Category Archives: Community

Helping Hands: Old Soldier’s Home Foundation

Community

Pat MacArevey, chair of the Old Soldier’s Home Foundation Board, shared the dedication of their new multi-sport court, which will accommodate pickleball (the fastest growing sport among senior citizens), basketball, and badminton. Their new sports complex is next to their victory garden and outdoor patio for the residents.

“Our mission at the Old Soldier’s Home Foundation is to support residents who live here at the Armed Forces Retirement Home who have retired as NCOs or who were combat wounded and have the privilege of supporting the men and women here. It’s an incredible honor for us, the Foundation,” MacArevey said.

The Old Soldier’s home relies on donations, and every little bit helps. That is why on this Helping Hands with ABC7 News we wanted to surprise them with something special.

“The Old Soldier’s Home Foundation does such an incredible job supporting those who help protect our country in times of need and those who served it so honorably. We want to help continue to help those people by donating $2,000 to the Old Soldier’s Home Foundation so you can continue to make improvements and improve the lives of those who so bravely served,” said Joel Bassam, President of Easterns Automotive Group.

Helpings Hands: Greater DC Diaper Bank

Community

You hear a lot about food needsbut a critical need that is often overlooked is diapers. 1 in 3 families experience diaper need.

Over the last two years the Greater DC Diaper Bank has worked to meet that need. They distributed 2 million diapers in 2019. This year they are on track to distribute 10 million! It doesn’t stop at diapers, they also provide mothers with hygiene and breast feeding products, all of the things you need when you have a baby in your life.  

Rebecca Kolowé, a mom to 4-year-old named Tristan, was just named the interim executive director of the Greater DC Diaper Bank. Since joining in 2019 she has helped them expand to reaching that 10 million mark this year. They work with 76 programs within the community. If families want to access their services they can find various diaper hubs here. 

Rebecca shares, “Every day I get to help other mothers or whoever the caregiver is, whoever is providing the care for that child. You know, we know that families take so many different forms and there’s so many different reasons for that. We just want children to be able to grow up in an environment where they know that they are loved and safe and can be taken care of in a way that is best for them and their families. We want to make that a reality,” she said.

Joel Bassam, president of Easterns Automotive Group, joined with a special surprise for Rebecca and donated $2,000 to their organization so they can keep supporting families who need it.

Helping Hands: SMYAL

Community,

SMYAL is an LGTBQ organization that works to empower and support LGBTQ youth so they can function successfully in their everyday lives. SMYAL consists of various programs such as housing, community outreach, leadership and development, and clinical services programs.

Skipp O’Shea from ABC 7 spoke with SMYAL’s clinical director about their newest program, clinical services, which provides individual, group, and family therapy. They want support to be easily accessible to the LGBTQ community.

Joel Bassam joined with a special surprise, “Touched by what you guys are doing, we want to support organizations just like SMYAL, not just during pride month but year around. We want to donate $2,000 so that you guys can continue to empower LGTBQ youth, our community, and the communities around us.”

SMYAL wanted others to know that for anyone a part of the LGBTQ community looking for support or family, SMYAL is more than happy to help you and help you through your journey.

Helping Hands: Old School Boxing

Community,

In Prince George’s County every afternoon, Old School Boxing is filled with hundreds of students who call it their home away from home.
“I’m happy to be around them and keep them off the street,” owner Buddy Harrison said. In the 90s, Harrison opened Old School Boxing after being released from jail. Originally, he wanted to help his son become a professional fighter.

“If they stay out of jail and they don’t turn to alcohol or drugs, they are champions to me,” Harrison said.
So many foster children and children from local shelters use the gym as a
lifeline. Despite charging $60 per month for his students, Harrison encourages them to pay what they can and never turns anyone away. Most of the gym’s funding comes from donations.

Joel Bassam with Easterns Automotive Group surprised Harrison by supporting his important mission.

“The Old School Boxing story is one that we came back to. We just couldn’t help ourselves. Your self-sacrifice and the way you support your community is truly admirable and something that anyone in any community can learn from,” Bassam said. “We want to help you out by donating $2,000 to your gym so that you can continue to support the youth in your community. Continue doing the amazing work that you are doing, and I hope to see you soon.”

Harrison expressed how much this will help Old School Boxing and plans to use the money for students’ equipment.

Pay It Forward: Nurses Appreciation Week

Community,

With compassion and love they helped us get through the worst of the pandemic and have continued to care for our communities in our most vulnerable times. As part of this Pay It Forward, we stopped by the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center to thank nurses for their work.

During nurses appreciation week, we wanted to surprise them with something special. To thank the nursing staff for paying it forward, Easterns Automotive Group sent the them catered meals from Thomas Thyme and Escape Foot Soaks from Naturally London.

If you know someone who should be featured on Pay It Forward, you can nominate them at wttgpayitforward@fox.com. In your email, be sure to include who they are and why they deserve to be recognized.

Pay It Forward: Goodwin House

Community, Uncategorized,

Residents of the Goodwin House have been Paying it forward in their own way. These volunteers have been spending their time creating mats for those experiencing homelessness, helping students with college entry exams, creating boxes for those in need in Ukraine, and it doesn’t stop there. 

This started because they saw a Washington Post article in 2019 that struck the idea of helping the homeless by creating mats to sleep on or use as blankets. 

Easterns Automotive Group heard of the incredible things they are doing to support others in the community, and we wanted to surprise them with $2,000 to go towards their wonderful initiative.

If you know someone who should be featured on Pay It Forward, you can nominate them here. In your email, be sure to include who they are and why they deserve to be recognized.

Helping Hands: Christmas in April

Community,

Thousands of volunteers are joining together for the Christmas in April program to help repair the homes of Prince George’s County seniors who are in need. Christmas in April is a volunteer organization that repairs the homes of senior citizens who are either low-income and/or physically challenged so they may live in warmth, safety, and independence.

A one-day repair effort is held on the last Saturday in April, culminating months of planning and preparation. Christmas in April relies on the community for support from volunteers to repair the homes to funding from businesses, corporations, and individuals.

We are amazed by the amazing work being done by these volunteers with Christmas in April. President Joel Bassam wanted to surprise them with a 7News Helping Hand.

“Christmas in April is an amazing organization. We love the fact that you guys operate right in the heart of Prince George’s County, a county that means so much to us here at Easterns Automotive Group. We have three locations there, and it’s been an important part of our history. We want to help you continue to support those in need by donating $2,000 so you can continue to do the amazing work of providing home renovations to those who need it most. Keep doing the stuff you are doing. We are happy to be a part of it.”

Jenkins expressed his appreciation for the donation and said it will have a profound impact on someone’s life immediately. “Thank you so much from the bottom of Christmas in April – Prince George’s County’s heart. We thank you so much, it’s so inspirational, and the fact is it is going to help a senior, a homeowner on a fixed income. This means so much and thank you for your generosity. We are so happy to accept this, and we love channel 7.”

Pay It Forward: South County High School

Community, Uncategorized,

The impact of the pandemic has affected our senior citizens greatly. The elder outreach program at South County High school wanted to support the elders in their community by creating the Elder Outreach Program.

As elders were confined to their homes during the pandemic and unable to interact with their families, these students made sure they didn’t feel forgotten. They began writing handwritten letters and delivering them to homes in the community.

The vice president, Gavin, has been a part of the club for two years, and he finds it fulfilling to see the smile on the elders’ faces and see the impact they have on their lives.

We appreciate everything that they are doing in the community and want to support their awesome initiative. We surprised the students from South County High School with goody bags to deliver to the senior citizens.

Helping Hands: Undies For Everyone

Community,

As of today, more than 5,000 students in Washington, DC are homeless or living in poverty, according to Partners for Kids in Care.

The non-profit organization, Undies for Everyone, provides new underwear to children and is expanding in the area. Thousands of pairs of underwear will be distributed to thousands of children in the D.C area.

“They love being able to get it, and we love giving it to them with designs on it,” said Amy Weiss, CEO of Undies for Everyone.

Weiss’ nonprofit organization, Undies for Everyone, which has expanded across 16 cities in the United States, has donated millions of pairs of underwear. Weiss says the basic need for underwear is overlooked.

Joel Bassam with Easterns Automotive Group wanted to help students in the district by giving Undies for Everyone a helping hand.
“Undies for Everyone is an amazing organization supporting over 100,000 kids across the United States and 5,000 kids so far in the Washington D.C., market. We want to help get that number up and support more kids in our market by donating $2,000 to your cause so you can continue helping kids that are most in need and supporting their self-esteem.”

Weiss was filled with joy and expressed how this would help so many children in the D.C. area. Undies for Everyone also encourages companies to get involved by helping to pack and donate pairs in their community.

Pay It Forward: First Baptist Church of Highland Park

Community,

Last month during senior week we celebrated seniors during our Pay It forward special with Fox 5 DC. 

We were able to surprise the sensational seniors of First Baptist Church of Highland Park. In their senior ministry, they work to have food drives, weekly grocery distribution, vaccination clinics, and even blood drives. Their goal is to keep people engaged, connected, and feeling a sense of they can be brought through hard situations. 

Thankful for all of the great work they are doing in the community we gave them goody bags with everyday items to make their life easier!

If you know someone who should be featured on Pay It Forward, you can nominate them here. In your email, be sure to include who they are and why they deserve to be recognized.