Thanks to the many local businesses and individuals who donated to and attended Jing Ying Institute’s Annual Silent Auction for SPAN, Inc., we raised more than $5,000 and over 500 pounds of non-perishables for SPAN’s food pantry.

SPAN stands for Serving People Across Neighborhoods, and they “provide food and financial assistance to qualified individuals and families to help them through a critical or emergency situation such as utility turn-offs, court-ordered evictions and prescription/medical assistance.” Their support reaches people in need throughout Anne Arundel County. (www.spanhelps.org)

Our fundraising spanned several months so that we could raise as much money and food as possible. The silent auction was held in December, a “last-chance” silent auction ran until the end of January, and food donations were made until the end of February.

One of Jing Ying Institute’s younger kung fu students, Andrew Gleason, surprised the school with his own special donation. For his birthday party, Andrew asked his friends for canned goods instead of presents so he could “do his part to help out.” We were so impressed with his initiative and generosity, we honored him with a special certificate of achievement.

During this time, we had lots of special events at the school that included door prizes and giveaways. The winners included JoAnne,  the happy recipient of a giant Christmas stocking. The jam-packed stocking was donated by Idea Weaver Promotions, Inc., one of the wonderful local businesses that donates each year to our fundraisers. JoAnne is a teacher and plans on giving the stocking to a deserving student. Talk about paying-it-forward!