  Dear Community Friend, I hope this letter finds you in good health and spirits. As the Executive Director of St. Michaels Community Center, I want to share with you a heartwarming story about a family in our community and how our food distribution program has made a significant difference in their lives. Sandra*, a young girl from the family, has shared her story with us about how our food pantry and community café have impacted her family. Sandra's family consists of three generations living under the same roof, and with six mouths to feed, it is challenging for them to make ends meet. They have been struggling to put food on the table, and it has been challenging for them to make nutritious meals. Sandra told us that before they discovered our food distribution program, they often had to skip meals, and sometimes her parents had to go without food so that the children could eat. She says, "It was really tough sometimes. My mom and dad worked hard, but they still couldn't pay for everything we needed. I've been hungry a lot. Sometimes we've had to go to bed without dinner. School was harder when I was hungry all the time."   However, since they started receiving food from our food pantry and community café, things have improved significantly. Sandra said, "Now we have food in the house all the time. Mom gets fruits and vegetables, and we even get meat and eggs. Plus, the food is really good." Sandra also mentioned that the program has helped her grandparents, who live with her family. They are on a fixed income, and it is often hard for them to make ends meet. Sandra says, "My grandparents need the food program too. It's helped them save money on groceries, and they don't have to worry about buying enough food for all of us." It is stories like Sandra's that remind us of the importance of our food distribution program. No one should have to go hungry, especially not families with children and seniors who are already struggling to make ends meet. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on the support of our community to continue providing essential programs like our food distribution program. We are asking for your support to ensure that families like Sandra's continue to have access to healthy food. Your donation can make a significant impact on the lives of families in our community. Just $50 can provide a week's worth of food for a family of four. Every donation, no matter the size, makes a difference in the lives of those we serve. With your support, we can continue to provide healthy food options and create a more equitable community for everyone. Thank you for your time and consideration. In gratitude,  Patrick Rofe Executive Director PS Your support makes a big difference in someone’s life. Please make a donation by clicking here or using the button below. Thank you! *Individual’s name has been changed to protect privacy. The St. Michaels Community Center is a 501(C)(3) registered non-profit, with your donations deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Please consider helping our neighbors in need as part of your legacy by including the St. Michaels Community Center in your estate plans. 
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 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!  
Win this beautiful, Vintage Laura Ashley Garden Quilt
This beautiful quilt would be a wonderful addition to your home or collection, and a treasured keepsake to cherish! 100% of the proceeds from this raffle benefit the children and adults served by the St. Michaels Community Center. Buy your tickets using the links below or at the Treasure Cove Thrift Shop. Raffle Tickets are: 1 for $3 2 for $5 5 for $10 8 for $15 11 for $20 The winner's name will be drawn on September 3, 2021. Ticket holders need not be present to win. “You have a great staff who are helpful and treat folks with respect and dignity through this tough time.” - Survey Respondent
Dear St. Michaels and Bay Hundred Neighbors, New horizons are in the future for the St. Michaels Community Center, and your continued support of our mission to serve, empower, and connect the community is needed now more than ever. Earlier this year—and after the COVID pandemic began—SMCC conducted a needs-assessment survey to help direct the future of our programs and services. We’re extremely grateful to those that participated because your input is helping point SMCC toward a bright future. We also recently announced the upcoming departure of our beloved Executive Director Trish Payne, who is retiring at the end of the year. Trish has been our steadfast leader since 2007 and was instrumental in having SMCC selected as the Bay Hundred food hub during the COVID pandemic. With Trish’s leadership, SMCC has provided more than 12,000 bags of groceries and 13,500 take-out meals for those in need, since April 2020. With these changes, you can very much be assured SMCC is focusing on our future of serving the community. The needs-assessment survey results indicate our programming provides sustenance as well as the help needed for people to become self-reliant. “A wonderful, food and meal resource (especially during this pandemic) with wonderful, caring staff! You are doing a great job – outstanding!” remarked another survey respondent. “You folks are great—I appreciate the wonderful food donation during this pandemic and Ms. Jeannie's meals. You have a great staff who are helpful and treat folks with respect and dignity through this tough time.” Your input has also given us the opportunity to fine-tune our scope of services. Our Advisory Board is looking at offering apprentice programs to teach entrepreneurship, for example, using SMCC’s Treasure Cove Thrift Shop as a potential business model. When you donate to SMCC, you are helping to support a forward-thinking vision for SMCC’s future, while sustaining the Community Center’s financial stability as we welcome our new leadership in the near future. We simply can’t do this work without your help. Please generously support our work and our future by making a charitable donation to the St. Michaels Community Center. You can mail your check to SMCC, PO Box 354, St. Michaels, MD 21663-0354, or donate online here. Your donation will ensure St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred communities have greatness to share with our locals, our guests, and especially those who need our help the most. With deepest gratitude, John W. Stumpf President, Advisory Board P.S. Please consider making your annual appeal gift in honor of Trish Payne. We will be acknowledging all supporters honoring Trish Payne with their annual donation in a print ad this January. Thank you again. St. Michaels Community Center is a 501(c)(3) organization – donations to which are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. A copy of our current financial statement is available upon request by contacting SMCC, PO Box 354, 103 Railroad Avenue, St. Michaels, MD 21663, or by calling 410-745-6073. Documents and information submitted to the State of Maryland under the Maryland Charitable Contributions Act are available from the Office of the Secretary of State for the cost of copying and postage. Thank you. You help make this a stronger community in times of need. (ST. MICHAELS, MD – Jan. 22, 2020) The St. Michaels Community Center is hosting The Fabulous Hubcaps on Sat., March 7 for a fundraising concert and dance at the St. Michaels Inn. The Fabulous 50’s Flashback event includes snacks and a cash bar, along with awards presented to the winners of the best 1950’s costume and dance-off competitions. The Hubcaps are known for entertaining audiences throughout the country with their classic rock-n-roll performances and showmanship. Their danceable music includes a wide range of oldies, from Elvis and Patsy Cline, to Tina Turner and Whitney Houston, and more. Nostalgia will greet event guests in the decorated ballroom of St. Michaels Inn. This event’s casual, 1950’s theme carries in the eats and treats served, including hoagies, penny candy, root beer floats, and more. A cash bar will be serving wine, beer, and spirits. “Every ticket purchased means more for the children and adults served by our programs and activities,” said SMCC Executive Director Trish Payne. “With many of the event’s costs covered by our generous sponsors, your ticket purchase can really have an impact on someone’s life by what we can achieve.” Helping to underwrite the cost of the fundraising event include the St. Michaels Inn and other generous local businesses. Limited tickets are $50 and available in advance by emailing trish@stmichaelscc.org, or calling 410-745-6073. Costumes are encouraged, but not required, with the event limited to adults 21 years of age and older. The event begins at 7:30 p.m., with all proceeds from the event benefiting the local children and adults served by SMCC’s food distribution, programs, and activities. The St. Michaels Community Center’s mission is to promote and provide quality activities and services that will contribute to the physical, emotional, and social well-being of the community. Donations to SMCC and proceeds from the Treasure Cove Thrift Shop in St. Michaels, Md. help the nonprofit provide year-round programs, services and community events for people from throughout the Bay Hundred area, with more at stmichaelscc.org. ##### |
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