Shepherd S Staff

Spending a sunny autumn Saturday selling cast-offs from garages, attics and basements might ordinarily hold little appeal for college coeds, but for the right cause, they will forgo the football game for a yard sale. A group of McDaniel College sophomores spent two days hauling, sorting, pricing and showcasing hundreds of items donated for a yard sale to Shepherd's Staff, an outreach ministry to the needy in Carroll County. They are trying to make a difference. The students are part of the local effort participating in Make a Difference Day, a nationwide movement sponsored by USA Weekend and the Points of Light Foundation that encourages neighbors to help one another.

Four-year-old Michael Colson clutched the straps of his bright green backpack yesterday, proudly modeled it for his mother and vowed he would never take it off. "He will probably sleep in it, he likes it so much," Chrystal Colson said of her youngest son, who will be a newcomer in the fall to the Head Start program in Westminster. At an annual back-to-school giveaway at a county charity, Colson and her four children, ages 4 to 10, went shopping. Shepherd's Staff, an ecumenical ministry to Carroll County's needy families, promised each child a backpack filled with school supplies and certificates for new shoes and a haircut, with whatever gently used clothing they wanted from the organization's closets.

Shepherd's Staff seeks back-to-school donations The Shepherd's Staff is seeking donations for its Back-to-School program for needy families. The program provides new school supplies and clothing for children of "working poor" families who cannot afford to buy such items or services as notebooks, backpacks, shoes and haircuts. Besides new supplies, the program's Clothing Shed offers gently used clothes for all ages from kindergarten to high school. Especially needed are clothes for ages from kindergarten to middle school.

Sleeves from old shirts and blouses become cloth bags with ribbons made of neckties. Recycled fabric is stitched into pillows with pockets that can hold a note or a small gift. Gourmet baskets are filled with coffees and teas - and pancake mix. These creations are Products with a Mission, a hot-selling gift line that has raised $4,000 this holiday season for Shepherd's Staff, an ecumenical ministry to the needy in Carroll County. The line has sold so briskly that the supplies used to make the gifts are nearly depleted, said Kathy Brown, director of the Westminster charity.

Historical society's open house slated for Saturday The Historical Society of Carroll County will hold a Holiday Open House from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Shriver-Weybright Auditorium. Visitors to the society's office and adjacent auditorium can see the new additions to the auditorium's exhibition gallery, including several tall clocks from the permanent collection. Catherine Baty, curator of collections, recently completed the gallery's new look. She will answer questions and offer tours of the gallery.

Shepherd's Staff to hold fund-raiser for school supplies The Shepherd's Staff, a faith-based charitable organization in Westminster, will hold its Back-to-School Program this summer for needy children. A "clothing shed" will offer gently used clothes for all sizes of children. Clothes for children in kindergarten through middle school are needed. The school store has school supplies and backpacks for children in all grades. The "Ten Dollars Paves the Way for Back-to-School Day" program is a fund-raiser for shoes and backpacks.

Four days before Thanksgiving, Shepherd's Staff, a Westminster-based ecumenical ministry, finds itself short on ingredients for its traditional holiday dinner served to about 350 of Carroll County's neediest residents. Kathy Brown, Shepherd's Staff director, has about 500 pounds of soon-to-be-roasted turkeys, but her list of side dishes, desserts, condiments and paper products is far from filled. She is counting off what she needs by Wednesday evening, confident it will all arrive before preparation begins.

Four days before Thanksgiving, Shepherd's Staff, a Westminster-based ecumenical ministry, finds itself short on ingredients for its traditional holiday dinner served to about 350 of Carroll County's neediest residents. Kathy Brown, Shepherd's Staff director, has about 500 pounds of soon-to-be-roasted turkeys, but her list of side dishes, desserts, condiments and paper products is far from filled. She is counting off what she needs by Wednesday evening, confident it will all arrive before preparation begins.

HUNDREDS of needy Carroll County children headed back to classes last month carrying a backpack filled with school supplies and wearing a new pair of shoes. The 650 kids also got a new T-shirt and some got fresh haircuts to start the year. Shepherd's Staff made it happen, as it has for seven years, with generous donations from the community and a strong faith that any shortfall would be covered. "We hope and pray a lot, and thankfully we've never had to say to children that we don't have enough," explains Kathryn Brown, the charity's longtime director.