U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, third from the left, meets St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe, right, while SMCC Advisory Board President Langley Shook, and his wife Karen look on. Sen. Cardin visited the St. Michaels Community Center on May 15 to see the Center’s current facilities and to go over plans for renovations. The World War II-era building was built as a lumber storage warehouse and has seen only minimal upgrades over its 80-year lifetime. It has no windows and most of the spaces have no insulation, no heat, and no air conditioning, among other issues.

​“The St. Michaels Community Center is doing important work addressing hunger in our communities,” said Sen. Cardin regarding SMCC’s food distribution program that serves people from Royal Oak to Tilghman Island, Md. “The Center’s plans for culinary job training also will fill an important need – helping to strengthen and maintain the strongest, most capable workforce for St. Michaels and the State of Maryland.”

​“We’re honored by Sen. Cardin’s interest in our plans,” said SMCC Advisory Board President Langley Shook. “State and federal support can go a long way to making the long-overdue renovation happen to let us serve more people when our new building is complete.” 

From left: St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe, SMCC Advisory Board President Langley Shook, and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin at SMCC’s Community Café. Senator Cardin stopped by on May 15 for a tour of the facility and to discuss improvement plans with Community Center leadership.

From left: SMCC Past Advisory Board President Karen Shook, SMCC Advisory Board President Langley Shook, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin, and SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe go over renderings and floor plans for the new St. Michaels Community Center. The new Center is planned to open in 2023, with fundraising currently underway. See more at www.stmichaelscc.org/future.

“Our building’s primary asset is its location in the commercial district near the people we serve,” said St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “This long-awaited adaptive renovation will make the St. Michaels Community Center the only fully-equipped resource center for social services on the Bay Hundred peninsula.”

“This will give us a place to do our best work and have the greatest impact on the lives of the children and adults we serve,” said SMCC Advisory Board President Langley Shook. 

“The State’s support is a great vote of confidence for our first-ever capital campaign and an investment in securing a sustainable future for the Community Center’s essential work,” said Shook. “We serve at the heart of this community, and these improvements will give us a much better platform from which to serve our community.” 

​“This funding will help us to have the improved facilities needed to support our food distribution program and a new culinary arts workforce training program, for example,” said Rofe. “This will benefit our participants and local restaurants in need of well-trained employees.
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“We’d like to start a Farm-to-Table program that will explore every topic related to nutrition and health, and for growing vegetables and fruits in our 40 community garden plots.”

“SMCC’s priority commitment is to the needs of the region’s population who lack the resources to lift themselves from poverty,” said Shook. “We will continue our long-time commitment to the food insecure and will add to that workforce development programming to enable adults’ transition to self-sufficiency.”

“This support does a great deal of good in helping our neighbors who are facing food insecurities,” said St. Michaels Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “We’re grateful our organizations connected last year and for the ongoing support.”

“The St. Michaels Community Center is doing a great job meeting the needs of our community,” said Christ Church Food Pantry Board member Mary Ellen Olcese. “We feel fortunate to be able to continue our support in this way, so that no one faces hunger in our community.” 

From left: St. Michaels Community Center Food Distribution Director and Youth Programs Coordinator Amy DeWitt and Executive Director Patrick Rofe; with St. Michaels Food Pantry Board members Susan Armstrong, Mary Ellen Olcese, and Jeff Hart, who recently presented a $10,000 donation in support of SMCC’s food distribution program. Take-out meals and pantry bags are provided at SMCC to those in need during select hours on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, with an outside non-perishables pantry and more at www.stmichaelscc.org.

(ST. MICHAELS, MD – April 1, 2022) Chef Sean Raspberry of Bel Air, Md. has joined the St. Michaels Community Center in a new role leading SMCC’s expanding culinary programs. Chef Raspberry comes to the St. Michaels Community Center as part of his return to the Eastern Shore, where many may remember him through his work at the Inn at Perry Cabin, Harrison’s Harbour Lights, Bistro St. Michaels, and Out of the Fire.   Raspberry is responsible for creating healthful, nutritious menus for SMCC’s Community Café, which serves eat-in and take-out meals during select hours each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He’ll also be working with local chefs and food distribution programs to coordinate food donations, including fresh produce and cooked dishes.   “We are fortunate to have Sean back on the Shore and at the Community Center,” said SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “His knowledge, relationships, and talents will help lead our future culinary programming while bringing more fresh, nutritious meals to our community and the people we serve.” Rofe says SMCC has recently given its Café a fresh look with new branding and a new menu featuring fresh salads and entrees. The Community Cafe was previously run by St. Michaels resident Jeannie Butler, with her service spanning more than four years.   One of Raspberry’s early responsibilities includes receiving food donations from St. Vincent de Paul in Easton, Md. each Monday and Friday. “It’s like Christmas morning every Monday and Friday, and I’m really enjoying planning the menus from the ingredients we receive,” says Raspberry. “This week we received shrimp and catfish, and I’m already making plans for dinner grits, made with celery, onion, and cheese.” Raspberry says his love of cooking began more than 40 years ago when he was very young watching his mother and grandmother cook. “I was seven or eight years old, and I had watched them enough to imitate what they were doing,” he says. “Soon, they felt comfortable leaving me in the kitchen to cook.” He says he developed his specialties in cooking purple cabbage and making crab cakes early on. “My family would eat steamed crabs on a Friday night, and they would leave all the claws,” said Raspberry. “Saturday morning, I would get up early and pick all of the claw meat and then make crab cakes for everyone.” Raspberry’s crab cake recipe has since transformed through his experiences working in some of the area’s top restaurants over the last 20 years.   Raspberry says his transition from the restaurant world to the Community Center is an evolution in his career that lands in giving back in a high-profile environment. “It’s more gratifying to cook for a not-paying customer and give back to people, Raspberry says. “Especially to those in need.” Raspberry says he hopes to reinforce St. Michaels Community Center’s role serving at the heart of the community and looks forward to establishing a culinary workforce training program for Chesapeake College and other students. “I’m looking forward to working with our youth not only as a teaching chef but as a mentor to help prepare them for life,” says Raspberry. Raspberry will soon be relocating to the Eastern Shore from his current home in Harford County and says he enjoys music as much as he enjoys cooking.

“Sean’s experience, knowledge, and skills as an Executive Chef make him an outstanding choice to lead our programs,” said SMCC Advisory Board President Langley Shook. “Our Advisory Board is dedicated to growing our culinary programs to include cooking classes and workforce training, for example, and Chef Sean is the right person to lead us into the future.
 
“My wife Karen and I enjoyed the Chef’s Southwestern Chicken Enchilada and salad last night for dinner,” said Shook. “The man can cook! And we’ll soon be back for more!”

“Having this access to opioid treatment will help individuals win more battles over addiction,” said Cloxton. “We’re glad to partner with the Community Center so that our outreach can extend to people living from Royal Oak all the way down to Tilghman Island.”

“We’re grateful to be able to help provide a space for the Mobile Treatment Unit,” says St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “This partnership helps forward our mission of serving, empowering, and connecting our community in meaningful ways."

. Pictured in front of the Mobile Treatment Unit from left: TCAP State Care Coordinator Nianja Thomas, University of Maryland School of Medicine Dr. Eric Weintraub, MD, Mobile Treatment Unit Coordinator Carla Penny, AA, TCAP Peer Support Specialist James Carter, CPRS, Mobile Treatment Unit Counselor Kristina Pullen, BA, ADT, St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe, Peer Support Specialist and Mobile Treatment Unit Vehicle Operations Roger McKnight, University of Maryland School of Medicine Dr. Patrick Jung, MD, Caroline County Behavioral Health Clinical Supervisor Jessica Tuel, MSW, LCSW-C, Talbot County Addictions Program Director Sarah Cloxton, MS, LCADC, Talbot County Addictions Program Supervisor Reginald Johnson, MAC, CAC-AD, and SMCC Advisory Board Member and St. Michaels Police Chief Anthony Smith.

“The St. Michaels Community Center is the only nonprofit in the Bay Hundred area whose primary mission is to provide services to economically disadvantaged residents,” said SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “We also serve people in crisis and emergency situations, including those suffering from the effects of fire, flood, eviction, job loss, or other special circumstances.”

“The $10K No Kid Hungry grant will be used to serve more than 1,000 of our local youth facing food insecurity,” says Rofe. “We still need to count on donor support each year to help meet our community’s needs, but this grant helps to offset the costs of making sure no one goes hungry throughout the entire year, and especially during the holidays.”

“The St. Michaels Community Center is fulfilling an important role in our community in making sure no one in the Bay Hundred area goes hungry,” said SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “So this kind of support from the Mid-Shore Board of REALTORS® and all our donors is critical in helping us to fulfill our mission of serving, empowering, and connecting our community.”

“Our REALTORS® and leadership are deeply invested in the communities we serve,” said Mid-Shore Board of REALTORS® President Gwen Eskridge. “Contributing to organizations like the St. Michaels Community Center helps everyone by helping to make our communities more resilient.”   ​

From left: Mid-Shore Board of REALTORS® Community Service Member Gary Marquardt; MSBR Community Service Chair Diana Albers; St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe; and MSBR Community Service Member Leslie Stevenson. Mid-Shore Board of REALTORS® recently provided a $1K contribution to the St. Michaels Community Center to help address food security among our local communities, with more www.midshoreboardofrealtors.com or at www.stmichaelscc.org.

“We’re especially grateful for Ava’s and Awful Arthur’s for providing these meals,” said St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “And connecting our community to a hearty Thanksgiving meal, pantry items, and fresh produce is at the heart of the service work we provide, with special thanks to our donors and volunteers.” 

“We are grateful for this generous support for our operations,” said St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “It speaks to the relevance and importance of our work in making sure no one in the Bay Hundred area goes hungry.”

St. Michaels Community Center Volunteer Brian Griffiths stands with assembled shelving that is part of kitchen upgrades funded through a Maryland Community Block Grant. The Community Center additionally purchased a commercial oven and made other upgrades in 2020, with the funding used for staff costs and the purchase of kitchen equipment, supplies, and food for food programs serving individuals and families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From left: St. Michaels Community Center Amy Dewitt, Volunteer Brian Griffiths, and Executive Director Patrick Rofe pause for a selfie after putting together shelving for the Center’s food distribution program. The kitchen upgrades are funded through a Maryland Community Block Grant to help the Community Center serve holiday meals and more than 200 pantry bags and meals each week to individuals and families in need from throughout the Bay Hundred area.

Suggested donations include toys suited for children of all ages; personal hygiene items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, and shampoo; family homecare items like detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products, and sponges; and food items like canned chicken, tuna, roast beef, ravioli, pasta, stew, peanut butter, rice, soup, crackers, pudding, and fruit cups.

“St. Michaels is such a vibrant place for locals and guests alike,” said SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to resume many of our normal programs beyond the food distribution services we provide.”

From left: St. Michaels Community Center’s Jeannie Butler with SMCC volunteer Johanna Saucier help serve a nutritious lunch as part of SMCC’s outreach.

“The St. Michaels Food Pantry and its volunteers and donors have helped to provide meat and nutritious, non-perishable foods for Bay Hundred families in need for more than 60 years,” says Food Pantry Board member Mary Ellen Olcese. “We’re fortunate to have helped the community for so long, and now is a great time to transition the program, because the St. Michaels Community Center is doing a great job as the area’s lead for food distribution.”  ​

“The Food Pantry began in 1961 and was located in the parish hall of Christ Church. We were able to provide twice-weekly food distribution and special holiday baskets for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter,” says Alice Petizon​ of the Food Pantry Board. “And we will continue to support food distribution in the community in the future.”

“We’re grateful for this opportunity to combine our programs while helping our neighbors who are facing food insecurities,” said St. Michaels Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “We’ll continue to provide take-out meals and grocery pick-up for those in need at the community center on Mondays from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.—including Jeannie’s Community Café for onsite dining—and Fridays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.”

St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe, front, with St. Michaels Food Pantry Board members from left, Alice Petizon, Jeff Hart, Mary Ellen Olcese, Susan Armstrong, Judy Tanczos, and Kim Kerrigan at Limoncello Restaurant

“Our location is a great place for everyone in St. Michaels to come together as a community,” said Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “I’m very much looking forward to meeting more of our neighbors at the block party, and especially being a part of enjoying a meal together during a fun, relaxing afternoon in St. Michaels.”

“It’s a wonderful experience to work for a nonprofit that has so much support,” says DeWitt. “This support makes our entire community stronger by helping provide lifelines like this to people in need.”

“We are extremely grateful for the help of this anonymous donor,” says DeWitt. “Graul’s Market is also a big supporter of our work and mission,” says DeWitt. “Graul’s supports our annual neighborhood block parties and holiday meals. This donation will really go a long way in addressing food insecurities in St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred areas.”

“Rofe’s leadership comes at a critical time in the history of SMCC,” said SMCC Advisory Board President Langley Shook. “We’re planning a major renovation of our building on Railroad Avenue, with our dream to transform our old lumber warehouse into a modern, efficient facility to better serve our community and to become a landmark that better harmonizes with the neighborhood and the historic Union United Methodist Church across the street.”