AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi
and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services
SPAN, Inc.’s Board members and directors’ original intention was to celebrate the organization’s 30th Anniversary in 2020. However, the COVID pandemic put their plans on hold for much longer than expected – five years to be exact.
Thus, it was with great joy that current directors Maia Grabau and Michele Sabean announced that SPAN’s 35th Anniversary would be celebrated, with not one, but with two events during the first week of April.
The anniversary celebrations began at 4 pm on Tuesday, April 1 with a Milestone Recognition Service in the sanctuary at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church followed by a reception on the lawn of the SPAN headquarters building behind it. The service started with opening remarks by SPAN, Inc. president Mike Monahan.
He welcomed everyone, especially the many longtime supporters in the audience including SPAN volunteers, donors, and board members.
Monahan was followed by keynote speaker Michele Sabean, SPAN’s Director of Development. Along with her written words in the event’s program, Sabean’s remarks traced SPAN’s beginnings and acknowledged all those whose contributions have made the organization such an enduring force for good.
She noted that the Severna Park Assistance Network (SPAN) was founded in 1990 by six local churches and opened its doors in April of that year with a mission to provide emergency assistance to families in crisis with dignity and compassion. She then sited just a few of many reasons area residents come to SPAN seeking assistance.
“People are struggling with devastating situations like job loss, an illness or the death of a partner,” the director said.
She added that, over 35 years, the organization has grown well beyond Severna Park and truly lived up to its name – Serving People Across Neighborhoods (SPAN). During that time, SPAN has assisted an estimated 100,000 individuals, offering critical support for food, utility bills, eviction prevention and medical needs. In 2024 alone, they provided aid to 4,097 people including 1,470 families, 58 percent of whom have children. The demand for services continues to grow, with financial aid distributed last year reaching 2.5 times higher than previous years.
Sabean said none of this would be possible without the dedication of SPAN volunteers and their families, donors, and community businesses along with former recipients of aid who come back to the organization to volunteer or make a donation.
Sabean’s remarks were followed by those of Maia Grabau, SPAN’s Director of Operations. Grabau cited specific cases where she’d taken calls or received visits from clients who were in severe financial and emotional distress. Her words took on added significance when she introduced two recent clients who were courageous enough to reveal the traumatic events that brought them to SPAN asking for help.
Neither woman was identified by name, but both emphasized that they’d found themselves in truly dire circumstances when they contacted SPAN. They thanked the organization for literally offering them a lifeline.
The woman in orange, in particular, experienced continuous setbacks over the past ten years. She lost a son, and a couple years later, her teenage daughter was murdered. She suffers with PTSD as a result and was unable to work for several years. Later, she and her husband divorced, and he completely avoided paying child support for her children leaving her to bear the financial burden.
In December, her car broke down, and she needed over $2,000to fix it. She had no money to do the repair, so she had to take Uber to her job 30 min away. This expense put her further behind financially. She then fell behind on her phone service payments, and her service was cut off. As a result, she couldn’t call Uber for a ride or contact her workplace to let them know why she could not come in. It was a downward spiral, and she was released from her job last week.
Greater Severna Park & Arnold Chamber CEO Liz League spoke next and also officiated over the presentation of citations and awards to SPAN. In addition to the aforementioned citation presented by chamber member Tommy Sommers on behalf of Governor Moore’s office, there were several others including one from League on behalf of the chamber and one presented by Aysia Rodriguez from Maryland State Delegate Brian Chisholm’s office.
Following closing remarks by Monahan, attendees were invited to cross the lawn from the church to the porch of SPAN headquarters for an official chamber ribbon-cutting presided over by League and a reception.
Meanwhile, last minute touches were being added to the refreshment tables by 35th Anniversary Committee Co-Chairs Nanci Hulting and Lesley Wallace.
A beautifully decorated cake highlighting SPAN’s 35th Anniversary took center stage on one table in the nick of time as attendees flooded the lawn.
An invitation was extended to one and all to join supporters at the SPAN’s 35th Birthday Fest held Saturday, April 5th at Severna Park United Methodist Church on Benfield Road. As can be seen from the opening photo featuring SPAN volunteer Joanne Petrik and directors Maia Grabau and Michele Sabean, it was a colorful, well-attended and fun event with member churches providing and presiding over carnival games, live music and interesting displays.
The number of SPAN’s member churches has grown from the original six to 13. The originals were Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, St. Martins in-the-Field Episcopal Church, Severna Park United Methodist Church and Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church. They were joined by Asbury United Methodist Church, Baldwin Memorial United Methodist Church, Bay Area Community Church, Brooklyn Community United Methodist Church, Our Lady of the Fields Roman Catholic Church, St. Andrew by the Bay Roman Catholic Church, Severna Park Baptist Church and Trinity Bible Church. Quite a few were on hand.
Forever popular, ice cream in a multitude of flavors was available from Asbury United Methodist Church. Sabean couldn’t resist temptation and thoroughly enjoyed her cup of blueberry ice cream.
Greek Street and Sol Dog food trucks and an improvised food court provided sustenance for the crowd and a chance to socialize.
We saw several members of Cub Scout Pack 918 roaming the event. The pack is based at Our Shepherd Lutheran Church and had a booth and a Raingutter Regata game that involved sailing little boats down the gutters.
SPAN booths and volunteers were everywhere. At one booth, a flag waved in the breeze with photographs of people taken at SPAN, Inc. events down through the years. If you looked closely, you could see the photos.
Two local bands entertained the crowd. The first was Blame It On Lee and the second, seen below, was Controlled Chaos performing their repertoire of Classic Rock tunes.
As one of the original member churches, Severna Park United Methodist Church not only hosted the Birthday Fest but also had an Easter oriented booth complete with bubble machine. The booth was manned by church members Stephanie Lohss, Celine Wachter and Blaine Claar.
There was so much more to see, from St. Martin’s in-the-Field Church’s Face Painter to Our Lady of the Fields Coloring Station which, surprisingly drew adults as well as children.
One game that drew especially well was the Trinity Bible Church Youth Group Prize Wheel with two long tables of prizes behind it for players to select from. Everyone loved Trinity Music Director Zach Joines’ Mad Hatter attire complete with bunny ears.
The Birthday Fest offered much more to see and do. However, we wanted to offer some our own photographs of past directors from day we happened upon the SPAN scene in 2014 to the present.
Maria DeNardo was the organization’s Executive Director in 2013 and Jennifer Pumphrey the Associate Director. DeNardo is seen below welcoming guests to SPAN’s Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at the Firemark Building in Millersville. The pumpkin centerpieces were gorgeous.
The event was particularly fun since SPAN volunteers were gifted Volunteer T-Shirts like those seen in the photo below.
By 2017, Jennifer Pumphrey had been named SPAN’s Director of Operations and, with DeNardo retired, was teamed with Ellen Kinsella as Director of Development. (Kinsella was in the audience during the 35th Anniversary Milestone Recognition Service.)
By early to mid-2021, Pumphrey was planning to move away from Maryland and Kinsella had decided to retire. In mid-May, Maia Grabau was installed as the new Director of Operations and Michele Sabean became Director of Development. Though Kinsella stayed behind for a week to acquaint them with operations, the pair had to hit the ground running.
With demand for services continuing to rise, Sabean and Grabau remain extremely busy yet managed, with help from the 35th Anniversary Committee, to pull off two very fine Anniversary events. For information about how to make a donation, ask for assistance, or follow upcoming events, visit SPAN Serving People Across Neighborhoods (spanhelps.org).
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!
and 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.
