AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi,
Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services,
and Midas of Annapolis and Pasadena
Those who are fans of the color blue would be impressed with the repetition of the shade throughout the Crownsville-based headquarters of The Blue Ribbon Project at 45 Community Place on the grounds of the former Crownsville Hospital Center.
Approaching the substantial brick building from the parking lot, we saw the familiar dark blue sign and symbol identifying the location and blue exterior doors. Inside, the walls, doorframes, and carpets were painted lighter shades of blue creating a calming and comforting environment for the children and teens who visit. The Blue Ribbon Project is a 501(c) (3) charity organization dedicated to supporting victims of child abuse and youth in foster care.
We were met by Assistant Executive Director Corie Jones (seen in the opening photo) who manages two of the organization’s most important programs – Backpacks of Love and Mirah’s Closet. She told us all about The Blue Ribbon Project while leading us on a tour through the facility.
“Our role as an organization is to try to help children during their transition to foster care and during their time in foster care,” Jones said. “These kids have been dealt a rough hand. We want to make things a little better for them. There are a variety of ways we can help them through eight programs ranging from Adult Survivors of Childhood Trauma Support Groups to Aging Up…Not Out.
We started our tour in a cheerful upstairs hallway that Jones referred to as “our backpack hall” which is lined with quilts donated by several quilters’ guilds. The corridor leads to rooms filled with donated clothing and other items for the Backpacks of Love program.
According to Jones, Backpacks of Love is the organization’s original program.
“In Anne Arundel County, when a child enters foster care, we will deliver a backpack to them wherever they are. Whether on the side of the road, on a school parking lot, at a police station or a courthouse, we go wherever the kid is in order to get that backpack to them within an hour or two of entering the program,” she said.
Coming to a workroom filled with multicolored backpacks, we were impressed by the large number of them. Jones explained that each backpack Blue Ribbon Project volunteers put together is age and gender specific. In the backpack, a child will find two days’ worth of clothing to include underwear, socks and pajamas along with essentials like bodywash, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, a blanket, a toy and a book. For babies, there are diapers and bibs. For teens, hair ties and journals are included, and girls get feminine hygiene products as well.
Moving on to the next two rooms, we were astonished to see row after row of see-through boxes filled with apparel for kids of all ages – each row and each box carefully marked to describe its contents. Shelves at the front of the first room held clothing appropriate for older children.
Rows full of shelves in the second room contained diapers and clothing for infants, blankets and quilts, and other essentials.
Blue Ribbon Project founder, Taylor Pyles, insists that donated clothing be new. Pyles, a member of the Anne Arundel County Police Department in the Violent Crimes Section of the Criminal Investigations Division is an adult survivor of physical abuse. As a young child, he was removed from his home by the Social Services Department and placed into the Foster Care Program.
We met Pyles in 2019 at an annual Deck The Halls and Fences holiday event hosted by Fence & Deck Connection in Millersville to benefit The Blue Ribbon Project.
“I grew up in foster care here in Anne Arundel County. I remember entering foster care when I was in elementary school,” he said. “I’d been called to the administrator’s office where police and Social Services were waiting. So what I wore to school that day was how I entered the program.”
“The idea to start the Blue Ribbon Project grew out of my own experience. When kids are taken into care, it’s often an emergency situation where they’re picked up from school or elsewhere and taken away without anything that belongs to the – a traumatic experience for any child.”
Moving past a room of filled backpacks ready for delivery and a table showing examples of what’s in them, Jones echoed Pyles’ feeling that it’s important for these foster kids to have clean, new clothes to rebuild their confidence.
Jones next took us in a different direction to the spaces reserved for The Blue Ribbon Project’s newer program, Mirah’s Closet (named in memory of a caring young girl named Mirah Chhabra who died unexpectedly after diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma).
“Our hope is that, after they’ve received the backpack, the child will come back to Mirah’s Closet – a foster closet which functions like a store where they ‘shop’ for everything they need for free.”
The initial room full of clothing (seen in the opening photograph) and a room beyond also have essential items, comfort items, toys and games. Once again, all of the clothes and items donated by generous individuals are new.
“Our wonderful donors make this all happen which is incredible,” said Jones. “We couldn’t do this without support from our community.”
The Mirah’s Closet spaces are fun. We spied a playroom where younger children can enjoy themselves while waiting to be taken to shop (with an adult) – one child at a time.
The room known as Mirah’s Library is a fun environment to linger in with colorful beanbags and plush animals including teddy bears. Kids are welcome to take as many books as they like for free. The books are donated but are brand new and are chosen to appeal to a range of ages and interests.
Thoughtful donations for this space as well as for the backpacks roll in all the time. We spotted a donation of teddy bears hoping for volunteers Harriett Newquist and Kathy Duckett to add them to the plush animals awaiting Mirah’s Closet shoppers. Newquist and Duckett were part of a group of volunteers from a nearby United Methodist Church that has supported The Blue Ribbon Project for a long time. They said they were enjoying being helpful for “such a good cause”.
The teddy bears didn’t have long to cool their heels. Shortly thereafter, they joined other stuffed animals in the Mirah’s Closet room filled with toys and games, comfort items like blankets and pillows and toiletries.
We very much appreciated our chat with Corie Jones and the tour she gave us. We learned that she came to The Blue Ribbon Project as a volunteer after moving to Maryland in 2018. She later joined the organization’s leadership team and was hired to run the Backpacks of Love program and Mirah’s Closet in 2021. It was clear to us that Jones is passionate about her job. We asked her what she liked best about it.
“One of my favorite things about the job is that I get to say thank you all day every day,” she replied. “People will email me and ask what we need for the backpack program or Mirah’s Closet. I’ll tell them and they’ll respond immediately. The fact that so many people wish to help The Blue Ribbon Project is magical. I credit Taylor Pyles who is so well connected in the community for garnering a lot of our support and I can’t forget our longtime supporters like Fence & Deck Connection, Inc., The David Orso Team and others.”
For more information about The Blue Ribbon Project, to volunteer or make a donation, visit The Blue Ribbon Project – The Blue Ribbon Project or follow the organization’s activities at Facebook.
Pasadena Theatre Company presents “Puffs” through Sunday, June 15
We received a tip from Angela Germanos that three performances remain for Pasadena Theatre Company’s production of “Puffs” – a hilarious parody authored by Matt Cox featuring three individuals trying to make it through a magic school that proves dangerous for children along with a group known as the Puffs who have a thing for badgers. Performances are scheduled at Anne Arundel Community College for Friday, June 13 at 7:30, Saturday, June 14 at 2:30 pm and Sunday, June 15 at 2:30 pm. For tickets, visit Pasadena Theatre Co. (ptcshows.com).
Katherine’s Light Foundation Music Fest at Severna Park Taphouse Sat., June 14th
A reminder that this year’s Katherine’s Light Foundation Music Festival & Charity Event is being held at the Severna Park Taphouse this Saturday, June 14th from noon to 8 pm. Headliners, The Crayfish, will be joined by the Lost and Found Trio Band, Miggs Rangel, dj Brian Austin, George Evans, Honey Sol, TMI and others. Proceeds support Neuroendocrine Tumor Research, Baltimore Washington Medical Center, Katherine’s Light Foundation Nursing scholarships at Anne Arundel Community College, the Wellness House of Annapolis and more. For more information, visit Facebook.
The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center. From health-defense to self-defense, Jing Ying provides fitness with a purpose for the whole family!
By Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.
And by Midas of Annapolis and Pasadena, A family- owned business with four locations (Annapolis, Pasadena, Laurel and Wheaton). With 40 years’ experience and the backing of a national brand, they are committed to earning customers’ trust by offering the expertise, value and responsiveness drivers expect – “every time they visit us.”
