SPAN Benefits From This Generous Community

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

Edward Everett Hale

This quote resonates with me when I think of SPAN, which is blessed by so many who do something, and together, we do so much!

SPAN had its 30-year anniversary in 2020 and we were not able to fully celebrate. SPAN was started in 1990, when a group of churches decided to pool their resources and have a centralized way to help those in the community needing food and emergency financial assistance. How many of us living in this community have memories of SPAN going back many years, perhaps decades?

Maybe you took part in a collection for SPAN with your church as a child and now your kids participate. Perhaps over the years you have donated with your colleagues at work or your neighborhood group or like so many dropped off food and or money when you have been able. Have you been part of SPAN’s Turkey Trot 5k? Or helped provide Thanksgiving and Christmas meals and gifts? Maybe you have been one of the many who have given of your time – our volunteers are the heart of what SPAN does. Or, maybe SPAN has been a resource for you in critical times, like the client who came in 2011 when she was in a car accident and again recently when she had COVID and was not able to work. We are so grateful for the many people, over the last 31 years, who have done something, and those “somethings” add up to a lot.

One of the results of all of the “somethings” this generous community continues to do is that SPAN has been prepared throughout the pandemic, ready to help. Now as we transition out of the pandemic, SPAN is ready for the added numbers in need of emergency financial assistance. At the end of August, when the Supreme Court ruling ended the eviction moratorium, SPAN was ready for the increase in number of clients who arrived the next business day. The eviction process had been on hold, so when it quickly started back up, the process was moving faster and individuals often have had less time to gather resources. To help SPAN respond to this new most pressing need in the community, SPAN’s current greatest need is financial donations.

Thank you for your help; together we are making a difference every day. So many are doing the something that they can do and together we are doing so much. Thank you!

SPAN (Serving People Across Neighborhoods) is an independent nonprofit food pantry and emergency services provider that has been helping local families with eviction prevention, utility turnoffs, medical/prescription bills, and food since 1990. SPAN serves 14 zip codes in Anne Arundel County. SPAN is located behind Our Shepherd Lutheran Church at 400 Benfield Road in Severna Park. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 10:00am-12:45pm. For more information, call 410-647-0889, email spanhelps@yahoo.com or visit www.spanhelps.org. Financial donations may be made through the website. Food donations may be dropped off 24/7 using the storage bin behind SPAN’s building. Please “like” SPAN on Facebook!