Christmas came early this year for 18 local non-profit organizations thanks to grants from the 2017 Christmas in St. Michaels. The newly named beneficiaries provide services to the Talbot County community in a wide range of areas from environmental protection to education and childhood development.
“The grants go to help local organizations provide important services that might otherwise go unfunded,” says Pat Martin, Chair of Christmas in St. Michaels. “Some of the grants go to support ongoing programs while others help fill a one-time need.”
The actual grant amount will be based on the proceeds from the 2017 Christmas in St. Michael’s events including the Tour of Homes, The Yuletide Party, Marketplace and sale of Gingerbread Houses. Over the past 31 years, hundreds of grants worth over a million dollars have been given to local organizations providing an important source of funding for needs both large and small.
Last year, the Phillips Wharf Environmental Center used its grant to create a community garden at its location on Tilghman Island. This summer, local kids spent time in the garden, learning to identify plants and how to take care of them. Their efforts paid off in more ways than one. Not only did the garden produce a bountiful harvest but it was such a hit that it has now been integrated into Phillips Wharf’s regular education program.
Another summer program, this one from the St. Michael’s YMCA, used its 2016 grant to pay for staff, snacks and activities for its Summer Learning Program. The program helps kids in grades 1-5 improve their math, science and reading skills. There is also a Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) program where kids learned to build a small motorized boat. And there was even more fun—a day of sleuthing “CSI-style” through the wetlands, and a cooking class hosted by Environmental Concern based on a Bay theme.
While there were no such fun and games at the St. Michael’s Fire Department, its grant was put to equally good use. The Department used its 2016 grant to purchase two infra-red cameras. This potentially lifesaving technology enables firefighters to see through smoke or darkness to find people or hot spots during a fire.
These are just a few examples of how Christmas in St. Michaels spreads Christmas cheer all year.
The 2017 grant recipients include:
Bay Hundred Community Volunteers, Inc.
Character Counts Mid Shore, Inc.
Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
Classic Motor Museum of St. Michaels
Critchlow Adkins Children’s Center – St. Michaels Site
Drew Landis Memorial Fireworks Fund, Inc.
Imagination Library of Talbot County
Pickering Creek Audubon Center
SOS: Sink or Swim
St. Luke’s School
St. Michaels After School Help (SMASH)
St. Michaels Community Center
St. Michaels Family YMCA/Carepacks of Talbot County
St. Michaels Food Pantry
St. Michaels Middle/High School After Prom
Talbot Interfaith Shelter
Tilghman Area Youth Association
Tilghman Youth Band
Although the Christmas holiday comes around once a year, the Christmas in St. Michaels Grant Fund is truly the gift that keeps on giving throughout the year. To find out more about 2017 Christmas in St. Michaels, please visit: www.christmasinstmichaels.org.
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