Charlotte

Houses of worship, businesses, organizations and individuals will collect books from August 1 – September 14 for people of all ages, with a primary focus on children ages birth to 11. Over the years we’ve collected and distributed more than 113,000 books in our community for children’s literacy efforts. Please join in this community-wide effort to improve literacy. If interested, please contact Terri at gwizzy2000@gmail.com as soon as possible so we can add you to the promotions.  Learn more

with Sommer Gilliam and Guiding Foster Children with Kathleen Prest and Jennifer Lewis and  Rabbi Mark

Religion and faith isn’t the only thing discussed on The Interfaith Roundtable. This discussion is focused on community work and how the ideals of helping and aiding those around us coincides with faith or is an off-shoot of it.

Sommer Gilliam combined her love of community with her love of creating. The owner of Kreeative Kreations in Hagerstown, Maryland, Sommer creates not only beautiful hairstyles, but also soulful and delicious treats. As a director of The Washington County Black Professionals Network, Sommer lives a life of uplifting those around her, while also chasing her own dreams. She tells her story and why she does what she does.

In the second half, Rabbi Mark is joined by Kathleen Prest, a social worker who works to train foster families with San Mar Treatment Foster Care, as well as Jennifer Lewis, a fellow congregate and clinical social worker as well as the Director of Treatment Foster Care for San Mar Family and Community Services. These two ladies discuss the importance of stability and love for foster children, as well as detail the work they do in helping in transitions and guiding them in life.

Listen to the podcast. Listen to The Interfaith Roundtable Saturday mornings on 98.9 FM/AM 1490 WARK or catch the podcasts here.

Recipients of the 2023-2024 Equity in Education Scholarship were honored June 8 at the WCPS Center for Education Services. The scholarship was created via private donors and grant funds through the Hagerstown Area Religious Council, Education Foundation of WCPS, and the Community Foundation of Washington County. Congratulations to this year’s honorees (shown with awards from left): Tiffany Shepherd, Kamilah Scott, Xenia Diaz, Gabrielle Desir-Pierre, and Cayla Mayo.  We also celebrate Lyvon Campbell (pictured second from far left) and Delphine Kahl (not present), recipients of the 2022 scholarship who will be teaching full time at Washington County Public Schools this fall!

We are especially grateful to the Alice Virginia and David W. Fletcher Foundation and The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland for their generous grant awards that made this opportunity possible.  Thanks also to Soroptomist International of Hagerstown, Funkhouser Foundation, and many generous individuals who financially supported the 2023-2024 scholarships.

You can read about the scholarship here

A small group of concerned citizens have formed a small group to provide a Resource Fair for the local community to serve those in need (homeless, indigent, low income). We are hopeful that this might become an annual event, and will grow to include more participating agencies. However, we are off to a great start with about a dozen groups participating so far.

The event will be held at Zion UCC on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 from 12 noon to 4 pm. Some of the groups present will include CASA, Community Action Council, Children In Need, Medication First, and Change Health System, to name just a few. There will be resource information available as well, such as lists of clothing and food banks.

We would like to supply small tote bags to each person who attends as well as bottled water. There is no public funding available, so we are looking for donations from groups and/or individuals who might be able to contribute even a small amount to help purchase these items. Would it be possible for HARC to spread the word of our need? In addition, if anyone would like to volunteer on the day of the event (welcome attendees, hand out bags and bottled water, direct people to the various tables), we would welcome the help.

Checks can be made out to Zion Church and mailed to the church at 201 N. Potomac St  Hagerstown, MD 21740. Anyone wishing to volunteer can contact me directly at my s.graff@myactv.net or by phone at 301-667-8685.

The Salvation Army has several job openings for our Boys and Girls Club Red Shield program. Below are the links through Indeed to apply. Please contact Joel at 301-733-2440 extension 50416 with any questions.

Community Center Program Coordinator_NE-PMC_708-Community Center Programs – Career Portal (dayforcehcm.com)

(seasonal) Community Center Program Aide – Career Portal (dayforcehcm.com)

Community Center Program Aide (Hagerstown, MD) – Career Portal (dayforcehcm.com)

Please spread the word so they can have their summer program this year!

Thank you!

View this on Basecamp

A huge thank you to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland for investing $30,000 of their Reparation Grant fund in two of HARC’s racial Justice initiatives – the Washington County Black Professionals Network and the Equity in Education Scholarship. We are extremely grateful for the Episcopal Diocese’ support of these efforts to foster diverse teachers and economic prosperity for African Americans in Washington County, MD. Photo: Father Todd Young and Tania Anderson represent HARC’s board and Racial Justice Team to accept the award.

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, located at 601 Washington Avenue in Hagerstown, has over 100 Samsonite padded metal folding chairs free on a first-come, first-served request(s). Please contact the church office at 301.733.7550 if you are interested in any or all of the chairs.

The Interfaith Roundtable with Rabbi Mark Perman

For the first half, Rabbi Mark is joined by fellow Hagerstown Area Religious Council members Rev. Jonathan Harris and Ashlee Harris of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They talk names and assumptions about members of their faith as well as their community and charity work. You can find out about volunteer opportunities at https://www.justserve.org/.  The second half features a chat with another HARC member, Father Todd Young of St. John’s Episcopal Church. They discuss the openness of the Episcopal Church and how Father Todd navigates their message in the modern world.  Listen to the podcast.  Listen to The Interfaith Roundtable Saturday mornings on 98.9 FM/AM 1490 WARK or catch the podcasts here.

HARC has three upcoming opportunities for area congregations to work together to provide activities for children in the community:

1. Juneteenth celebration, Saturday, June 17, 10 am – 3 pm. Will your congregation commit to 1 hour of a children’s activity of your choice?  contact Kathy at director@harccoalition.org or 301-842-4272.
2. Fun children’s camp to strengthen families (theme TBD), August 14-18, 9-3 each day. Come together with other congregations for a shared children’s camp, serving children in your own congregation as well as the community. Committed congregations and volunteers wanted. Contact Ashlee at jon2ash@gmail.com.
3. Joint VBS with other churches once per week in the evening for 4 weeks. Contact Rev. Doug Hoffman, revdhoff@gmail.com/  301-733-0391

The Refugee Welcome Network (RWN) of Washington County continues to actively work with six Afghan refugee families, with a goal of helping them become stable and self-sufficient and ensuring they feel welcomed in our community.  Three families are documented, seeking green cards, and the others are all asylum seekers working on documentation.  Three families are close to losing housing as CAC emergency rental assistance has run out 3 months earlier than expected.  All of the families need jobs to become stable and productive, as they all very much want to be.

Housing:  Does a church have a parish house that could be used for housing for a family?  Or does anyone have a house or apartment sitting empty that could be used to house a family for free or low-cost?  Currently families are paying $850+ for apartments they simply can’t afford (nor can the RWN).

Family Highlights & Jobs:

• Ahmad Shah & Mary are documented with work permits. They have four children ranging from 3 to 10 years old and Mary is pregnant.  Ahmad has a software testing background and his English is pretty good.
• Dr. Fawad is documented and worked as a pediatrician in Afghanistan.  While he can’t practice medicine in the U.S. yet, he hopes to find a job in the medical field, but will take just about any work right now. His English is fair.  His wife, Nargis is already working, but can’t earn enough for them to survive.
• Meraj & Sabera are seeking asylum and won’t be eligible for a work permit until 6 months after it is filed, but they are desperate for any work they can get.  They have two small sons, ages 1 and 4.  Meraj was a local mayor in Afghanistan. He loves painting and is very good at it; he’s working on a temporary private painting job right now, but needs more work, and he also wants to give back by volunteering in a local park.  Sabera was a teacher and women’s rights advocate in Afghanistan and loves to read and study. Both are working on their English, but have a ways to go.
• Aref & Freba are seeking asylum and also won’t have a work permit until 6 months after their complicated paperwork is filed. They have a son and daughter, ages 1 and 3.  Aref was a journalist and was also, at one time, involved in directing construction. He likes to sew and says he is a tailor who taught sewing to students. Friba is a nurse who had worked in a hospital.  Aref is currently helping on a farm one day per week, and Friba isn’t working at all. They both are eager to work. Their English is improving, but have a ways to go.

Other needs:  There are several small children who have an ongoing need for diapers.  Grocery gift cards are a big help, and the families would also like to buy some halal meat, which is not available in our food pantries (Alkhair Halal Meat and Groceries on Dual Hwy is a good source).  All of the families have international drivers licenses and would like cars as public transportation is limited.  Donations toward financial needs can be made through the HARC website and designated RWN.

If you can help with any of these needs, please contact Kathy at director@harccoalition.org or 301-842-4272 or Pam at pfbradford@myactv.net.