Christ Church Outreach News: April 15, 2022

SAFE Offers Gluten-Free Food And Accepts Items for Distribution on April 16 The SAFE Food Pantry, a nonprofit organization that helps people who require gluten-free and allergy-friendly groceries, will hold a distribution at its indoor location. The allergy-safe foods will be available to those in need at the NonProfit Collaborative, 9770 Patuxent Woods Drive, Columbia, MD 21046. The time frame remains the same no matter the season: 3rd Saturdays of the month from 10 a.m. to noon. For future plans, check the organization’s Events page. If you have safe foods to donate, you can bring them without making advance arrangements. Or, if you or others whom you know are in need of these items, please come to Patuxent Woods, which is on an RTA bus line. Another way to obtain food from SAFE is through its partnership with the Howard County Food Bank. Clients of the food bank can receive pre-bagged, non-allergenic food items when they check in for their monthly visits. For more information, please call or text a SAFE volunteer at 443-741-1060.

Adapting to a Changing World: TedXRiverHillHS on April 23rd Offers Many Speakers, Including Three Leaders of Our Partner Organizations Here’s an unusual opportunity to hear from leaders who can speak to the ways that their organizations meet community needs in Howard County. The three are among the speakers at “Adapting to a Changing World: TEDxRiverHillHS,” an independently organized TED event on Saturday, April 23rd. River Hill High School (RHHS) students also are among the speakers and will help stage the event according to a format based on TED.com. TTEDxRiverHillHS will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at RHHS Auditorium, 12101 Clarksville Pike, Clarksville, MD 21029. Tickets are free. Please register by Saturday, April 16th. Speakers include leaders of three nonprofit organizations supported through the Outreach Commission and in various ways by Christ Church parishioners: Columbia Community Care (CCC); Bridges to Housing Stability, and Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center.

Erika Strauss-Chavarria, founder of CCC, will speak on “The Journey to CCC and Beyond” from 11:10 to 11:25 a.m. She and others started the all-volunteer organization early in the pandemic to address the unmet needs of Howard County residents. She is a 13th-year Spanish teacher at Wilde Lake High School and a board member of racial justice organizations. She was the recipient of the 2020 Howard County Human Rights Commission Human Rights Award and was selected as one of The Baltimore Sun’s 25 Women to Watch.

Dr. Mariana Izraelson, executive director of Grassroots, will talk on “Well Being of Howard County and Community Impact of the Pandemic” from 11:50 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. From her experience in rural Maryland to working in Baltimore City, Dr. Izraelson has been dedicated to providing high-quality public health prevention and intervention services to at-risk populations. As a clinician and program director, she developed skills in working with clients who had multiple health and social needs including substance use and mental health disorders.

Jennifer Broderick, executive director of Bridges, will speak on “Strategies to Make a Community Impact During Uncertain Times” from 12:40 to 12:55 p.m. Her family lives in Howard County. In high school in Albuquerque, N.M., she visited a homeless shelter with a service club and knew she wanted to work to end homelessness. This led her to pursue a Master’s degree in Social Work and to work in nonprofits focusing on housing solutions. Community organizing and advocacy can have a big impact on lives, and her talk will describe individual actions and strategies that people can take in their communities, at any time, to bring about change. You may recall it was Jen Broderick who did the honors last fall when Christ Church won the Golden Ladle Award. The Outreach Commission began supporting Bridges and its efforts to promote affordable housing at the urging of parishioner Jim Collins, a board member of the organization. He is among those to be honored by Bridges at its 2022 Heroes For Housing Celebration. Tickets are no longer available for the fundraising event on Sunday, April 24th at Busboys and Poets in Columbia.

CCC Renews Plea for Diapers, other Baby Supplies, and Personal Care Items At Christ Church, CCC is supported by members of R.A.G.E and the Outreach Commission. We ask parishioners to continue collecting diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items, and adult diapers. Please put them in the yellow bin, marked “CCC,” inside the Parish Hall. Violet Smith remains the point of contact. For the latest on CCC, check posts on the CCC Facebook Group. Its three distribution sites are located at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center, 10431 Twin Rivers Rd., the Barn/Teen Center indoor space in the Oakland Mills Village Center, 5851 Robert Oliver Place, and Long Reach Village Center, Suite 9, 8775 Cloudleap Ct., all in Columbia. Recipients are welcomed from 10 a.m. to noon. For volunteers, donations and drop-offs begin at 9 a.m.

FISH Continues its Request for Cookies, Crackers, and Snacks As spring begins, organizers for FISH of Howard County continue to ask for cookies, crackers, and snacks to fulfill shopping lists. The bin is on the breezeway near the door to the Parish Hall.

A Message of Gratitude from our Afghan Refugee Family Each member of the Afghan refugee family who has been under Christ Church’s care and support since late December is so full of gratitude for what we have done, and continue to do, to help them. Anwar, the oldest son, recently wrote this poem for us and chose the accompanying photo. You can view this in last week's blog post on the Christ Church Outreach page. On Sundays May 8th and May 22nd, the family will be at Christ Church between the 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. services so they can meet more of us, and so more of us can meet them. Please plan to come. And please continue to pray for this family and for refugees everywhere. Thank you for giving so generously. Thank you for your help in so many ways. To talk about what is needed to support this ministry and what you can do, please contact Deacon Denise, Jan DeBoissiere, Cherryllyn Williams, or any member of the Afghan Refugee Ministry committee.

Baltimore Seafarers News As a reminder, the Women of Christ Church gather donations for Seafarers throughout the year. We'll be bringing the next batch of donations to Seafarers on April 21st, so if you have any items, please bring them to the church before then. At this time, they are looking for magazines, cards, calendars, stationery, notebooks, gloves, hats, socks, men's shirts, and scarves, and you can leave them in the "Seafarers" box under the table in the Tower Room of New Brick.

In general, if you have suggestions about ways to help the community, if you want to get involved, or if you need assistance, please email Christ Church Outreach at outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org. Your help is greatly welcomed and appreciated. Thank you.