Towne Spotlight Local

 Anne Arundel County CASA Receives National Grant

Anne Arundel County CASA, Inc. has been awarded a $34,000 Core Model Grant from the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian ad Litem (CASA/GAL) Association for Children. Funds will be used to recruit, train, and assign new volunteers to represent the best interests of children who have experienced abuse or neglect. Work done under the mentoring grant will target key populations such as American Indian/Alaska Native, rural, and opioid-impacted youth. “On behalf of all of us at Anne Arundel County CASA, Inc. we are overjoyed to have been selected as a National CASA/GAL Association for Children grant recipient,” says Rebecca Tingle, Executive Director of Anne Arundel County CASA, Inc. “This support is a resounding testament to the work our CASA volunteers do on a daily basis to help abused and neglected children. We would not be able to continue our work without the support from our generous contributors.”

ANNAPOLIS PEDIATRICS EXPANDS TO PASADENA

Annapolis Pediatrics will be opening its sixth location, a new office in Pasadena within the Magothy Medical Professional Center at 18 Magothy Beach Road. “We’re pleased to expand our reach and provide the northern Anne Arundel County community with more convenient access to our exceptional pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners,” says Jim Rice, MD, president of Annapolis Pediatrics. “The addition of our Pasadena location further supports our commitment to family-centered healthcare.” Details of when exactly the office will open will be forthcoming.

New SolarPowered Building for CRAB 

New Energy Equity, a leading U.S. community and commercial solar project developer, has partnered with Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating (“CRAB”) to create a state-of-the-art green building at their new facility, in honor and memory of New Energy’s co-founder and CRAB Board Member, Ian Palmer. As CRAB’s Treasurer, Palmer was a key leader in the strategic planning and financial policies to better enable the organization to acquire a new fleet of boats and continue serving its sailing guests with disabilities, recovering warriors, and youth from underserved communities. The state-of-the-art learning center of CRAB’s new Adaptive Boating Center (“ABC”) will feature roof-mounted solar panels donated, engineered, installed, and managed by New Energy’s charitable giving arm—the Lift as We Climb Foundation. The solar panels will produce an estimated 33 megawatt-hours of electricity—enough to fully power the entire new boating center at no charge, reducing its utility costs to zero for the next 25 years. The electricity savings will allow CRAB to allocate more resources towards furthering its mission. “Ian was a strong and dedicated leader who shared his love of sailing by putting his heart and soul into making CRAB a success,” says CRAB Executive Director, Paul Bollinger. “He loved seeing CRAB guests with disabilities smiling and happy while learning to sail on the Chesapeake Bay. We are deeply honored to see Ian’s legacy continue in our partnership with New Energy Equity.”

Annapolis Entrepreneur Expands Ventures to D.C.

Despite his age, 24-year-old Annapolis native Jason Cherry is not new to business. After starting his first business venture at age 19—Mission Escape Rooms—he is now Maryland’s largest escape room operator. Five short years later, Cherry has just opened D.C’s first Kilwins, a national ice cream and confections franchise (the same franchise that is located on Annapolis’ Main Street), and is on the verge of opening Tap99, D.C.’s first 100 percent self-pour taphouse. Both new business ventures are located directly across from Nationals Park in the Navy Yard district. Under Cherry’s development agreement with the Kilwins franchise, he will open an additional three locations across D.C. over the next six years that will continue to promote the franchise’s mission of “bringing people together one ounce at a time.” Despite his growth into the Washington, D.C., market, Cherry remains committed to conducting business in Annapolis and Anne Arundel County—he is currently working to bring yet another innovative entertainment concept to Annapolis. Details will be announced shortly.

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