Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives Serves Communities During Thanksgiving, Holiday Season in Maryland, Abroad

Donations Echo Governor Larry Hogan’s Mission to Assist Those Who Need Help Most 

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Answering Governor Larry Hogan’s mission to assist those who need help most, the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives (GOCI) collected and donated gifts and supplies for Thanksgiving and holiday events across the state for Maryland communities in need.

“Our doors are always open to those who need assistance from us, and our hardworking partners are ready to work with us to serve Marylanders every single day,” said Steven McAdams, Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives.

GOCI staff joined four nonprofits “No One Person Goes Hungry,” “Grace Community Church,” “Centro de Apoyo Familiar Caf,” and “Humble House Recovery” to deliver furniture, side tables, desks, dressers, beds, mattresses, blankets, sheets, lamps, ironing boards, and irons donated to Marylanders.

GOCI staff joined “A Mother’s Cry,” a community advocacy and support organization for families affected by violence, to deliver needed items to citizens in Baltimore City.

GOCI staff volunteered at the annual Thanksgiving meal hosted by “A Mother’s Cry” and engaged other groups to be part of this volunteer activity.

(Photo credit: Annapurna)
GOCI staff joined “Annapurna,” a nonprofit organization alleviating hunger in our community by providing wholesome vegetarian food, to provide donated Thanksgiving baskets.

GOCI staff volunteered at “Food and Friends” to prepare Thanksgiving meals. More than 900 volunteers of Food and Friends annually deliver 3,500 Thanksgiving meals, including 1,500 meals for Marylanders with serious illnesses. In 2018, Food and Friends served nearly 400,000 meals in Maryland alone, representing 44% of all of their meal deliveries that year.

Commissioner Erin Lewis of the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism donated 100 turkeys to the Ruth M. Kirk Recreation and Learning Center in Baltimore.

GOCI staff, with the help of “Cancer Comfort Angels,” collected and donated 80 blankets for “Bubba’s Blankets” and joined them to deliver the blankets to cancer patients at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Staff of the Governor’s Coordinating Offices and Governor’s commissioners contributed to the donation. This year is the 3rd year Bubba’s Blankets continues its mission without Jimmy Myrick Jr., the founder; Governor Hogan’s friend; a Special Olympian; and the first honoree of the Governor’s Special Olympics Maryland Medal of Courage Award, who passed away in 2016 after a battle with leukemia.

GOCI staff worked with Pastor Oliver Surbryan of the Ebenezer Church of God in Hyattsville to fulfill their mission to deliver food, clothing, tents, and basic necessities to an Amazon tribe living between Guyana and Brazil.