Meals on Wheels still delivers
For the past seven years, Julia Murray has received several home-cooked meals delivered straight to her doorstep each week. Murray, 79, a retired nurse who suffers from arthritis and asthma, said that getting her food delivered at her home in Columbia, Maryland, by Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland “keeps me out of assisted living or a nursing home.” The pandemic has made the... READ MORE
Virginia Voice helps blind stay tuned in
When Debra Hill was in her 50s, living an independent lifestyle and working on her doctorate in education, she had a heart attack, developed diabetic retinopathy and lost her eyesight. “It made me really depressed; made me feel isolated,” Hill said. “I felt I was losing touch with the world.” And then she found what she called a “lifesaver” — Virginia Voice, a Richmond... READ MORE
Charity’s small gifts help kids
When Ron Fitzsimmons was growing up in the 1960s in West Islip, New York, his father left his mother and their three children. With just $250 a month in welfare benefits, barely enough to cover food and rent, his mother cleaned houses and took in ironing. In middle school, Fitzsimmons had to wear the same shirt for days, enduring schoolmates’ taunts. One year, he missed 67 days of... READ MORE
Help from healthcare students
In 2009, two college roommates, Sarah LaFave and Liz Bonomo, co-founded a volunteer group called Lori’s Hands. LaFave’s mother, Lori, had passed away from breast cancer while LaFave was in high school, and the nursing major wanted to make a difference within her community at the University of Delaware. From personal experience “I had seen how chronic illness could impact a... READ MORE
Repairing and restoring together
An Ellicott City house, badly damaged by the 2016 and 2018 floods, was in such rough shape that it was barely habitable. However, the Greene family, who had lived there for 30 years, didn’t want to abandon the house where their children grew up and didn’t have the means to bring the house up to code. A local group, Rebuilding Together Howard County (RTHC), which had repaired eight... READ MORE
Taking steps to revive a historic district
Strolling the streets of Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward with a bounce in his step and a snazzy bowtie, Gary Flowers greets almost everyone, waving at drivers and (pre-pandemic) giving bear hugs to bank employees leaving work for the day. Flowers, who hosts a Richmond radio show, loves meeting people, which is partly why he leads “Walking the Ward” tours. “My purpose in life is... READ MORE
Food banks face spike in demand
Longtime volunteers for the Capital Area Food Bank were accustomed to working long hours packing boxes with fresh fruit and vegetables in a Northeast D.C. warehouse. What kept them coming back was the camaraderie and satisfaction of helping others. But in March, when the pandemic hit, some volunteers suddenly found themselves in need of food themselves. “I’m so sorry to have to... READ MORE
An antidote to pandemic’s stress
Be it a world steeped in pandemic drama or a frayed social order, the show must go on for devotees of the Howard County Conservancy at Mount Pleasant in Woodstock. Nestled on a gentle, 232-acre rise, the land was originally owned by a family who farmed it for three centuries. They set aside the property for students and adults in order to enrich their environmental consciousness, said Meg... READ MORE
Retirees catch the spirit in 2nd act careers
Two years ago, the three Haneberg brothers from Richmond decided they wanted to work together and also leave a legacy. Now they handcraft unique rums, gins and other spirits in a former warehouse, the Virago Spirits distillery. Barry Haneberg, a former investment banker, oversees the distillery, along with his brother, Brad Haneberg, a part-time attorney. Barton Haneberg oversees sales and ... READ MORE
Moonshine and more for second act
Peter Ahlf spent 25 years as a rocket scientist at NASA and a private firm, helping design the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station, planning flight missions and more. But it wasn’t until he retired that he started making a kind of rocket fuel. Today, he crafts an award-winning absinthe, a green, anise-flavored spirit. Ahlf makes 400 bottles a month of the... READ MORE
