Rockville Community Supports Holiday Drive Program to Help Neighbors in Need

[Howard Hartman]

For Immediate Release January 11, 2012

Rockville Community Supports Holiday
Drive Program to Help Neighbors in Need

ROCKVILLE, Md., January 11, 2012 - Thanks to the generous volunteer efforts and donations of more than 300 individuals and businesses, $27,000 was raised to help over 1,000 residents during the 2011 holiday season.

For more than 40 years the Rockville Holiday Drive, which is operated through the City's Community Services Division, has been helping families in need, thanks to the generosity of the Rockville community.

At Thanksgiving, the contributions and hard work of 120 volunteers enabled the City to distribute Thanksgiving food baskets to 566 Rockville households and treat 96 Rockville seniors to a Thanksgiving dinner.

In addition to individual volunteers, nonprofit organizations and businesses served as partners for the distribution of Thanksgiving baskets. They are Cas & Associates, Inc., St. Mary's Catholic Church, Montrose Baptist Church and Rockville Church of Christ.

During the holiday season, six Rockville schools conducted major food and toy drives. Those schools are Robert Frost Middle School, Christ Episcopal School, Maryvale Elementary School, Richard Montgomery High School, St. Mary's School and the Franklin Schools. Robert Frost Middle School held its annual Turkey Trot and donated the proceeds, which totaled $920.

As a result of so many generous donations, 284 teens received a $15 gift card to a local retailer and 188 seniors and households without children received a gift card to a local grocery store during the December holidays. In addition to cash and gift card donations, 955 children received toys in December from the City's Toy Shop.

The Family Sponsorship Program, also operated through the Rockville Community Services Division, matched 53 Rockville families with sponsors who provided food and gifts tailored to each family's specific needs.

The Rockville Community Services Division provides for the well being of individuals and families through the identification of the human service needs of all residents; monitoring of human service programs funded by the City of Rockville; delivery of prevention and intervention programs and services for youth and families.

The office is located in Rockville Town Center at 30 Courthouse Square, Suite 100. The hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesday from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.