 December, 2021 Dear Friend, It’s an honor to serve our community and I love what I do. With your support, I get to work with a great staff, board of advisors, and volunteers to make a difference in the lives of those in the Bay Hundred community. Please consider donating to St. Michaels Community Center this holiday season. Your gift will go twice as far because it will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Board of Advisors. Soon after I arrived at SMCC four months ago, I was inspired by Emily*. She is a member of our community who regularly visits the Center to participate in our programs. Emily has strength and resilience that far exceeds her age. Emily is a 4th grader at St. Michaels Elementary School who participates in our Afterschool Programs. She also brings home food and groceries from SMCC each week to feed her family of six. She lives with her diabetic mother, grandparents, younger sister, and older brother. It would be easy for Emily and her family to lose hope during an increasingly difficult time. Life is hard, and sometimes comes with adversities like poverty, or a chronic illness. Thankfully, Emily has the safety net she needs through the work of the St. Michaels Community Center. Work that is only made possible through the help of our donors. Donors like you who help us deliver each week more than 200 bags of groceries and meals to our community, including Emily and her family. The St. Michaels Community Center is more than a food pantry. We’re a place where service in our community is seen and felt by Emily and many other neighbors and friends. We’re a place of empowerment for children like Emily to help smooth the edginess of life while providing nutritious meals so hunger is no longer a worry. And most importantly, the St. Michaels Community Center is a place of connection—a place where Emily and others in our community find hope and are strengthened in character and self-worth through a sense of belonging to something bigger than an adverse home life. One day as Emily was leaving, she said. “My grandmother loves everything that Ms. Jeannie cooks in the kitchen, and I really like those cookies she adds for dessert.” It’s only because we have a dedicated staff and volunteers that we can achieve our mission. In fact, the cookies Emily mentioned are donated every week by the St. Michaels Rotary Club and a volunteer who loves to bake and give back to their community. We’re lucky to be of service to Emily and her family, and all our friends and neighbors who participate in our programs and activities. We’re grateful that we can make a difference because of your support. Your donations help improve the lives of people in very meaningful ways—which is a great motivator each day. It’s also the reason people like you continue to generously support our operations through charitable donations. When you donate to the St. Michaels Community Center you are helping to improve lives and ensuring a bright and continuing future of the Community Center’s mission. We simply can’t do this work without your help. Please generously support our work and the future of our community by making a charitable donation to the St. Michaels Community Center. You can mail your check or donate online at paypal.me/smccmd. Your donation will ensure St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred communities we serve have the resources to provide hope and security, especially to those who need our help the most, like Emily. With deepest gratitude,  Patrick Rofe Executive Director P.S. Double your impact! For the rest of December, the SMCC Board of Advisors will match all donations dollar-for-dollar. Your employer might help too. Ask your employer if they will match your gift to SMCC! Thank you! *Name has been changed to protect identity. Thank You on behalf of the individuals and families we serve! 
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