County Executive's Budget Meetings at Regional Service Centers

Starting with our MLK service events January 15-17, how will you serve?

Bruce Adams

Director, Office of Community Partnerships

I hope 2011 is a fantastic year for all of you and your families! My hope for 2011 is that it be a banner year for community service in Montgomery County. We are working hard at the Volunteer Center to identify meaningful volunteer opportunities that help our neighbors most in need and make Montgomery County an even better place to live, work, raise kids, and age with dignity. October 22, 2011 will be our 25^th annual Community Service Day. In honor of this silver anniversary, I'm hoping that you will help me recruit 25,000 volunteers. Yes, 25,000 volunteers. OK, not all on the one day. We've got a plan: we are going to kick-off a week of celebrating what's best about Montgomery County on Sunday October 16 at the World of Montgomery Festival in Wheaton. We are going to end the week of service and celebration on Saturday night October 22 in Silver Spring with a volunteer awards party. In between, we want to record the community impact of 25,000 Montgomery County volunteers. I hope you will join us by signing up your family or business, or faith congregation, PTA or civic association, or nonprofit to participate. If you're in, please send me an email at: bruce.adams@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Let's get this started with the Martin Luther King Day of Service events around the County noted above on Monday January 17, 2011. Here's the link: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/content/Volunteer/indexmlk.asp . The theme this year is: "Continuing the Legacy: How Will You Serve?"

Manna Food and Giant are teaming up on a very worthy project the weekend prior to MLK Day. You will be able to donate food to our neighbors in need at every Giant Food all weekend January 15-16! We will have volunteers from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at each store on both days. There is still time for you to sign-up your civic association, PTA, faith congregation, or business to staff a store one day that weekend. For details, please contact: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgtmpl.asp?url=/content/volunteer/indexmlk.asp#Manna

Bruce Adams

Director, Office of Community Partnerships

                     

If you are interested, check out the "Sustainable Community Food System Initiative" section on our OCP webpage at: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/cpstmpl.asp?url=/content/exec/partnerships/index.asp

We have posted Andy's paper along with a list of participants, and we will be posting both video and written summary reports. Please feel free to join the network! In the meantime, here's a slideshow from the event.

There are many people to thank for the progress that has been made on this important topic. Most of all, thanks to Andy Lowy, a Sherwood High grad, for his great paper. Thanks to Princeton Internships in Civic Service (PICS) for sponsoring Andy's ten weeks at OCP. Thanks to Mary Bradford and Jeremy Criss for hosting us at the Ag Park. Rana Koll-Mandel, Michael Randel, and Diane Harris Cline did a fabulous job preparing for and facilitating the meeting. Caroline Taylor of Countryside Alliance and Jeremy Criss of DED provided great assistance in making sure we had key stakeholders in the room. Thanks to Caroline, Butler's Orchard, Lewis Orchard, and Honest Tea for the refreshments. Lisa Austin and Melissa Steed helped keep us moving forward and Lucy Yost and Caitlin Alcorn operated the flip cameras. Thanks to all and to our scribes.