It’s the time of year for gratitude, family, joy, and community, and we hope your Thanksgiving table was full of all four! Thanks to YOU, our guests experience those same blessings every single day in our S4 Program (Shelter, Stability, Support, Success). There are not enough words to properly express our appreciation, both for the generosity that makes our mission possible and the humanity and compassion that lift our guests up and give them the confidence to achieve Success. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your partnership in the fight against homelessness!
Scroll down to see what YOU made possible for our guests this month!
Letter from the Executive Director
In her November letter, Executive Director Julie Lowe talks about the joys and challenges of the season, and underscores the worsening of the poverty and homelessness crisis here on the Mid-Shore.
As we gear up for the holiday season, our guests are in high spirits while they continue to work diligently in the S4 Program – Shelter, Stability, Support, Success. Let’s kick off this month’s celebrations with a big congratulations to Anna, who has qualified to move from Evelyn’s Place into Transitional Housing! Anna has been doing a great job working through her personalized plan, and she is excited for this significant new step towards independence. We promise to keep you posted as she moves and gets settled in her “new digs!”
Please also help us give a big shout out to Stellon, the newest employee at Dollar General! Seeking and securing employment is an important requirement of the S4 Program. Our goal is to help our guests build financial stability and security while they are with us so that they can remain self-sufficient after graduation. This is a huge milestone in Stellon’s journey to self-sufficiency!
Case Manager DeWayne Camper has been facilitating two of our Life Skills Classes – each with 9 participants. Job Readiness class helps guests learn important skills and “rules” that will help them be successful in job interviews and allow them to excel at work. TIS Core Values is a class developed by DeWayne himself, which incorporates the Character Counts 6 Pillars of Character along with discussions designed to smooth the path to Success in the S4 Program. Guests also continue to make good use of our partnership with the Neighborhood Service Center, attending the computer lab for resumé building and budgeting tips with Donielle Davis.
As Julie mentioned in her letter, we are experiencing a rapid and significant increase in calls for shelter. With our facilities – and those of the other Mid-Shore shelters – at capacity, we have been working to secure more off-site housing to allow guests to move more quickly out of the shelters as they qualify for Transitional Housing so we can make more room for new neighbors to join us. Many of the shelter requests are for large families, which can be challenging to house. Thanks to new and existing landlord partners, we recently secured two new houses and an additional 2-bedroom apartment for lease, bringing our total to 21 Transitional Housing Units.
Your generous and compassionate support makes these successes possible. We are so grateful!
The holidays can be a challenging time for those in our program, but every year, our community comes together to make sure our guests know they are cared for and supported. Whether in our shelters or our transitional apartments, everyone wakes up to gifts under the tree, thanks to YOU!
If you would like to adopt one or more of our guests for the holidays, we still have a few spaces available. Contact our Director of Operations, Sadé Howard, at sadehoward@talbotinterfaithshelter.org or 410-690-3120 to sign up today.
Thank you so much in advance for fulfilling our guests’ wish lists and making their holidays warm and bright!
Team TIS has had an action-packed month, including Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month activities throughout Talbot County, TIS Ambassador training, a screening of the Shelter film, and speaking engagements!
Through it all, our amazing house sitters have helped our operations run smoothly by holding down the fort at our shelter homes, and our dinner volunteers provided delicious meals for our guests to enjoy around the table together.
TIS Ambassadors Training
On November 12th, 8 members of Team TIS joined Julie, Laura, and Volunteer Coordinator Jesse Johnson at our Vine Street offices to learn about our history and the breadth of services that their support makes possible for our guests. The TIS Ambassadors program equips our supporters with the information they need to share their enthusiasm for our mission out in the community. Welcome new Ambassadors!
Voices of Resilience
We are beyond proud of our exemplary guest Tony, who you’ll get to know in this month’s Meet Team TIS article below! He recently participated in an event called “Voices of Resilience,” hosted by our friends from His Hope Ministries. Tony and two guests from His Hope spoke on a panel, sharing their experiences with homelessness and their path back to self-reliance. Tony did a wonderful job… And looked quite dapper doing it!
Our Guests Were Stuffed With Love On Thanksgiving!
Our amazing friends at the Miles River Yacht Club in St. Michaels ensured that our guests had full bellies and full hearts on Thursday, when they dropped off 65 full Thanksgiving meals – enough for everyone in our S4 Program, and then some!
This has become a heartwarming annual tradition for MRYC, which has been providing Thanksgiving dinners for our guests for several years now, even as we have grown to serve more and more guests. We are so touched by this gesture of kindness, and it definitely went on our ever-growing list of things we are thankful for this year!
Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month
This month is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Month, and we were blessed to team up with a whole host of amazing local businesses and organizations throughout November for supply collection drives and a series of fun events!
Our sincerest thanks to all of our "HHAM" partners:
Event Hosts:
Dine and Donate at Doc’s Downtown Grille and Legal Assets in Easton every Thursday in November!
Dine and Donate at Ruse in St. Michaels on November 18th!
Dine and Donate at The Ivy in Easton on November 18th!
Fundraiser hosted by Raven’s Roost 141 on November 24th!
Household Supply Collection Box Hosts:
Donation Collection Box Hosts:
Special Thanks To:
Our very own Jesse Johnson, who handcrafted our crocheted crab purse for raffle. Tickets are still available through midnight tonight (Sunday)! Click here to purchase. Stay tuned tomorrow, when we announce our Crabby for a Cause winner!
Flying Cloud Booksellers and Frugalicious for helping to promote the Crabby for a Cause purse raffle!
All of the businesses throughout Talbot County who posted our Homelessness Awareness Flyers… Check them out below!
Watch the slideshow below for tons of highlights from the month of November!
TIS Leadership Practices Advocacy In Addition To Providing Services
If you’ve ever looked closely at our logo, you may have noticed that right under our name are the words, “More Than A Shelter.” While this phrase generally refers to our S4 Program – which provides our guests Shelter, Stability, Support, and a path to Success – it also has another meaning. In addition to working daily to help our neighbors overcome homelessness, TIS’ key staff also engages in advocacy efforts, hoping to influence policy decisions that could help keep those neighbors from becoming homeless in the first place. Below is a look at just some of the activities TIS has been involved in recently.
Our Executive Director Julie Lowe is a member of Easton’s Attainable Housing Task Force, which presented a series of policy recommendations to the Town Council.
She was recently invited to join the Senior Homelessness and Housing Task Force, and took part in its inaugural meeting.
Julie participated in the Childhood Hunger Forum, speaking with other agencies from around the Mid-Shore about food insecurity.
She attended the opening of “Home,” a residential art project created by the Kent Cultural Alliance. The artists in residence visited TIS in October for a tour and watched a screening of our “Shelter” film for inspiration.
Julie also sat on a panel with Judi Olinger at the Fello October Stakeholders Meeting, where the two discussed our Transitional Housing partnership.
Director of Operations Sadé Howard has also been engaged in advocacy in recent months. She gave a presentation about our program to a local Rotary Chapter, and attended an event for St. Vincent de Paul.
In addition, Sadé represented Talbot Interfaith Shelter at the Mid-Shore Board of Realtors Legislative Luncheon, standing up for affordable rentals on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Sheila Buckmaster is back with another installment in her “Meet Team TIS” series! This month, she met with Tony – who we introduced you to above when we recapped his participation in the “Voices of Resilience” event – to learn about his life and his experience in our program.
Tony first joined us at Evelyn’s Place, and took advantage of all the assistance the S4 Program had to offer. A few months ago, he graduated from the shelter into one of our Transitional Apartments, and he is thriving. Click the button below to read Tony’s story.
Support TIS During This 24-Hour Give-A-Thon!
TIS is participating in the Mid-Shore Community Foundation’s Annual Mid-Shore Gives 24-hour giving day this Tuesday, December 2nd. Mid-Shore Gives coincides with Giving Tuesday, a day to celebrate and support nonprofit organizations all over the world.
Support TIS on Tuesday by clicking the link below to donate anytime between midnight and 11:59 pm. You can also set up your own 24-hour fundraiser and encourage your friends and family to join you on Team TIS!
Thank you in advance for your generous support. We are only able to fulfill our mission because of your partnership, and we could not be more grateful to you for all you do for TIS and our guests!
Support Our Mission At Any Time Using Any Of The Methods Below
Make a One-Time Online Donation
Mail a Check
Become a TIS Promise Keeper
Take Your RMD as a Charitable Distribution to TIS
Make a Gift of Appreciated Stock/Securities
Donate Through Your Donor Advised Fund or Personal Foundation
Employer Match
Leave a Lasting Legacy
Thank You For Your Extraordinary Support! You Are Our Heroes!
Looking for some holiday cheer in the month ahead? If you’re headed to Frosty’s Holiday Village – hosted by For All Seasons – be sure to stop by and say hello to our TIS elves! On December 14th, our very own Director of Operations, Sadé Howard, is hosting Bingo with Santa at the Easton Fire Department! Proceeds from this festive and fun event will help provide Shelter, Stability, Support, and a path to Success for the neighbors in our S4 Program.
If you are looking for some pointers on Estate and/or Retirement Planning, join us for a free Lunch and Learn on December 2nd with Kevin Flaherty of RBC’s Flaherty Fryer Group! Space is limited, so reserve your spot ASAP by contacting Laura at lauraricheson@talbotinterfaithshelter.org.
Click the calendar entries below for more details!
Join us at For All Seasons' annual Frosty's Holiday Village event, where we'll welcome in the holiday seasons with lots of free family activities for the whole community!
Celebrate the season with festive fun! Join us on Sunday, December 14th at the Easton Volunteer Fire Department for bingo with Santa, shared laughs, and holiday memories!
There are so many ways to partner with Talbot Interfaith Shelter to fight homelessness on the Mid-Shore. With your help, we provide Shelter, Stability, Support, and a path to Success for our neighbors in need. Scroll down to explore opportunities to help and choose those that speak to your heart. No matter how you participate, we are so grateful to have you on Team TIS!
We are incredibly fortunate to operate in a community that supports us in so many ways. Our local business community is no exception. Many amazing business partners help us to fulfill our mission. There are partnerships at various financial levels, each with benefits that help our partners maximize their advertising dollars while changing the lives of families and individuals in our community.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a business partner, or need information about how to return your application, contact Laura Richeson at lauraricheson@talbotinterfaithshelter.org or 443-786-6962 or simply fill out the form below.
Our Business Partners
Keys to Success Partners
Raise the Roof Partners
Home Builder Partners
Open Doors Partners
Foundation Partners
Eastern Shore Title Co.
Blue Heron Coffee
Scossa Restaurant
Blue Heron Catering
Sentry Management