Foundation to offer supply grants for teaching supplies

The Community Foundation of Southern Maryland is making grants available to elementary and middle schools through the Green Apple Fund for teachers who purchase supplies for their classrooms. Grants ranging from $25 to $100 are available. Educators who teach in private and public schools in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s counties, grades 1 through 8, are invited to apply. Grants are awarded to the schools.

The Green Apple Grant Fund was established with donations from the Foundation’s Community Grant Fund, by an anonymous retired teacher, the Kimble Family and the Chaney Team Fund to help support teachers who spend their own money on supplies for their classrooms, according to Gretchen Hardman, executive director of the Community Foundation of Southern Maryland.

Last year, the first year for this grant program, the Green Apple Grant Fund awarded 38 teachers a total of $3,685.37, according to a press release.

Applications for the Green Apple Fund for Educators are available on the Community Foundation of Southern Maryland’s website, www.cfsomd.org/ grants.

Grant applications must be submitted by 4 p.m., on April 4, and grant awards will be announced in May. Awards range from $25 to $100 and will be distributed in the order they are received until the allocated funds have been exhausted. Only one application per teacher will be accepted. Funds are awarded for the current school year. If the applicant has already purchased any supplies for the current school year, receipts should be attached to the application.

Applications may be submitted electronically in pdf format to donorservices@ cfsomd.org or by mail to: Community Foundation of Southern Maryland, P.O. Box 716, Charlotte Hall, MD 20622, by Monday, April 4, by 4 p.m. Staff will be at the office from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 4, to accept applications. Donations of any amount may be made to this fund at any time. All donations are 100 percent tax deductible.

For more information, contact Hardman at 240670-4483.

Scam cancer charities dissolved after bilking donors of $75 million

Attorney General Brian Frosh and Maryland Secretary of State John Wobensmith announced this week that Maryland and its partners have dissolved two sham cancer charities and have banned their president profiting from any charity fundraising in the future. Frosh and Wobensmith worked with the Federal Trade Commission and representatives of each state and the District of Columbia, marking the end of the largest joint enforcement action ever undertaken by state charity regulators and the FTC.

Cancer Fund of America Inc. (CFA), Cancer Support Services Inc. (CSS) and their leader, James Reyn- olds, Sr., agreed in court documents filed this week to settle charges that the organizations claimed to help cancer patients, but instead spent the overwhelming majority of donations on trips, gifts and salaries for operators, families and friends, as well as on fundraising activities, according to a press release.

Under the settlement order, CFA and CSS will be permanently closed and their assets liquidated. Reynolds is permanently banned from profiting from charity fundraising and nonprofit work, and from serving as a charity’s director or trustee or otherwise managing charitable assets.

In May 2015, Maryland and other officials announced the unprecedented multi-state crackdown against a total of four sham charities accused of raising tens of millions of dollars to purportedly assist cancer victims that instead funded salaries, cruises and concert tickets. According to officials, the four charities raised a combined $187.1 million between 2008 and 2012, using marketing calls and direct mail to portray themselves as national organizations on the front lines of care and assistance. But more than 85 percent of the money raised went to reimbursing fundraisers, paying salaries, trips to Las Vegas and Disney World, Jet Ski outings, dating website subscriptions and other personal expenses for founders, their family members and board members. Less than 3 percent of donated money went to programs as claimed.

At the time, the Children’s Cancer Fund and the Breast Cancer Society were dissolved through a settlement agreement. The remaining two, CFA and CSS are being dissolved now.

The order imposes a judgment against CFA, CSS, and Reynolds of $75.8 million, the amount consumers donated to the two organizations between 2008 and 2012. Because of limited assets, it will not be possible to reclaim most of those funds or return money to donors. However, all available assets will be liquidated, and proceeds will go to legitimate cancer organizations, which was the original intent of donors.

Attorney General Frosh and Secretary Wobensmith urge Marylanders to look into a charity’s registration status and ask questions about how their donation will help the charity’s stated purpose before donating.

The Office of the Secretary of State registers and regulates charitable organizations that solicit charitable contributions in Maryland. The Office works to ensure that charitable contributions made by Marylanders go to qualified charitable organizations and are used for the intended purpose.

To check if a charity is registered in Maryland, call 1-800-825-4510 or to report other suspected violations of charitable giving law, contact the Investigations Unit of the Secretary of State’s Office at 410-260- 3879. More information on charities can be found on the Secretary of State’s charity home page: http:// www.sos.state.md.us/Charity/SearchCharity.aspx.

Autonomous systems program to highlight military initiatives

The Patuxent Partnership (TPP) will host a program focused on autonomous systems, highlighting initiatives at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to include Webster Field objectives 8 a.m., April 12 at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center in California, Md.

Rear Adm. Mark Darrah, program executive officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, Pete Heasley, UAS test directorate at Webster Field, and Col. Eldon Metzger, Navy and Marine Corps Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems program manager are the confirmed speakers at this program, presenting an overview of unmanned initiatives, priorities, capabilities and their alignment with NAVAIR and NAWCAD mission and goals.

There is no cost for this program. Advance registration is requested. To register, go to www. paxpartnership.org.

Residents asked to report illegal hydrant connections

The Charles County Department of Public Works is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying and reporting illegal connections to county fire hydrants. Any connection to a hydrant without a hydrant meter or with a hydrant meter issued by another water company or jurisdiction is theft of water service.

Charles County hydrant meters are painted orange to make them easy to identify. A hydrant meter of any other color, or not painted at all, is an illegal