharing program. Holiday Sharing brings together donors of food and toys for needy families and strapped seniors. The program, in its 21st year, is a collaborative effort between Social Services and the Medical Society Alliance of Anne Arundel County.

IMELDA HERZINGER of ArnoldVolunteer work: Mrs. Herzinger is chairwoman for Holiday Sharing, a program coordinated by the Medical Society Alliance of Anne Arundel County.About the volunteer: Mrs. Herzinger has been a resident of Arnold since 1976. Her husband, Raymond, is a urologist at Anne Arundel Medical Center and North Arundel Hospital.Mrs. Herzinger, who has led Holiday Sharing since 1982, was recently presented with a proclamation by County Executive Robert R. Neall, lauding her dedication.

For years, the family of five always gave baskets of food to their needy neighbors during the holidays. But this Thanksgiving, a sudden reversal of fortune has left the family begging for help.The storyis common these days at the county Department of Social Services, where volunteers and social workers are struggling to assist hundreds of families.Hard-hit by the economic slump, more people than ever have signedup for a Thanksgiving food basket, said Christine Poulsen, co-chairwoman of Holiday Sharing, a countywide food and gift drive.

When Christine Poulsen flips through the stacks of leftover yellow index cards, she sees a depressing sign of the times.Each of the more than 300 cards lists the name and address of a poor family or senior citizen who still needs a Thanksgiving dinner. With the hours ticking by, most of the cards are likely to remain neatly sorted in manila folders.Hard hit by the economic slump, more families than ever signed up for a Thanksgiving food basket this year, said Poulsen, coordinator of volunteers for the county's Department of Social Services.

THE PORTLY gentleman said, "At this festive season of the year it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time."Ebenezer Scrooge's response was a nasty one, but his attitude was adjusted later that night after visits by four ghosts. The portly gentleman's concerns, however, still persist.Holiday Sharing will try to make some slight provision by bringing food and toys to about 3,000 families countywide, and it could use some help.

County children in foster homes, shelters and other "homes away from home" are celebrating this holiday season with the help of county employees and the Angel Tree program.The 6-year-old countywide program provides Christmas gifts for needy children. Thirty Christmas trees decorated with angels -- each bearing a child's name -- are placed in county offices. Employees pick an angel from the tree, then buy a gift for the child.The county Police Department, for example, has six trees, one in each district station, the Millersville headquarters and the Criminal Investigation Division in Crownsville, said department coordinator Nancy Silwick.

County children in foster homes, shelters and other "homes away fromhome" are being remembered this holiday season with the help of county employees and the Angel Tree program.The 5-year-old countywideprogram provides Christmas gifts for needy children through 29 Christmas trees placed in county offices. The trees are decorated with angels that bear a child's name.The police department, for example, has six trees, one in each district station plus the Millersville headquarters and the Criminal Investigation Division in Crownsville, department coordinator Nancy Silwick said.

THE PORTLY gentleman said, "At this festive season of the year it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time."Ebenezer Scrooge's response was a nasty one, but his attitude was adjusted later that night after visits by four ghosts. The portly gentleman's concerns, however, still persist.Holiday Sharing will try to make some slight provision by bringing food and toys to about 3,000 families countywide, and it could use some help.

IMELDA HERZINGER of ArnoldVolunteer work: Mrs. Herzinger is chairwoman for Holiday Sharing, a program coordinated by the Medical Society Alliance of Anne Arundel County.About the volunteer: Mrs. Herzinger has been a resident of Arnold since 1976. Her husband, Raymond, is a urologist at Anne Arundel Medical Center and North Arundel Hospital.Mrs. Herzinger, who has led Holiday Sharing since 1982, was recently presented with a proclamation by County Executive Robert R. Neall, lauding her dedication.

The joy of the holiday season. A turkey on the Thanksgiving table. A toy in a child's Christmas stocking.The folks behind the "Holiday Sharing" program started sending out letters last week to local businesses and other groups, asking for donations to help make the holidays memorable for needy families in Anne Arundel County.Books, crayons and toys for Crystal, 6, and her brother Michael, 4, filled the Reichert household in Glen Burnie last Christmas, thanks to the program."Tears just came to my eyes," said their grandmother, Eileen Reichert, 59, who cares for her grandchildren alone since her husband died two years ago. "We had so much come in. I've never seen so much in all my life."

Abortion Under A New GovernmentOn the first day of the new Congress, the "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) was re-introduced. While some proponents of FOCA claim that it merely codifies Roe vs. Wade, an examination of the facts shows that it actually goes much further.The American Civil Liberties Union, one of the leading supporters of the bill, stated in its recently published handbook, "Civil Liberties in the 102nd Congress," that parental notification and consent requirements would be prohibited by FOCA.

County children in foster homes, shelters and other "homes away from home" are celebrating this holiday season with the help of county employees and the Angel Tree program.The 6-year-old countywide program provides Christmas gifts for needy children. Thirty Christmas trees decorated with angels -- each bearing a child's name -- are placed in county offices. Employees pick an angel from the tree, then buy a gift for the child.The county Police Department, for example, has six trees, one in each district station, the Millersville headquarters and the Criminal Investigation Division in Crownsville, said department coordinator Nancy Silwick.

The newspaper brought with it a grocery bag ready to be filled with non-perishable foodstuffs, practical or exotic, for distribution to the hungry at Thanksgiving.Coincidentally, I had spent the evening before wrestling with the finances of feeding many relatives and friends who will be visiting in the next few weeks for Thanksgiving, Christmas and a wedding.I was jolted that morning by the realization that while the hospitality will be a financial challenge, it's one we can meet, with some creativity and self-discipline.

Salvation Army volunteers valiantly kept ringing their bells last week in an 11th-hour drive to fill their kettles before Christmas.With donations down by more than $15,000 compared with this time last year, Maj. Jess Duncan, the director of the Salvation Army in Annapolis, was working around-the-clock to drum up more support.He gave pep talks and called businesses to lobby for donations, saying that without a dramatic turn-around, he fears needy families could be left in the cold at the end of the holiday season.

I was taken to task once for seeming to be overly enamored of the seasonal display of a place I had left rather than enjoying the place I found myself. There's no danger of that here, folks!Never, in many years in New Hampshire or the Arizona desert or the Sierra foothills in California, have I seen fall colors like this . . . so intense, so varied, so lush and so lasting.And now, with the leaves finally dropping, it's exciting to see the "bones" of the land for the first time and the very different vistas being unveiled.

County children in foster homes, shelters and other "homes away fromhome" are being remembered this holiday season with the help of county employees and the Angel Tree program.The 5-year-old countywideprogram provides Christmas gifts for needy children through 29 Christmas trees placed in county offices. The trees are decorated with angels that bear a child's name.The police department, for example, has six trees, one in each district station plus the Millersville headquarters and the Criminal Investigation Division in Crownsville, department coordinator Nancy Silwick said.