Christ Church Outreach News: March 27, 2025

Runners Will Raise Awareness of Suicide Prevention and Support Grassroots at ‘Light the Night’ 5K and Community Event on April 4

Lace up your shoes or cheer the runners who enter the fourth annual “Light the Night” 5K, a public awareness event on Friday, April 4. It is intended as a “county-wide acknowledgment that we support and care for those impacted by suicide.”

The Howard County Department of Health, the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, and Bullseye Running are sponsors. Proceeds go to the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Maryland (AFSP Maryland).

Christ Church has long supported Grassroots, which helps the homeless and provides 24-hour crisis intervention and a supportive counseling hotline. 

“Light the Night” will be held at Oakland Mills High School, 9410 Kilimanjaro Rd., in Columbia, where speakers who are active in suicide prevention will give remarks at 6:30 p.m. The race begins at 7 p.m. There will be activities for non-runners, take-home items such as bracelets and keychains, and resource packets on suicide prevention.

Runners who sign up online no later than Wednesday, April 2, will pay a $35 registration fee. On race day, cash-only registration is $40 to be paid at the event during runners’ late packet and shirt pickup at 6 p.m. Runners’ regular packet and shirt pickup is Thursday, April 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Feet First, 5305 Village Center Dr, #110, Columbia, MD 21044.

Besides raising awareness to save lives, organizers will accept donations that will go to Grassroots and AFSP Maryland. AFSP is the largest private funder of suicide prevention research; it also creates and hosts education programs, leads public policy efforts on mental health and supports suicide-loss survivors.

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Fewer Volunteers Will be Needed on Saturday, April 5, in Clarksville than in Past Food Drives at Local Giant Supermarkets

In response to a request by Giant Foods' management, we must streamline the way Christ Church conducts its Spring Food Drive on Saturday, April 5, from noon to 4 p.m., at River Hill Giant, 6050 Daybreak Circle, Clarksville, Md., 21029.

A new corporate policy will limit the number of volunteers on the supermarket premises to four at any one time. Only two people can be positioned at the table and available to engage with arriving shoppers. Two of the four volunteers will be packing any collected groceries or seated off to one side and won’t interact with Giant customers.

Because of these limitations, the signup sheet is nearly full. Look for the Food Drive clipboard after services in the Narthex or in Old Brick. If you find too few slots but still hope to volunteer, especially if you wish to bring the kids, please email outreach@christchurchcolumbia.org so we can devise a way to take turns. Walk-in volunteers will be encouraged to do their part by taking a shopping list and purchasing some of the pantries’ requested items.

Groceries collected from shoppers will go to two food pantries. One is the Howard County Food Bank, which is operated by the Community Action Council of Howard County (CAC). The other is SAFE, its partner pantry that provides free gluten-free and allergy-safe foods to low-income families and individuals.

The need is great. The number of struggling households has grown in Howard County due to inflation and the mass firing of federal workers. In response, the CAC posted: “Terminated federal employees living in Howard County may visit the Howard County Food Bank to receive a bag of shelf staples twice a month for up to three months.”

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FISH Asks for Volunteers As Well as Groceries and Toiletries in its Bin and Basket

FISH of Howard County is calling for new volunteers. If you are interested, ask parishioner Andy DeLong, who is FISH treasurer and a board member of the nonprofit, which provides committed support to Howard County residents.

Please continue to put non-perishable foods and toiletries in the FISH basket at the altar or in the bin on the breezeway. The neighbors you help are grateful for all you do in their support.

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Columbia Community Care Turns 5, Continues to Request Our Support

When the pandemic hit and Maryland entered a lockdown in March 2020, many students were going hungry without the school meals that they had grown to depend upon. That’s when a local teacher founded Columbia Community Care (CCC) to collect and distribute essentials to families in need. After individual parishioners began helping, Christ Church became a regular supporter in June 2020.

CCC marked “5 Years of Community” this month with a post on its Facebook page. It distributes groceries, diapers, and personal care items at three sites on Saturday mornings and delivers to those without transportation. To volunteer, go to “Volunteer Opportunities.” Those who need help are urged to go to “Get Help” on CCC’s website.

Please keep collecting diapers, baby wipes, sanitary and personal care items, and adult diapers. Put them in the yellow bin marked “CCC” inside the Parish Hall. Our point of contact is Leigh Smith, who monitors the bin and delivers its contents.

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Christ Church is Invited to Attend the LEMS Performance of Shrek Later this Week

LEMS is presenting its production of Shrek Jr., the Musical, later this week, and on Saturday, Christ Church is sponsoring a special "meet the cast and have some fun" event before the performance! Teachers are dedicated to including over 150 students through performance, set design, and tech crew, and on Saturday, you can come and meet a few of them at their Snacks at the Swamp event, followed by a great show! Here's their announcement:

This year, our spring production is Shrek Jr the Musical! We would love for you to come and join us and see this Shrek-tacular show. There are 3 opportunities for you to come and see our show...

• Friday March 28th at 7pm

• Saturday March 29th at 2pm - and as a special added bonus thanks to a generous donation from our partner Christ Episcopal Church, before our Saturday matinee performance at 12:30, we will be having "Snacks at the Swamp" where you can meet some of the characters, do fun arts and crafts and have some snacks.

• Saturday March 29th at 7pm

Please use this link to get your tickets now! https://hcpss.booktix.com/dept/lems/e/LEMS

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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.