ThanksgivingCares Press Release 2005

The LeadershipCares Foundation
10181 Nightingale Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20882

Ron Yudd (301) 540-5791
www.leadershipcares.org

YOUNG PEOPLE FROM LEADERSHIPCARES PROVIDED THANKSGIVING BASKETS TO FAMILIES THROUGHOUT THE D.C. AREA AS PART OF THEIR 8th ANNUAL THANKSGIVINGCARES INITIATIVE.  OVER 715 FAMILIES WERE SERVED IN THE ROCKVILLE, ASPEN HILL, WHEATON, SILVER SPRING, TAKOMA PARK AND HYATTSVILLE AREAS.

November 29th, 2005.  LeadershipCares, an organization that teaches leadership and life skills to teenagers and young adults, assembled and delivered baskets of ingredients to prepare a complete Thanksgiving meal for families in need as part of their annual ThanksgivingCares initiative. The baskets were assembled by groups of enthusiastic volunteers on Monday, November 21 and Tuesday, November 22, 2005, and then delivered the afternoon of the 22nd. Teens from the MentorCares™ program, and caring adults living in the Metropolitan area volunteered their time organizing, assembling and delivering baskets to families in need.

Three large banquet rooms at the DoubleTree Hotel in Rockville, Maryland were converted into the assembly and distribution center for this year’s program. A contingent of very enthusiastic adults from sister radio stations WTOP, WGMS and Z104 helped to stage the boxes and begin the assembly process.

MentorCares™ Students from Northwestern High School in Prince Georges County who participated in the event also worked very hard to raise over $2,000 to support the effort.

Culinary students from Thomas Edison High School in Montgomery County prepped, baked and bagged-up over 100 dozen chocolate chip cookies for the baskets.  

For the sixth year in a row Basic Necessities, a non-profit run by twin sisters Madeline and Hannah Carretero provided shampoos, soaps and lotions for the baskets. These young local leaders have had a major impact on families in need throughout the Metropolitan area by collecting and distributing sample size soaps, shampoos and lotions. 

Deliveries were coordinated with various agencies throughout the area. The organizations that received baskets included Catholic Charities, Linkages to Learning, the Inter-Community Faith Network and the Moving-Up organization. Deliveries were made to Broad Acres, Rolling Terrace, Montgomery Knolls, and New Hampshire Estates Elementary Schools. Baskets were also distributed to families that stopped by Northwestern High School to pick up. MentorCares™ students unloaded trucks at several sites and also helped carry the baskets to cars for the families.

Ms. Heather Daughters, the Director of Catering at the DoubleTree Hotel in Rockville, Maryland donated banquet space for this year’s event and provided refreshments for the all the hungry and thirsty volunteers. Her staff also jumped in to help load several trucks.

Mr. Steve Rothenberg, President of Talk of the Town, a Rockville based special events company, donated the use of one of his company trucks and personally made deliveries to two sites in Montgomery County along with Talk of the Town, General Manager, Ms. Kera Drabick, a long time LeadershipCares volunteer.  

The following groups and individuals supported this year’s hunger relief efforts:

• Tracy and Ray Walls from Northwestern High School-MentorCares™ Program
• Northwestern High School MentorCares™ Students-Prince Georges County, MD
• Ms. Heather Daughters, Director of Catering, DoubleTree Hotel, Rockville MD
• Chef Teresa Smith and the Culinary Students at Thomas Edison High School 
• Mr. Steve Rothenberg  and Kera Drabick, Talk of the Town, Rockville MD
• Jean Fowler and volunteers from WTOP, WGMS and Z104 radio stations
• Hannah and Madeline Carretero-Basic Necessities
• Bruce, Matt, and Debby-Weis Markets Inc., Damascus MD
• Executive Chef Don Perez-United States Senate Restaurants-Washington D.C.
• Rotary Club of Montgomery College, Rockville MD
• GM Basil Hanlon and staff-Smith and Wolensky Restaurant, Washington D.C.
• Ms. Darlene Bruton-Assistant Principal Northwestern High School
• Mr. Brian Willcoxon-Good Counsel High School
• Mr. Stephen Allen, Wheaton High School, Wheaton MD
• Mr. Brian Yudd, BT Studios Photography, Annapolis MD
• Martin and Jesse from Penske Trucks/Cenit Leasing-Rockville MD

“Our mission has been to increase awareness about hunger in our area and to give our young people an opportunity to actually do something about it in a “hands on” way. Every year they amaze us.”—Lula J. Davis, Executive Director, LeadershipCares.  

LeadershipCares provides an opportunity for those living in the area to volunteer as “hands-on” participants to help make a difference for those in need. Teenagers and young adults learn and practice leadership skills through their participation. For more information about the ThanksgivingCares initiative, LeadershipCares and how to get directly involved call (301) 540-5791 or visit our web site at www.leadershipcares.org.