Local Chapters

In what is being called a first for Howard County, members of River Hill High School's Parent Teacher Student Association will consider dissolving the group and replacing it with an independent organization at a meeting next week.Concerned about an increase in dues and whether local chapters benefit from being affiliated with the Maryland Parent Teacher Association and national PTA, River Hill PTSA President Steven Pelham and members of the executive board proposed voting on whether to create a Parent Teacher Student Organization.

The Christ Child Society of Baltimore was formed just a few months ago, but this organization, a chapter of the National Christ Child Society, has hit the ground running. Already, the group has donated books and volunteer hours at many organizations, and established a partnership with Armistead Gardens Elementary and Middle School. On March 21, Maryland first lady Katie O'Malley will visit the Baltimore public school for a program on bullying arranged by the organization. The school already has programs to combat bullying, said Cathleen White, who revived the Baltimore branch of the Christ Child Society and planned O'Malley's visit.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation's oldest civil rights group, has come to a sad pass. Disaffected officials have asked the federal District Court in Baltimore to strip board Chairman William F. Gibson of control over the organization's finances and order an independent audit. The group is $4.5 million in debt; it has dipped $1 million into its pension fund to cover expenses. The respected law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, which was advising the NAACP pro bono, bailed out recently citing the board's unwillingness to do what is necessary to put its affairs in order.

Wilma Ferrebee was still in high school in 1941 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the nation on the heels of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. "I can still hear his voice saying we're at war," said the 65-year resident of Laurel, who became Wilma Foster when she wed Abe Foster and they moved into town as a young married couple. When World War II started, she was living with her family on their Virginia farm, leading the simple life of a young woman with a Christian upbringing and close family ties.

The American National Red Cross, which came under criticism for its handling of relief efforts after 9/11 and particularly after Hurricane Katrina, is trying to reorganize itself to make clearer distinctions between governance and management. For millions across the nation who are likely to need the organization's help in the future, this is good news. It will be up to the new Congress to make this happen. Founded by Clara Barton in 1881, the Red Cross was given special status by Congress in 1900 to help prepare for disasters and provide relief to victims, for which the agency now uses 35,000 employees and 1 million volunteers.

After a lackluster start, the United Way of Central Maryland seems to be gaining momentum in its annual fund-raising drive.Donations more than doubled in the past month, from $12.8 million to $28.3 million, a spokesman said. United Way, which started the campaign Sept. 23, has until Jan. 31 to reach its goal of $40 million."We think the message is getting out," spokesman Mel Tansill said. "Perhaps the anxiety level over the economy is finally over."United Way officials have maintained that Maryland's weak economy was their biggest concern going into the 1992 campaign.

After a lackluster start, the United Way of Central Maryland seems to be gaining momentum in its annual fund-raising drive.Donations more than doubled in the past month, from $12.8 million to $28.3 million, a spokesman said. United Way, which started the campaign Sept. 23, has until Jan. 31 to reach its goal of $40 million."We think the message is getting out," spokesman Mel Tansill said. "Perhaps the anxiety level over the economy is finally over."United Way officials have maintained that Maryland's weak economy was their biggest concern going into the 1992 campaign.

MIAMI -- Financially bruised United Way organizations across the country fear a new public relations disaster if the United Way of America agrees to a $4 million retirement package sought by disgraced former chairman William Aramony.The United Way of America, the national arm of the nearly 1,400 community chapters, announced yesterday a special meeting would be held tomorrow in Dallas to discuss "a recommendation" on the demand by Mr. Aramony, the charity's former head who resigned under fire in early 1992.

WASHINGTON -- After two decades as a major engine powering the Democratic Party, the country's chief teachers union is desperately trying to recast itself in a bipartisan light to the Republicans who control Congress.But the National Education Association's leaders are having trouble persuading their 2.4 million members to go along as they make endorsements for this year's elections. That could mean the union will have few friends at the bargaining table when Republicans meet to set education policy.

In announcing her candidacy for the chairmanship of the troubled NAACP last week, Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, offered a ray of hope.Ms. Evers-Williams is a former corporate executive and commissioner of the Los Angeles Board of Public Works, where she oversaw a $1 billion budget and 7,000 employees. She is qualified to lead the nation's oldest civil rights group back to health. Whether that hope is realized depends on the willingness of the NAACP's fractious board to do the right thing when it meets Saturday.

Patrick V. Murphy, an attorney who fought a long struggle with schizophrenia and volunteered with the National Alliance for Mental Illness, died May 21 in North Baltimore. He was 37. Family members said he ended his own life and had spent two decades in medical treatment for his condition. "Patrick struggled with mental and emotional problems most of his life," said the Rev. William Au at a funeral Tuesday at SS. Philip and James Roman Catholic Church. "He waged a battle with depression and anger that most people could not understand."

The NAACP's national board is poised to select a new president and CEO. But a rift among members threatens to shake up the plans, as some complain they have been shut out of the process to choose a new leader for the Baltimore-based civil rights organization. Calling itself the "Leadership of Conscience," a group of about a dozen NAACP board members expressed its objections at the board's annual meeting in New York last weekend. During board elections, the group waged an unsuccessful effort to unseat Chairman Julian Bond.

Frustrated by embarrassing financial troubles and concerned about a void in leadership, some NAACP members will gather at the organization's 98th annual convention in Detroit this weekend urging the group to take a new direction. Local branches say the Baltimore-based organization desperately needs a sophisticated fundraising strategy, better communication between leadership and the grass roots, and a major effort to recruit young members. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is struggling to recover from three years of budget shortfalls and has yet to begin a serious search for a new president and CEO to replace the one who quit nearly four months ago. While the NAACP's annual convention is typically the time when leaders articulate the organization's vision and priorities, local members say this year, that need is critical.

The American National Red Cross, which came under criticism for its handling of relief efforts after 9/11 and particularly after Hurricane Katrina, is trying to reorganize itself to make clearer distinctions between governance and management. For millions across the nation who are likely to need the organization's help in the future, this is good news. It will be up to the new Congress to make this happen. Founded by Clara Barton in 1881, the Red Cross was given special status by Congress in 1900 to help prepare for disasters and provide relief to victims, for which the agency now uses 35,000 employees and 1 million volunteers.

For the Greater Baltimore Urban League, phase one was to right a turbulent financial ship and then float seamlessly into phase two and restore the organization's tarnished image. "That part of our history is behind us," said league President J. Howard Henderson of the organization's near fiscal collapse. "Now our reputation is coming back." About $70,000 of debt remains from the bills inherited by a new leadership team, headed by Henderson, that took over in late 2000. The snarl of money problems - from unpaid taxes to delinquent mortgage bills to misspent federal grants - grew to $2.2 million and, once discovered, embarrassed the league, led to the immediate dismissal of the group's president and almost closed the longtime civil rights organization.

Twenty-seven years ago, Jack Watters was in Security Square Mall in Woodlawn waiting for his wife when he heard harmonizing voices singing barbershop music. The Heart of Maryland Chorus was practicing in a meeting room for a performance at the mall, and Watters - always intrigued by the a cappella music style - joined in. The group then invited him to perform with them. He agreed, forgetting about his wife, Rusty. "I'm in the middle of this group singing, when my wife looks up and sees me," said Watters, of Sykesville.

The United Way of Central Maryland hopes to raise $40 millio this year -- just $1 million above the 1991 campaign.Officials announced the new goal yesterday at the kick-off breakfast for the five-month campaign, which raises the bulk of its funds from 3,500 corporations in the metropolitan Baltimore area.But, for the first time, the overall goal was not broken down into separate targets for corporate and government employees. Last year, the campaign raised a record $39 million to distribute among 109 health and human service agencies, but the corporate sector fell short of its $33.2 million goal, only to be offset by giving among government employees.

A decline in national telemarketing and direct mail donations to Mothers Against Drunk Driving is curtailing funding for state and local chapters, including Carroll County's.The Carroll County MADD chapter received a funding cut of nearly 55 percent -- from $18,000 in fiscal 1998 to $8,000 -- from the national organization this fiscal year.Officers of the Carroll chapter of MADD are looking for solutions to their financial woes and plan to present their plight to the County Commissioners on Wednesday.

Twenty-seven years ago, Jack Watters was in Security Square Mall in Woodlawn waiting for his wife when he heard harmonizing voices singing barbershop music. The Heart of Maryland Chorus was practicing in a meeting room for a performance at the mall, and Watters - always intrigued by the a cappella music style - joined in. The group then invited him to perform with them. He agreed, forgetting about his wife, Rusty. "I'm in the middle of this group singing, when my wife looks up and sees me," said Watters, of Sykesville.

The Rev. Al Sharpton ignited a crowd of more than 300 at a Baltimore nightclub last night as he officially formed a chapter of his National Action Network here and named former state Sen. Larry Young as its leader. Sharpton spoke briefly, then rushed to Washington, where he was scheduled to tape a television show. His remarks were peppered with shouts of "Amen!," "All right!" and "That's right!" from the audience. "We need an action network," Sharpton said. "We need to actively go after those that exploit and oppress us."