Nominate Someone to be a ‘Good Neighbor’

Nominations due Aug. 30

One of my favorite programs in Rockville is the annual Good Neighbor Award. This recognition is conferred each year to a group of Rockville residents who — well, who are good neighbors.

Citizens are nominated by their peers and chosen from that pool by a committee. The ceremony, typically held at Glenview Mansion, is wonderfully uplifting.

Nominations are now open for the Good Neighbor Award! You have until August 30. Just go here to nominate a friend or neighbor.

Here’s the official stuff from the City:

The Good Neighbor awards recognize the ongoing efforts of Rockville residents who are making exceptional contributions to their neighborhoods. The program is designed to honor those who make a difference in the community without seeking or receiving recognition for their efforts.

Nominees are sought in two divisions: adult and youth. The nominee must:

• Be a resident of the City of Rockville;
• Have made significant contributions to their neighborhoods or to Rockville during the 2009-2010 calendar year;
• Have demonstrated their efforts beyond the scope of citizen responsibilities;
• Have demonstrated concern for their neighborhood’s well-being or overall quality of life for the City of Rockville; and
• Not be employed by the City of Rockville.

A three-person panel will select winners from the pool of candidates. All nominees will be honored at a special ceremony in September.

Help Collect Supplies For Students In Need

Donate backpack supplies this weekend

It’s that time again. As August begins it really is time to begin thinking about the school year. For some students and their families, it’s an annual hardship as they think about all the supplies that must be purchased just to get through the year.

Montgomery County Public Schools is taking collections this weekend for school supplies to fill backpacks for students who are in need. They will be distributed at a back-to-school fair on August 28. For now, though. please consider donating supplies at one of these two locations:

SATURDAY, AUGUST 7: WHITE FLINT MALL: Backpacks and school supplies can be dropped off at an “Ask MCPS” event at White Flint Mall, 11301 Rockville Pike, North Bethesda, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Staff will be located in the center court on the first floor to collect supplies, as well as answer any parent questions and provide information about the upcoming school year.

SATURDAY-MONDAY, AUGUST 7, 8 & 9: WHOLE FOODS: Backpacks and school supplies can be dropped in collection boxes at one of five Whole Foods locations across Montgomery County:

• 5269 River Road, Bethesda
• 4420 Willard Avenue, Chevy Chase
• 316 Kentlands Blvd., Gaithersburg
• 1649 Rockville Pike, Rockville
• 833 Wayne Ave., Silver Spring

Here are the main needs: backpacks, pencils, pens, highlighters, pencil boxes, pencil pouches, rulers, large pink erasers, 3-ring binders, dividers, filler paper, pocket folders, and notebooks.

Get Out And Volunteer In August

Summer’s here but the need for volunteers never goes on vacation.

Collect Food
The Manna Food Center needs volunteers to help for 2 hour shifts starting at 10 AM through 8 PM at the entrance gates at the 2010 Montgomery County Agricultural Fair from August 13 -21, 2010. Volunteers will collect nonperishable food donations from visitors when they enter the fair grounds. High school students may receive SSL hours for the activity, but if they are under 18 they must attend a volunteer training meeting. Volunteers under 16 must volunteer with an adult. If interested, please email which date and time of day to Kim, kim@mannafood.org.

Pianist Needed
Hebrew Home is looking for an accomplished pianist to perform for residents at Ring House in Rockville, from 4-5 PM on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and/or Sundays. For more information, contact Hedy Peyser, Director of Volunteers at 301-770-8332, or by e-mail at volunteers@hebrew-home.org

Donate School Supplies
If you have extra supplies or can afford to buy some extra when you purchase them for your kids, local organizations need school supplies for their clients. The Volunteer Center tells us that Montgomery County Public Schools has already collected, sorted, and distributed the 24,968 lbs. of school supplies donated by their students at the end of the last school year but more are still needed. Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless and Interfaith Works are looking for new backpacks, and supplies to put in them such as calculators and binders. Help a child start off the school year prepared. It could make a big difference.

Check out past opportunities to help in our Volunteer Section and make our community a better place.

A New Scoop On Volunteer Opportunities

The >Montgomery County Volunteer Center has excellent news about volunteering in America:

The number of Americans who volunteer grew last year at the fastest rate in six years, according to a new report, defying the popular notion that hard economic times suppress civic participation. The recent report released by the Corporation for National and Community Service, says that 63.4 million adult Americans­-nearly 27 percent of the population-volunteered to help charitable causes last year. That’s an increase from 2008 of roughly 1.6 million volunteers, the largest single-year jump since 2003. In total, 2009′s volunteers donated about 8.1 billion hours of service, valued at nearly $169-billion.

One of our main goals for Rockville Central has always been to create a place where people can become more active in our community. During the past few years we’ve tagged some of our posts “What You Can Do” or “volunteer”. We’ve decided to formalize the category, so if you click on the pull down menu for News in the black band above, you’ll now find Volunteer in addition to Business, City issues, Events in Rockville, and Politics.

If you have a community project and need volunteers, email the information to rockvillecentral@gmail.com. We’ll do our best to post your needs. We hope to highlight the ongoing opportunities to help in our community. Also, please let us know if you volunteer!

Here are a couple of immediate needs from the Volunteer Center for students:

Montgomery County Board of Elections:

Needs 2000 (!) school-age students, grades 6-12, to serve as Election Day student aides during the 2010 Gubernatorial Elections.

Students and their guardians must attend mandatory training for students to serve on an Election Day and, if applicable, to receive Student Service Learning (SSL) credits. Students are placed in neighboring precincts according to their home addresses. This initiative combines civic participation and the opportunity to observe democracy in action.

This program is available to all students within a public, private, independent, religious or home-school setting located in MontgomeryCounty. U.S. citizenship is not a pre-requisite to participate. Students with bilingual and American Sign Language skills are encouraged to apply.

Interested parents/guardians can register their student(s) online before the August 6 deadline by visiting the Montgomery County Board of Elections website at www.777vote.org. You can click on Future Vote Program under Student Election Aide Information.

Drive For Supplies

Can you help sort supplies this summer? Middle and high school student volunteers are needed to sort and organize donated school supplies for distribution to local, national, and international programs for children. This is a pre-approved student service learning activity. Sorting will take place in the cafeteria of Richard Montgomery High School Monday and Tuesday, July 19-20, 2010, from 10:00am-2:00pm. (If needed, sorting will continue on Wednesday-Friday, July 21-23 from 10:00am-2:00pm.) The celebration/press conference is on Monday, July 26, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. We need student help on July 26th from 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. loading supplies into cars, then helping to pack up “left over” supplies. No pre-registration or sign-up is necessary. Just show up and sign-in. For students working the full 10am-2pm, bring a bag lunch, including your beverage! If you have questions, contact Karen Crawford, 301-670-1419, Karen_L_Crawford@mcpsmd.org.

Please spread the word about our volunteer initiative!

Rockville Express Urgently Needs Three Host Families

>We received this request from our friend Tina Campbell. Our own home town baseball team, the Rockville Express, urgently needs three more host families for the summer to provide living arrangements for its players. See below:

Urgent Request – 3 Host Families Needed for the Rockville Express Players

We are in urgent need of host families for 3 of our players this summer. If you are interested, or know of someone who may be interested, please contact us. More information on hosting is below.

Thank you!

Host Family Information

The Rockville Express Baseball team is currently searching for host families for the 2010 Season. This summertime wood bat league is a part of the Cal Ripken, Sr. Collegiate League and attracts some of the most talented college baseball players from across the nation. These players have been recommended by their college coaches and recruited to play by the Express, with many having the potential to succeed as professional baseball players.

A vital part of a successful season is to have host families provide housing for the players, giving them support and a family atmosphere for the summer.

When you host a player, you are not just taking on a guest for the summer. Your family will be embarking on an experience that will make you a part of an extended baseball family.

Host Family Responsibilities:

• Be available to host a player from June 1st – July 31st
• Provide a clean, safe, and pleasant environment for the player to stay
• Provide a private room or private area for the player to sleep
• Provide food and/or meals for the player
• Provide access to laundry equipment (players do their own laundry)
• Players provide their own transportation

Host Family Benefits:

• Free admittance to all home games
• You will become more involved with the community
• The player will be a positive role model for your children
• You have an opportunity to make a positive impact on a young man’s future
• You might be getting to know a future Major League star!

If you are interested in hosting a player, or would like more information, please contact Tina Campbell at 301-315-9008 or email: tinacampbell@comcast.net or Brad Botwin at 240-447-1884 or bb67chev@aol.com

Rockville Express home games are played on the Rockville campus of Montgomery College.

For more information about the Team, please see our website at www.rockvilleexpress.org

For information on the league, please visit: www.ripkensrcollegebaseball.org

Four Girls Give Their Birthdays To The Homeless

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As many of you know, one of the things I do is coordinate events for the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH). We have a wonderful story to share about four young girls who truly embody the concept of community spirit.

Four friends decided they would have their 12th birthday parties together and create one big celebration. Instead of accepting gifts from their guests, they decided to ask for donations to MCCH. By the time the celebration was over, they received $1,300 in monetary donations and gift cards to Giant, Safeway, Target, CVS and Toys ‘R Us. Their friends also donated spring sports equipment, pool toys, beach bags and towels, books and toiletries.

One of the girl’s moms, Gayle Strauss, explained how this wonderful project became a reality.

The girls, Sara Keller, Emma Strauss, Shelbie Fishman and Lindsey Capitelli, are all 6th grade students at Robert Frost Middle School in Rockville. They came up with the idea for the donations and supporting MCCH while thinking about mitzvah projects for the next year leading up to their bat mitzvahs. The girls decided this would be a great way to give back to the community and have some fun with their friends at the same time.

Last week the girls delivered the donations to MCCH’s offices on East Gude Drive, and our AmeriCorps volunteer, Amanda Lewis, gave the girls a tour of the Home Builders Care Assessment Center (the Men’s Emergency Shelter). Their desire to help continues since the girls plan to prepare and serve a meal to clients during the summer months.

MCCH always has a need for meal preparation (three a day!) as well as collections of all types of items and gift cards. Visit MCCH’s website for more information on how you can join these young, inspiring girls and help.

Join Me For ShelterWalk 'n Roll In Town Square

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As many readers might know, I work to coordinate the special events for the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless. On Sunday, May 2, 2010 MCCH will have a very special event to celebrate the organization’s 20th anniversary and it’s in our Rockville Town Square.

Spend Saturday at Austin Grill’s Cinco de Mayo, then come back on Sunday to walk for the homeless. During ShelterWalk ‘n Roll 2010, you’ll be able to learn about the organization, help to raise awareness about homelessness and support MCCH’s programs.

We’ll have live acoustic rock music by the JDN Band featuring Jack Worthington, Denise D’Amico and Neal Herron. They play crowd-pleasing rock from the past few decades all around Montgomery County and we’re pleased they volunteer to headline our Walk each year! You can hear them at their MySpace page.

We’ll have face painting, crafts and games for the kids during this fun, energy-filled afternoon. Last year’s ShelterWalk ‘n Roll was a downpour all day! I am really hoping for a beautiful sunny time in our Square this year.

Event Schedule
1:00 p.m. – Registration, music and festivities begin
2:00 p.m. – 1 mile walkathon around Town Center commences, rain or shine
Music and festivities will continue after the walk.

Registration Fees
You can register at the event online, by mail or on the day of the event:
$25 for Adults (includes a T-shirt)
$15 for Children under 18 and students with college I.D. (includes a T-shirt)
Free for children under 5

Register online by clicking on the “Donate” tab and completing the donation form. Indicate “ShelterWalk” in the “Gift Designation” section and list the names and ages of the walkers you are registering.

Register by mail by sending a completed registration form and check to:
Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless
Attn: Cindy Cotte Griffiths
600-B East Gude Drive
Rockville, MD 20850

If you need any additional Information, you can contact me by email cindy@mcch.net or phone 301.217.0314 x118.

This year the t-shirts are going to be green because for the 20th anniversary, MCCH has adopted the symbol of a tree. From 1990 – 2010 MCCH has been:

Branching Out. Cultivating Change. Growing Community.

I hope you’ll be able to come by the Square and participate.

Inspiration From New Mark Commons And Beyond

As we share our double blizzard stories, I’m hearing more and more about how people have come together to help each other during the storm.>

Photo by Angelin Donohue

Roald Schrack sent along this picture. The residents of 13 to 21 Farsta Court took matters into their own hands last Monday when their secondary street had not been plowed.

With some help from an underpowered snowblower, the eight of us cleared the street. The City came through on Tuesday morning and made it wider. We are all set to tackle it again tomorrow if needed. It was really inspiring to see everybody pitch in.

Across Rockville, people are talking about how neighbors have pulled together:

• In Horizon Hill, residents shoveled the street up to their neighbor’s door because he was a doctor and needed to go on duty.
• Here in the comments of Brad Rouke’s encouraging post, Pitch In And Be Prepared, Tim Wood said “Thanks to James Bisnett and Emmett Bisnett Maple Ave between 28/First Street and Reading Ave has been cleared since Saturday. Along with the sidewalk, multiple driveways, etc. Emmett deserves some neighbor award for all the work he’s done with his snowblower.”
• On my street, a car was stuck last weekend. A group of neighbors came out of their apartments to dig it out. The driver, Chris, shared his apartment address and repeatedly told the everyone if they ever needed any help, they should not hesitate to knock on his door.

Neighbors have been pulling together to get the job done. Sometimes while doing so, they are meeting each other for the first time.

Obviously this storm is beyond the scope of our regular preparation. All levels of government from state to city are having a tough time keeping the roads clear. Snow plow drivers have been working long shifts. With this current snowstorm laying approximately 15 inches on Rockville, we will all need to do more than usual.

Thanks to everyone for the inspiration. We’re going to need to dig down deep to make it through this one.

Ritchie Park Danced For Manna

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Ritchie Park Elementary School reports that the workers at Manna Food Center were heard saying, “Wow!” and “Holy Moley!” when their food donation was weighed. The students donated 440 pounds of non-perishable food at their Music & Dance Night held last Friday January 29, 2010.

From the school announcement:

“Ed”, a long-time employee at Manna Food Bank, said that the RPES event collected more than double what an ordinary community food drive does! He was very impressed.

This is not the first time the Ritchie Park community has made headlines. Lately, their spirit of service and ability to have lots of fun has brought them global attention. From Afghanistan to Rockville, this elementary school is making a difference. One project at a time.

Besides helping others, they also had a tremendously good time together! The kids bounced around following the commands of the DJs for an organized dance experience. Parents were amazed at how quickly they all knew what to do when the commands were yelled out. Would you know how to dance when someone yells “squid”? What’s the difference between Pepsi and Coke in the team competition? I’m not sure I figured it out but I do know the kids slept soundly after the dance workout.

Having fun to help others is the perfect school lesson.

Stop Hunger Now by Frank Anastasi

On Saturday my son and I took part in a most amazing effort. About 80 people packed 27,500 meals, which will feed starving school children in places like Haiti, in about two hours. How could this be? >Stop Hunger Now has a system that rivals the most efficient assembly line in any auto plant, that’s how. The organization gets volunteers to pack millions of meals it sends all over the world to feed starving school-age children.

Here’s how it happened. One young man arrived at Christ Episcopal Church in a large truck filled with 50 pound bags of rice, granulated soy protein, and dried vegetables this morning. He also had a dozen or so five-gallon pails of chicken flavored multi-vitamins about half the size of a golf ball. And 4,584 small, plastic bags.

Teams of five people used a standing wire rack, a funnel, and various sized plastic cups to fill each bag with the prescribed amounts of the dried food. Runners (and did we run!) shuttled small pails of filled bags from each team to weigh stations, and returned empty pails to the filling teams. Weighers weighed each bag and added or subtracted some rice so each bag met the target weight. Sealers then sealed each bag with a heating press. Packers then packed the sealed bags in boxes ready for shipment. Sustainers replenished each team’s supplies of dried food as they emptied their supply bins filling the bags.

It was the best kind of organized chaos you’ve ever seen! People yelling “Runner!” “Rice!” “Bins! We need more bins!” “Got Soy?” Slip-sliding on spilled rice underfoot. And the best – the SHN guy banging a gong when we’d hit our first thousand meals, then at five thousand, and again and again, on up to the finale. It was crazy, and so much fun.

We started getting organized and receiving instruction on what to do around 10:00 am. By 12:30, the last bags were packed. A little clean up and a lot of shaking of hands, and we were done.

So, think about it. When water is added to the food that goes into each bag and it’s boiled, you have six servings of a pretty tasty chicken-flavored rice and vegetable casserole. So you see, six times 4,584 equals about 27,500 meals! Considering that things like mud cookies (lard mixed with, yes, mud) are a staple of many starving children, it’s easy to see the huge impact that 80 people working feverishly for two hours — and having a blast every minute — will have combating starvation around the world.

You can get in on this action, too. We were told that Christ Episcopal was the first church in Maryland to do this. Want to go next? Look up Stop Hunger Now, or contact me and I will help you find them. Happy Thanksgiving!

Frank Anastasi

Rockville Central encourages readers to submit pieces for consideration on all sorts of things — volunteering, shopping, restaurants, performances, art, cultural events, and more. Rules: it should be in Rockville and it should be a recommendation. Get in touch with us if you would like to submit something! The more voices the better!

Remember To Put Food Out On Saturday Morn

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Last Saturday Scouts delivered plastic bags to the doors of many of our Rockville homes for the Scouting for Food program. If you received one, please remember to put it on your door step this Saturday, November 14, 2009. Scouts will be by to pick up the food. They’re always so excited with every bag collected!

Manna Food Center suggests the following foods for the pantry:

• peanut butter
• tuna fish
• canned fruits and vegetables
• shelf-stable milk
• canned tomato sauce
• beans
• macaroni and cheese
• soup
• cereal
• oatmeal
• rice
• pasta
• baby food
• other canned meat and fish and
• canned pasta.

If you did not receive a plastic bag, you could still drop food at our collection site during late morning. The site for my Cub and Boys Scouts is in the historic Rockville Academy parking lot on the corner of Rt. 28 and South Adams Street across from Rockville United Methodist Church with the cemetery. We’ll be there in late morning sorting all the food collected.

Thanks to everyone who will help with the tremedous need for food in our community.

How to Donate to the Rockville Holiday Drives

>The City of Rockville annual Holiday Drive needs your help to distribute food baskets and new toys to needy Rockville families. Last year 626 Rockville households were helped with food for Thanksgiving and 1,244 children received toys and gift cards in December.

You can make a donation for both the Thanksgiving and December Holiday Drives:
Tax-deductible monetary contributions are used to purchase fresh food and gift certificates for both the Thanksgiving and December Drives. Checks should be made payable to City of Rockville Holiday Drive Fund and mailed to City of Rockville Community Services, 30 Courthouse Square, Suite 100, Rockville 20850.

How to Help with the Thanksgiving Drive:

You can organize a food drive
Food collected by mid-November is used in our Thanksgiving baskets. Large quantitities can be picked up.

Accepted from November 9, 2009 to November 18, 2009

• Macaroni and cheese
• Canned green beans, corn, or peas
• Canned soup
• Canned cranberry sauce
• Jello
• Canned fruit (applesauce, peaches, pears, fruit cocktail)
• Turkey gravy (mix or can)

You can volunteer to deliver food baskets
Teams of volunteers deliver baskets on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to seniors and families who have no transportation (2 hour commitment).

How to Help with the December Holiday Drive

Donations of toys and gift cards will be accepted from December 10, 2009 to December 18, 2009.

Toy suggestions include:

For Babies and Toddlers

• Mobiles
• Musical toys
• Board books
• Soft Dolls (multi-cultural)
• Rattles and teething rings
• Shape sorters

For Preschool and School Children

• Action figures
• Coloring books
• Building toys
• Costume jewelry
• Play phones
• Purses
• Watches
• Jewelry making kits
• Yu-go cards
• Barbie dolls (multi-cultural)
• Art kits and art supplies
• Age-appropriate board games
• Sports-gear (soccer balls, basketballs)
• Popular movie/tv character items
• Hand-held electronic games
• Pierced & non-pierced earrinig sets
• Cameras ($10.99-14.99)
• Vanity mirror and hair sets

For Adolescents: $15 gift cards to Target, Best Buy, Old Navy, Westfield Shopping Malls, and Sports Authority

You can also sponsor a family
Buy gifts and food for the December holidays, tailored to a specific family’s need (usually valued around $250). You will be matched with one or more families, depending on the size of your organization. This activity is ideal for a business or civic group.

Call Community Services: 240-314-8310 for more information and drop off locations.

Community Services is located at 30 Courthouse Square, Suite 100, Rockville.

The Holiday Drive won’t happen without the help of caring neighbors. Please take the time to give. Take part. Give from the heart.

Don't Throw Out Those Plastic Bags On Your Door knob

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This Saturday morning, November 7, 2009, my Cub Scout Pack 928 will be delivering plastic bags to the doors of many Rockville homes along with Boy Scout Troop 447 and a slew of other scouts.

These plastic grocery bags are not trash! I know there is too much writing on them but they tell you we will be back the following Saturday, November 14 to pick them up with a food donation to our local food bank. This is the 23rd year of Scouting for Food in the Washington Capital Area. With your help, local scouts collect an average of 20 tons of food each year for local food banks – enough to fill a tractor-trailer!

Please keep the bags and remember to put them outside next Saturday with a donation.

Manna Food Center suggests

• peanut butter
• tuna fish
• canned fruits and vegetables
• shelf-stable milk
• canned tomato sauce
• beans
• macaroni and cheese
• soup
• cereal
• oatmeal
• rice
• pasta
• baby food
• other canned meat and fish and
• canned pasta.

Now more than ever, local families need your help so please put out a bag wth food.

Call for Digital Cameras

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Image from the Montgomery Avenue Women's Shelter website

We are delighted to pass along this request from Rockville Central friend, Janet Brown who has sent along several enticing POTD submissions. Now she is volunteering her photography talents for a very special project and needs your help.

Do you have a digital camera you don’t need any more? You know – the one you don’t use now because you have a newer model. The one that is too good to throw out, so you put it in a cupboard and forget about it?

Well here is a worthwhile cause that can make excellent use of your discarded camera and give homeless women in Rockville a chance learn a skill and express themselves through photography.

As a retired photographer, I’m volunteering with Montgomery Avenue Women’s Center to help the ladies at engage in the digital photography project: “See My World”.

Montgomery Avenue Women’s Center is a registered charity and a safe haven for women facing the challenge of finding themselves homeless. At the center they can get food, shelter, clothing and day care in a friendly and caring environment. MAWCTR will welcome any donations of your discarded cameras for this new and exciting photography project.

Once we have the cameras, the ladies at MAWCTR will start an absorbing photography art project that is relevant to their lives. They will learn to illustrate their view of the world and share it with others through simple photography techniques.

The women’s photos will be printed using enhanced digital printing techniques and a portfolio of work will be compiled.

There is great a value in expressing how you see your own life through pictures. When we have a collection of photographs, we can make a portfolio, put pictures on the wall and we hope to hold an exhibition. We would also like to make a movie of the pictures, illustrated with narrative from the women, describing how and why they took the pictures.

Getting this project up and running is totally dependent on donations of cameras and printing materials. If you have any type of still digital cameras (including disposable digital cameras) that you would like to donate, or photographic inkjet printing paper, please let me know by emailing Janet@studioposeidon.com.

I know we have at least one camera sitting around unused. Now I just have to find it! Hope you will too!

Be In the Next Class of Rockville U

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As I had the great pleasure of being in the last class of Rockville University, I’d like to let you know about the next.

Learn everything about Rockville on Wednesdays from October 14 to November 18, 2009 at the Glenview Mansion Cottage from 7 PM to 9 PM, plus two fun field trips on Saturdays. Find the entire schedule here. The six-week course is free but you must be at least 16 years old.

You’ll learn all the facts and figures about Rockville and have a chance to meet our extremely knowledgeable City staff. When the class is completed, you’ll know your way around City Hall. Best of all, you’ll visit the Water Treatment Plant. You’ll never turn on the faucet without thinking about it.

Online registration is now open. Find out how you can be involved around Rockville and make new friends. They’ll only accept the first 25, so register soon.