Linda’s Legacy To Collect Donations in Severna Park

Giving Back, Linda’s Legacy, a group that provides items to the homeless, will collect supplies in Severna Park on Saturday and Sunday.

The annual Christmas drive gathers donations for more than 25 homeless shelters in Anne Arundel County and Baltimore City. The group will collect supplies at Homestead Gardens in Severna Park from 1-4 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 3 p.m. on Sunday.

“The whole thing is a homeless drive, and we have done it for years,” said Kim Lank, shelter coordinator. “It is like a big push to fill all 25 plus shelters. We try to supply them with their wish list of needs.”

The name Giving Back, Linda’s Legacy" comes from an Anne Arundel County woman named Linda Greenberg who originally started the effort. She now lives in Florida but comes up each year to help with the drive.

After the items are collected, they will be sorted from Dec. 20-23 at the Anne Arundel County Farmers Market in Annapolis and then delivered to shelters. Lank said 80 percent of the volunteers who help sort all the donations are kids and teenagers.

“It’s pretty uplifting to see all the kids there running around at the farmers market,” Lank said. “It looks like mad chaos, and it really comes down to a very specific procedure they follow to coordinate things and boxes.”

Those wishing to donate can bring new or gently used winter clothes, shoes, new baby items, new toys and fresh fruit to Homestead Gardens on Saturday or Sunday. Or stop by the farmers market, located at the corner of Riva Road and Harry S. Truman Parkway in Annapolis from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Dec. 20-23.

For more information on Giving Back, Linda’s Legacy, visit the website.