Outreach Center

For Mary Catherine Bunting, giving is adiverse enterprise. The former nun sometimes drops by a local homeless shelterwith fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, offerings from her own garden. She helps anelderly neighbor with her oxygen tanks. And she volunteers once a week withthe Hospice of Baltimore, sitting at the bedsides of the dying. This fall, Bunting also presented Mercy Medical Center with the largest philanthropic gift in its history, an undisclosed amount that will help build the hospital's new 18-story facility, to be named after her. Previously, the largest gift was $10 million.

Shepherd's Staff routinely gives away food, household goods, clothing and school supplies, but the outreach center added Easter baskets to its distribution list this week.The center sent letters to 50 churches last month asking for "spiritual Easter baskets," to reflect the true meaning of the holy day. Word of the project quickly spread to service clubs, schools and other organizations.By midweek, the center had received nearly 600 baskets, and donations were still arriving at the center on Carroll Street in Westminster.

Mission: In a spirit of love and compassion, the St. Vincent de Paul Society provides human services to needy individuals and families -- meeting their basic needs while inspiring hope and empowering people to reach their full potential. Founded in 1865, the society is an independent, volunteer-based charity that operates a variety of programs that open doors to better lives for those in need. Programs include the Frederick Ozanam House, a homeless outreach service and transitional housing; Beans and Bread, a meal program and learning center; Camp St. Vincent, a summer camp for inner-city children; St. Ambrose Family Outreach Center, with adult education, job training and family services; a clothing and furniture bank; emergency assistance; prison outreach; burial assistance; overseas and disaster relief; and Christmas gift distribution to needy children.

Santa and Mrs. Claus rode into Pigtown yesterday perched atop an a-rab's wagon -- and both wearing sunglasses.It was a spectacle even for skeptical eyes.One toddler inspected them from West Ostend and Ward streets in Southwest Baltimore."Are you the real one?" 3-year-old Bill Metheny asked Santa.He nodded and replied, "Give me five!""Told you," Bill said to his 10-year-old sister, Kayla.Santa and Mrs. Claus continued their journey past the neighborhood's modest brick and Formstone rowhouses until they reached Paul's Place Community Outreach Center in the 1100 block of Ward St., where more than 100 children flocked to greet their arrival.

Yvonne Brown has come so far -- from sunken-cheeked addict to teacher's assistant, from drawing government checks to making her own money and her own way.Yet there she was, leaning over the counter of the food pantry at the Bethel Outreach Center in West Baltimore this week, waiting as emergency services director Georgia Crawford filled plastic bags with frozen salmon and peanut butter, dried milk and canned corn, spaghetti and bread."

Shepherd's Staff routinely gives away food, household goods, clothing and school supplies, but the outreach center added Easter baskets to its distribution list this week.The center sent letters to 50 churches last month asking for "spiritual Easter baskets," to reflect the true meaning of the holy day. Word of the project quickly spread to service clubs, schools and other organizations.By midweek, the center had received nearly 600 baskets, and donations were still arriving at the center on Carroll Street in Westminster.

St. Ambrose Family Outreach Center, which has been offering food, housing and educational assistance to the poor in Park Heights for more than 25 years, will break ground today on a $2.1 million expansion that will quadruple its space.Once construction is finished in July 1999, St. Ambrose will expand its services to include a preschool, a health care clinic and short-term emergency housing for women and children."This will dramatically increase the amount of space they will have available to them," said John J. Schiavone, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Baltimore, which runs St. Ambrose.

For parents unable to afford a back-to-school shopping spree, Shepherd's Staff is offering new supplies and gently used clothing for free.The Christian outreach center in Westminster has invited those in need to shop at a clothing store that opened this week, fully stocked with nearly new items, sorted by size. Shoppers can comb the racks and bins and fill a large bag with everything from caps to shoes.The center is also providing Kits for Kids, and expects to give away about 800 of the packets, which are filled with supplies, before school opens Aug. 24. A few kits went to adults working for their high school equivalency.

St. Ambrose Family Outreach Center in Baltimore, which has been offering food, housing and educational assistance to the poor in Park Heights for more than 25 years, will break ground today on a $2.1 million expansion that will quadruple its space.Once construction is finished in July 1999, St. Ambrose will expand its services to include a preschool, a health care clinic and short-term emergency housing for women and children."This will dramatically increase the amount of space they will have available to them," said John J. Schiavone, executive director of the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Baltimore, which runs St. Ambrose.

A report commissioned by two General Assembly committees on the debt-laden and partly empty Columbus Center suggests uses ranging from a museum school for schoolchildren to an outreach center dealing with ports and other urban waterways.In a hearing scheduled for today, the House Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Budget and Taxation will discuss the report, which was drafted by the state Department of Business and Economic Development, the University System of Maryland, and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.

It's not easy waiting in line outside in the rain or snow or cold, trying to get some services. I understand how it is to be treated with no respect because you look a certain way. I also understand there's hope. If I can change my life, I believe anybody can. -- Will Thomas, staff member, Paul's Place outreach center, Southwest Baltimore A cold rain is falling in Pigtown, a forever-poor part of Southwest Baltimore where recessions don't come and go; they just lessen and worsen. From the lunchroom at Paul's Place outreach center, huddled forms are visible on Ward Street - men and women trying to stay dry until the doors open for a free meal of beef-and-rice casserole.

There are learning and literacy centers throughout the state that cater to the general population. But people at The Highlands School in Bel Air wanted to meet a more specific need - for educational assistance for children and adults with learning disabilities. As a result, the Community Outreach Center for Literacy and Tutoring Program was recently started at the school. "We want to help the child who learns differently, or adults who want to improve their literacy skills," said Paula Moraine, director of the Community Outreach Center and Tutoring Program.

For Mary Catherine Bunting, giving is adiverse enterprise. The former nun sometimes drops by a local homeless shelterwith fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, offerings from her own garden. She helps anelderly neighbor with her oxygen tanks. And she volunteers once a week withthe Hospice of Baltimore, sitting at the bedsides of the dying. This fall, Bunting also presented Mercy Medical Center with the largest philanthropic gift in its history, an undisclosed amount that will help build the hospital's new 18-story facility, to be named after her. Previously, the largest gift was $10 million.

Board creates budget survey In an effort to give the public another chance to weigh in on the school system's fiscal 2009 budget, the Anne Arundel County Board of Education has created an electronic survey. The board's budget request to the county was $941 million; the County Council allocated $868.9 million to the school system, a nearly 8 percent increase over the current year. Council members said that school leaders had asked for too much when the rest of county government is tightening its belt.

Hospital in need of blood donors Anne Arundel Medical Center reports a critical shortage of all blood types, especially O-positive and O-negative. The center's blood bank is open for donations: Mondays, 8:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 8:15 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Fridays, 7:15 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Appointments: 443-481-4215. Outreach Center lists activities Baltimore Washington Medical Center will offer the following activities at its Arundel Mills Outreach Center between Dave and Buster's and entrance No. 4: Monday, 9 a.m. to 10.30 a.m., blood pressure screenings.

Outreach Center lists activities Baltimore Washington Medical Center will offer the following activities at its Arundel Mills Outreach Center between Dave and Buster's and entrance No. 4: Tomorrow, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., blood pressure and lung-capacity screenings. Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., computerized back and neck screenings. Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., blood pressure screenings. Sept. 28, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., foot screenings. Information: 410-787-4367. Hospital offers Sept. activities Baltimore Washington Medical Center will offer the following activities this month: Today, 4 p.m., Joint School.

Outreach Center lists activities Baltimore Washington Medical Center will offer the following activities at its Arundel Mills Outreach Center between Dave and Buster's and entrance No. 4: Tomorrow, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., foot screenings. Monday, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., county Department of Aging will offer information on its services. Sept. 21, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., blood pressure and lung-capacity screenings. Sept. 22, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., computerized back and neck screenings. Sept. 26, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., blood pressure screenings.

Outreach Center lists activities Baltimore Washington Medical Center will offer activities at its Arundel Mills Outreach Center, between Dave and Buster's and Entrance 4: Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., computerized neck and back screenings. Monday, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., free blood pressure screenings. Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., blood pressure screenings. Sept. 14, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., foot screenings. Sept. 18, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., county Department of Aging will offer information on its services.

Outreach Center lists actitivities Baltimore Washington Medical Center will offer activities at its Arundel Mills Outreach Center, between Dave and Buster's and Entrance 4: Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and Sept. 7, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., discussion for diabetics on "It's More Than Just Glucose." Sept. 8, 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., computerized neck and back screenings. Sept. 11, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., free blood pressure screenings. Sept. 12, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., blood pressure screenings. Sept.

Sandi Shanahan waited anxiously. She checked her watch, then her cell phone. Had anyone called? She walked up to the window and peered out into the parking lot. "Maybe she got lost," she said. Minutes later, Shanahan relaxed and smiled when she saw a taxi pull up. A young woman got out, carrying a child seat covered in blankets. The woman, Ana Mendoza Hernandez, had brought in her son, just a few days old, for a routine checkup. Shanahan, a nurse practitioner, opened up a low-cost clinic for uninsured children three months ago, working out of a small room in the community center of the Allen Apartments in Annapolis.