Leadership Cares Foundation | Developing caring leaders

ThanksgivingCares Press Release 2007

The LeadershipCares Foundation
10181 Nightingale Street
Gaithersburg, MD 20882

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

STUDENT LEADERS FROM MENTORCARES PROVIDED THANKSGIVING BASKETS TO FAMILIES THROUGHOUT THE D.C. AREA AS PART OF THEIR 10th ANNUAL THANKSGIVINGCARES INITIATIVE. 833 FAMILIES WERE SERVED IN THE ROCKVILLE, ASPEN HILL, WHEATON, SILVER SPRING, TAKOMA PARK AND HYATTSVILLE AREAS.

November 30th, 2007. LeadershipCares™, an organization that teaches leadership and life skills to teenagers and young adults, assembled and delivered baskets of ingredients to prepare a traditional 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 19th and Tuesday, November 20th 2007, and then delivered the afternoon of the 20th. 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 Hilton Hotel and Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland were converted into the assembly and distribution center for this year’s program. A contingent of very enthusiastic MentorCares™ students, along with adults from Lexis Nexis, the Montgomery County Rotary Club and volunteers from WTOP, 3WT and WFED radio stations 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 $3,800 to support the effort.

Culinary students from Thomas Edison High School in Montgomery County prepped and baked bags of assorted cookies for the baskets.

For the 10th 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 Mt. Horab Church Community. Deliveries were made to Broad Acres, Rolling Terrace, Montgomery Knolls, and Loiderman Elementary Schools. Baskets were also distributed at Northwestern High School to over a 170 families from the Hyattsville Maryland community. MentorCares™ students unloaded trucks at several sites and also helped carry the baskets to cars for the families.

Mr. Michael Zimmerman, the Director of Catering at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center in Rockville, Maryland, donated banquet space for this year’s event and provided refreshments for all the volunteers. His fantastic staff including Terry Miles and Manuel Ruiz jumped in to help throughout the two-day event.

Mr. Steve Rothenberg, President of Talk of the Town, a Rockville based special events company, donated the use of company trucks. Paul McGreen, Operations Manager, and other Talk of the Town associates made deliveries to two sites in Montgomery County.

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

MentorCares™ Students-Northwestern High School-Prince Georges County, MD

Master Chief Tommy Brady-NJROTC Students-Kennedy HS, Silver Spring MD

The Reed Foundation-Grant to Help Fund Food Purchases-New York, NY

Rita Skolnik-Lexis Nexis Volunteers-“The Famous Box Brigade” Rockville MD

Michael Zimmerman Director of Catering, and staff-Hilton Hotel, Rockville MD

Chef Teresa Smith and the Incredible Culinary Students at Thomas Edison HS

Steve Rothenberg and Talk of the Town Special Events, Rockville MD

Pat Grant and the National Council of Negro Women, Montgomery County MD

Mike Kranias, Jean Fowler and team from WTOP, 3WT and WFED radio stations

Hannah and Madeline Carretero-Basic Necessities-Kensington MD

Matt Mumma, Debby Hurley and Staff-Weis Markets Inc., Damascus MD

Potomac Rotary Club and Montgomery College Staff, Rockville MD

Darlene Bruton and Tracy Walls-High School Consortium-Largo MD

Tesfaye Abate, Director of Sales, Renaissance Harbor Place Hotel-Baltimore MD

Mary Pittman and grandchildren Chaz and Chadley-Silver Spring MD

Kelly and Brian Ackerman and their three superstar daughters, Gaithersburg MD

Robert and Brian Willcoxon-Rockville MD

Brian T. Yudd, BT Studios Photography, Annapolis 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, Leadership Cares.

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.