Raise Money

Some of Baltimore's best-known institutions are teaming up to help Bea Gaddy, advocate for the homeless, raise money for medical expenses associated with her breast cancer operation, scheduled for this morning at Johns Hopkins Hospital.The fund-raising effort is being led by the local branch of the American Breast Cancer Foundation, which donated $5,000 to Gaddy last night at a benefit at The Belvedere hotel. The foundation was hoping to raise an additional $5,000 through donations and an auction held at the event.

Richard E. "Dick" Hug, a prominent businessman and prolific fundraiser for Republican candidates, died Saturday. He was 78. Mr. Hug was the finance chairman for three Maryland gubernatorial campaigns - Ellen R. Sauerbrey in 1998 and Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. in 2002 and 2006 - becoming known as the $6 million man after he raised that amount for Mrs. Sauerbrey's unsuccessful attempt to unseat Gov. Parris N. Glendening. He belonged to numerous civic boards and associations, including the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, and he served a stint as chairman of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce.

PLANNING CONTINUES for Linthicum's Relay for Life overnight fund-raising event scheduled June 15 to 16 at Lindale Middle School. Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, it raises money for research, education and patient services but also is meant as a celebration of life dedicated to present and former cancer patients, their families and friends. Linthicum resident Kim Orzechowski, who is recruiting teams for the relay, said 31 have signed up. Each team decides how it will raise money -- some through fund-raisers before the event, others at the event.

Americans' hearts going out to the victims of the marathon bombing in Boston, which means, of course, con artists will have to take advantage of that. The Federal Trade Commission is warning people to be leery of charity solicitations from telemarketers. The agency advises people to: -- Ask for the charity's name if the telemarketer doesn't provide it immediately. (This alone should be a warning sign if the solicitor isn't forthcoming) -- Find out what percentage of your gift will go to the cause.

DOZENS OF Little Bad Wolves joined one Big Bad Wolf to chase Little Red Riding Hood around New Windsor on Tuesday.But all the running around was for a good cause -- to raise money for playground equipment at Elmer Wolfe Elementary School in Union Bridge when it opens next year.Students earned money by collecting pledges for running half-mile or one-mile circuits on a track in the shape of a W -- for Wolfe -- at the school's temporary quarters at the old New Windsor Middle School.Principal Mary Stong shared duties as Little Red Riding Hood with physical education teacher Bob Cooke, while fellow gym teacher Derrik Hess was the snarling Big Bad Wolfe.

Glen Burnie United Methodist Church will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner today to raise money to help establish a North County shelter for homeless men.For the past four winters, about 20 churches have taken turns providing 25 men with food and shelter for a week at a time. Volunteers said about 200 homeless have been served.Members of North Arundel Area Ministries began working last summer to establish a permanent shelter in the Glen Burnie area. They estimate the shelter will be completed in two years.

SPRING IS JUST around the corner, despite our recent reminders of winter.Carrolltowne Elementary School has planned "Spring Fling '99" to celebrate and to raise funds for its playground.The school has been working for the past two years to raise money to replace aging and unsafe playground equipment and is hoping that the proceeds from Spring Fling '99 will enable it to purchase and install the new equipment.Spring Fling '99 will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the school. The event will feature family games for minimal cost, and food and bake tables, cake walks and Beanie Baby walks.

WASHINGTON -- Less than two months after President Clinton's legal defense fund shut down, his allies unveiled a new fund yesterday that will employ more aggressive fund-raising tactics and accept much larger donations.The new fund will seek donations, where the previous one passively awaited contributions. Gifts to the original fund were limited to $1,000. The new limit will be ten times that level. But neither Clinton nor Hillary Rodham Clinton will be involved in fund raising.Ongoing legal battles over sexual misconduct charges, Whitewater, campaign fund raising and the Monica Lewinsky matter have left the Clintons with "enormous and ever-mounting legal expenses," now totaling $3.2 million, said the fund's founder, former Democratic Sen. David Pryor of Arkansas.

A lengthy hearing with close to two dozen speakers delayed a County Council vote last night on a bill to create Anne Arundel's first private agency to raise money for recreational projects.The proposal had been the subject of intensive lobbying, and passage of a bill in the Maryland General Assembly last night allowing the county to create a revenue authority to control money raised for recreation programs.But after more than two hours of council members' questioning county officials about the proposal, and testimony from opponents, it appeared possible that the members would introduce several amendments on the bill to create the Recreational Revenue Authority -- which would require a new public hearing and put off a vote.

About 200 kindergartners and first-graders sat on the gym floor and listened to a story that connected some disparate threads: a cat, the holidays and combating eye disease. The students at Youth's Benefit Elementary School in Fallston assembled recently to hear Samuel Polakoff read a story told from a cat's point of view about two families who come together in the spirit of Christmas. "I had the idea for a children's story, and I wanted to do more to raise money for glaucoma," the author said after the assembly.

Roland Park Country School graduate Jocelyn Young-Hyman, who is now a Peace Corps volunteer, has big plans for the money raised Thursday by her alma mater in its annual All-School Walk. Young-Hyman, a 2007graduate of the all-girls school on Roland Avenue, is assigned to work at Kichakamkwaju School For The Deaf, in Kenya. On April 1, she emailed Roland Park Country School Upper School Head Ereni Malfa, asking for help in raising money for art supplies and academic games. "My school is an extremely poor school with absolutely no resources or parents who can support their children," she wrote.

Opponents of Maryland's tough new gun-control law said Wednesday that they will not seek to petition it to referendum and instead will back a lawsuit planned by the National Rifle Association. "This is a constitutional right that should not go to the citizens to vote on," said Republican Del. Neil Parrott of Western Maryland, founder of the mdpetitions.com group that has successfully petitioned three other laws to referendum in the past two years. Flanked by representatives of the NRA, Maryland-based gun-rights groups, and other Republican lawmakers, Parrott announced the plans to a crowd of 70 at a Jessup fundraising event for mdpetitions.com.

Spring is the time of rebirth and renewal . For some, that means tee time and a chance to be outdoors, unwinding from the stresses of everyday life. If golf is your sport of choice, then you need to check out the Zero Prostate Cancer Golf Classic. This event takes place on May 13 from 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. at the Towson Golf and Country Club, where LPGA tour players will join other golfers to help fight against prostate cancer. Founded by Chesapeake Urology Associates as the Great Prostate Cancer Challenge Baltimore Classic, this event raises funds to further research and provide free screenings in dozens of cities across the U.S. A Driving Range Clinic with the LPGA pros, plus a brunch, is from 10:30 a.m. until noon when a shotgun start begins the 18-hole adventure.

Maryland's deteriorating infrastructure could receive a boost from private investor dollars, thanks to legislation passed Monday designed to enhance public-private partnerships. The idea behind so-called public-private partnerships, or P3s, is to get investors to put up money for, say, highways or bridges in exchange for a share in the revenue stream later. Maryland has had some projects funded by public-private partnerships, but the bill aims to improve the process to attract more investors.

Seated at a downtown coffee shop last week, Victoria Vox quickly noticed the table was wobbly and uneven. Rather than ignore the minor nuisance, the 34-year-old singer-songwriter took the newspaper she walked in with, folded up a few pages and stuck it under the table's leg. She punctuated the correction with a shrug. "I fix things," Vox said nonchalantly. Born Victoria Davitt, Vox's do-it-herself mentality has served her well since May 2003, when she quit her managerial job at New York & Company in the mall of her hometown, Green Bay, Wis. Since then, music has been her only career.

Akua Zenzele, a community supervision agent in Southeast Baltimore who works with parolees, knows the first few days after being released from incarceration are crucial for former inmates. Many are paroled with few resources and nowhere to go. Some end up homeless, and without a way to meet basic needs; others wind up back in jail after committing new crimes just to get by. Zenzele, whose job is to monitor those on parole and probation, has seen the cycle play out before. When she found out that one of her clients was living in a homeless shelter, she decided to try a new strategy to help people get settled as soon as possible.

THE LINTHICUM Community Fair is a day of fun and food. It's also a time to raise money for worthy causes - including the North County Emergency Outreach Network. "The Linthicum Fair has been a help beyond belief," said Marsha Frazier, president and chairwoman of the board for the organization. "This was an unusually busy summer and we are beginning to hurt for food." The fair, scheduled for Sept. 29, allows nonprofit groups to interact with one another and raise money for their organizations by sponsoring games and activities and selling food and beverages.

In the unforgiving world of campaign finance, political candidates spend hours working phones, sitting through price-per-plate dinners and courting interest groups - whatever it takes to find an edge and out-raise opponents. But for the first three months of next year, a handful of candidates for state office will catch a financial break without lifting a finger thanks to Maryland's prohibition against fundraising while the General Assembly is in session. The ban applies only to incumbents, not challengers.

The town, or more precisely, Harford County, is going to the dogs and cats. At least that's the hope of those at the Humane Society of Harford County who have partnered with the Art Rooms Professional Art Supplies to host a fun competition as a fundraiser. The Art Rooms Professional Art Supplies is inviting artists of all ages and abilities to join them for an art show and benefit to raise funds for the homeless and neglected animals at the Humane Society of Harford County. The Arts Rooms is not looking for Harford County's next Picasso, but they are looking for artists to shine the spotlight on our furry friends and raise funds for their care while having fun and letting the creative juices flow.

Two special fundraisers took place at the Port Deposit VFW Post 8185 last weekend. In the big hall was a "celebration of love and support" for the Kessler Family, featuring several bands, a silent auction, raffles, food and door prizes. The proceeds of that 12-hour fundraising marathon will benefit local wounded veteran, Jeffrey Kessler. Jeffrey will soon move into the home provided for him by Homes for Our Troops, but donations of materials plus private and corporate monetary funding is still necessary to make his home a reality.