St. Michaels Community Center receives record private foundation grant to support capital campaign8/30/2023 Rofe: We are grateful to the Weinberg Foundation for its generosity and for its commitment to our shared goal of meeting the essential needs of every member of our community, especially the neediest and most vulnerable among us. With a grant of $500,000 from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the largest it has ever received from a private foundation, the St. Michaels Community Center (SMCC) is poised to finish the total renovation of its aged building and provide enhanced services to the most vulnerable in the Bay Hundred area of Talbot County and throughout the Mid-Shore. “This grant is truly a difference maker for us,” SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe noted. “We are grateful to the Weinberg Foundation for its generosity,” he continued, “and for its commitment to our shared goal of meeting the essential needs of every member of the community, especially the neediest and most vulnerable among us. Adequate nutrition, a safe environment in which to learn and play, access to training, and appropriate educational offerings are the basic building blocks of human dignity. This crucial grant will make a profound difference in SMCC’s ability to serve our community. When SMCC reopens early next year the new facilities – well-equipped classrooms, a technology center, and a modern commercial kitchen – will allow for expanded programming in four broad categories:
“St. Michaels Community Center plays a critical role in serving the Eastern Shore,” said Earl Millett, Managing Director at the Weinberg Foundation. “We are pleased to support its efforts to meet people where they are and expand services to provide the space and support the community needs.” SMCC is close to completing its $4.5 million Capital Campaign. SMCC Board Chair Langley Shook notes that “At the outset of the campaign, we knew we would need to succeed on three levels – government support, private donations, and foundation grants. I am gratified that thanks to the hard work of our entire team and the generosity of our scores of supporters, we have done just that: We have received $1.75 million from the State of Maryland, the Federal government, and the town of St. Michaels; more than $1.5 million in donations from individuals; and $750,000in major foundation grants. “I am moved and impressed, but not surprised, by the generous support of our donors. St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred area are special places,” Shook added. “We know how much the need for SMCC’s services has grown; now we will be able to provide what our community needs and deserves.” About the St. Michaels Community Center The St. Michaels Community Center’s mission is to serve, empower, and connect the community with year-round programs and activities for children, families, and adults. Donations to SMCC and proceeds from its Treasure Cove Thrift Shop on Railroad Ave. in St. Michaels help the nonprofit provide year-round programs, services, and community events for residents of St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred area. Architectural renderings of the St. Michaels Community Center’s renovated building and planned capital improvements, including information about how to support the campaign, can be found at www.stmichaelscc.org/homestretch.
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 Performing artist EmiSunshine is traveling from Tennessee to perform at the waterfront Muskrat Park in St. Michaels, Maryland on August 24 as part of the St. Michaels Community Center’s Concerts in the Park series. The performance begins at 6:00 p.m. and marks EmiSunshine’s debut performance in Talbot County. EmiSunshine is a 19-year-old superstar of Americana music & plays ukulele. She has performed at the Grand Ole Opry a dozen times, has written more than 200 songs, and achieved top 20 status on American Idol. Emi has been attracting national attention since the age of nine, with appearances on “The Today Show,” NBC’s “Little Big Shots,” “Pickler & Ben,” the Grand Ole Opry, and elsewhere. In 2018, she was featured in the Grammy-nominated Elvis Presley documentary film “The King,” alongside Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Ashton Kutcher, Alec Baldwin, and other stars. Muskrat Park features an expansive lawn overlooking St. Michaels Harbor and the Miles River, with limited picnic tables and a covered gazebo for performances. Guests are encouraged to bring a blanket or their own seating, along with friends, family, neighbors, your leashed dog, or just yourself to enjoy the concerts. Picnics are encouraged, with alcohol prohibited. Treats and drinks will be available for cash purchase, with proceeds benefiting the children and adults served by the St. Michaels Community Center. Plenty of locally-owned restaurants, places to shop, and parking are also nearby. The free concert series is made possible through generous sponsorship support and ends on August 31, when Maryland’s hottest 80s new wave party band, Saved by Zero takes the gazebo stage with an irresistible force of high-energy entertainment sure to rock the park. Donations to SMCC and proceeds from its Treasure Cove Thrift Shop on Railroad Ave. in St. Michaels help the nonprofit ensure children and adults from the Newcomb Bridge to Tilghman Island have the resources they need. More is at www.stmichaelscc.org.  Helping neighbors in need throughout St. Michaels and surrounding communities just became less challenging for the St. Michaels Community Center through the financial support of several granting organizations and partners. Supporting the St. Michaels Community Center’s food distribution services include recent grants from the Maryland Food Bank and the Easton Village Homeowners Association. Qlarant Foundation of Easton, Maryland provided its second grant to SMCC, this time in support of the Healthy Living Program. The Mid-Shore Community Foundation additionally provided a grant in support of the Community Center’s expanding programs.  From left: Qlarant Foundation Board Vice Chair Amanda Neal, St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe, and Qlarant CEO Dr. Ron Forsythe, Jr. with a check for $10,000 supporting SMCC's Healthy Living program. “Hunger remains a reality for many of our neighbors,” says SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “So, this support from the Maryland Food Bank and Easton Village’s HOA will help to lift our neighbors in need from a place of despair to a place of hope.” Rofe says SMCC’s Community Café & Pantry provides the equivalent of more than 2,200 nutritious meals to local individuals and families each week, with those served including many of the area’s aging and disabled, along with families in the workforce. The program receives limited support from St. Vincent de Paul of Easton and the Maryland Food Bank and is supplemented to meet the community’s needs through grants and private, tax-deductible donations. Qlarant Foundation's award supports SMCC’S Healthy Living Program—a series of evidence-based, health education self-management classes covering chronic disease, diabetes, tobacco cessation, and healthy cooking. These classes strengthen underserved populations and improve health resiliency and outcomes. “The St. Michaels Community Center conducted surveys in 2020 and 2022 to understand more about our community’s needs,” says Rofe. “Our programs are evolving in response to this feedback and give us more opportunities to build community partnerships like that with the Talbot County Health Department and the Healthy Living Program. The Mid-Shore Community Foundation’s donation supports SMCC’s activities and programs for children and adults, which include upcoming community block parties, a fatherhood program, and two fall culinary classes with Chesapeake College. Children’s programs will recommence when SMCC’s building renovations are completed in 2024. Other MSCF funders to SMCC’s programs include the Ferree Donor-Advised Fund, The Arthur H. Kudner, Jr. Fund, The Katra Donor Advised Fund, and The Reynolds/Cristiano Fund.
During the year-long renovation, SMCC is operating temporarily from office space generously donated by Christ Church, St. Michaels, and leased space at 207 N. Talbot St. where the Community Café & Pantry are open three days a week. The St. Michaels Community Center’s mission is to serve, empower, and connect the community with year-round programs and activities for children, families, and adults. Tax deductible donations to SMCC and sales proceeds from its Treasure Cove Thrift Shop across the street on Railroad Ave. help the nonprofit provide year-round programs, services, and community events for residents of St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred area. Architectural renderings of the St. Michaels Community Center’s renovated building and planned capital improvements, including information about how to support the campaign, can be found at www.stmichaelscc.org/homestretch. The St. Michaels Community Center is helping dads and men learn or brush up on their fathering skills with a program beginning on Tuesday, Sept. 5 from 6 to 7:00 p.m. The course consists of 12 weekly sessions ending on Dec. 19 and taking place at SMCC’s location during renovations at 207 N. Talbot Street in St. Michaels, Md.  The free program includes dinner for participants, with limited participation and pre-registration recommended. The program is facilitated by the Responsible Fathers Initiative and follows the National Fatherhood Initiative’s evidence-based 24/7 Dad® curriculum to help build stronger family connections for dads. “The dads who have come through our program say they really value the skills and insight the course provided, but more importantly they’re appreciative of the friendships they’ve made with other fathers by participating in the course,” said St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “Now they have a community of dads as their own sort of support group, which further helps them with the parenting, relationship, and communication skills needed to be more involved, responsible, and committed fathers.” Developed by fathering and parenting experts, the community-based program helps men develop the attitudes, knowledge, and skills they need to get—and stay—involved with their children. The program focuses on key fathering characteristics—like fathering styles, discipline, and work/family balance—and helps men evaluate their own parenting skills, as well as their fathering role models. “The commitments of a nurturing and responsible father strengthen the entire family,” said Responsible Fathers Initiative Lead Facilitator Corey W. Pack. “I am excited to work with the St. Michaels Community Center once again in reaching fathers in St. Michaels and throughout the Bay Hundred area.” Pack founded the Responsible Fathers Initiative in 2021 after a career working with the State of Maryland and while serving as Talbot County Councilman. The Initiative provides communication and engagement skills and provides fathers with an understanding of the importance of their roles in the family while providing the skills and tools needed to empower fathers to be the best they can be. More is at www.responsiblefathersintiative.org.
For more information or to enroll in the program, contact SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe at 410-745-6073 or at [email protected]. Donations to the St. Michaels Community Center’s annual fund and proceeds from its Treasure Cove Thrift Shop, located on Railroad Ave. in St. Michaels, help provide essential human services, programs, and community events for people in St. Michaels and from throughout Maryland’s Bay Hundred area. The nonprofit is currently undergoing an adaptive redesign of its building, with architectural renderings, new programming information, and more at www.stmichaelscc.org/future.  From left: Foxy’s Harbor Grille’s Terye Knopp, St. Michaels Community Center Executive Director Patrick Rofe, Eastern Shore Brewing’s Ace Moritz, and The Crab Claw Restaurant’s Tracey Jones-Wass. St. Michaels Brewfest recently donated $1,500 to SMCC, with the funds supporting the people served by SMCC’s activities and programs, including its Community Café and Pantry. St. Michaels and its neighboring communities just received a boost of support through a recent $1,500 donation from St. Michaels Brewfest to the St. Michaels Community Center. The funding supports the programs and activities of SMCC, including its Community Café and Pantry. “While many of us are enjoying summer breaks and vacations with our families, one thing that remains constant with our Community Café & Pantry is that hunger doesn’t take a summer break,” says SMCC Executive Director Patrick Rofe. “So, this type of support can go a long way in helping to lift our neighbors in need.” Rofe says this summer brings more hunger for SMCC’s Community Café & Pantry to address, as many families face limited school meals or reduced SNAP benefits. This was the 9th year for St. Michaels Brewfest, with the event including 40 breweries and welcoming more than 1,000 guests to St. Michaels. Brewfest also donated $1,500 to the St. Michaels Police Department’s S.M.Y.L.E. program. “We love putting on this annual event and supporting our community in this meaningful way,” says Foxy’s Harbor Grille owner and Brewfest organizer Terye Knopp. “It’s a great way to see returning and new faces to our annual festival while doing a great deal of good in our community.” The St. Michaels Community Center’s mission is to serve, empower, and connect the community, with year-round essential human services programs and activities for children, families, and adults.
Tax-deductible donations to SMCC and proceeds from its Treasure Cove Thrift Shop on Railroad Ave. in St. Michaels help the nonprofit provide year-round programs, services, and community events for people in St. Michaels and surrounding communities. More about the programs and activities of SMCC is at www.stmichaelscc.org, with more about St. Michaels Brewfest at www.stmichaelsbrewfest.com. |
