Small gesture, with big meaning
Female-run Glen Burnie business creates Easter baskets for shelter for victims of intimate partner violence
When Michelle Salb’s neighbor put out a collection call for items for the House of Ruth, Salb knew exactly what to donate.
ChapStick.
Salb’s sister Amy Kiser died by suicide in December 2017, one effect of the intimate partner violence Kiser experienced.
Kiser loved ChapStick, Salb said. It was the first thing Salb thought to donate when she saw the neighbor’s call about three months after her sister died.
Salb’s sister never used House of Ruth’s services, she lived in Pennsylvania, although Salb said it would have been beneficial if she had. By donating, Salb was able to help other women in similar situations to Kiser. House of Ruth is an intimate partner violence shelter system that
also provides counseling and legal services throughout the state.
“She would love to know people are doing this to help other women in similar situations to the one she was in,” Salb said.
So when Melissa Walker, CFO and co-owner of KCW Engineering Technologies, put out the call for donations, Salb answered.
Walker felt a calling to help women at House of Ruth, she said. She personally knows the struggles associated with intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence. She started volunteering for the House of Ruth and now serves as a board member.
KCW Engineering Technologies, located in Glen Burnie, tries to find multiple ways to give back, and Walker found that when the company focused on House of Ruth there was an outpouring of support from its team. Each spring, KCW team members, along with Salb, fill Easter baskets for the shelter.
Salb and Walker connected the first year of the project. Salb lived in the same community as Walker and saw the call for donations. It was only a couple of months after Kiser died.
Salb shared her story with Walker, and the project was renamed Amy’s Baskets. For the past four years — last year’s collection was canceled due to the pandemic — the KCW team and Salb have come together to fill
Easter baskets.
Wednesday, a small group of KCW employees joined Salb and Walker to stuff the baskets. In all, there were 50 baskets for children and teenagers and 35 for women. Pictures of Kiser, as well as some of her artwork, was on one table in the room. The other tables were full of items to be put in the baskets.
Baskets, depending on the age of the recipient, might include a blanket, a facial mask or a coloring book. Chocolate was added to each of them.
“We thought I’m sure they don’t get to wake up to a basket like they might have,” Walker said.
There were also diapers and air mattresses. Those were some of the biggest needs this year, said Cassie Kelly, annual giving manager for House of Ruth.
The shelter system always needs diapers, Kelly said. Air mattresses are needed for women and children who are part of the Safe Home Program. House of Ruth offers a shelter, which is almost always full, Kelly said.
It also offers a hotel program for temporary lodging, as well as a safe home program that offers more stable housing.
The home program can be transient, Kelly said, which is why House of Ruth needs air mattresses.
Every year, Amy’s Baskets grows larger. The need this year was also affected by the pandemic, which has led to an increased number of calls to shelters for help or housing.
The KCW team and the community were able to purchase 36 mattresses and 4,400 diapers, Walker said.
Walker set up a list of items that House of Ruth requests, and KCW Engineering Technology’s 100 employees volunteer for items they will donate, she said. Salb also reached out to her community, and this year, local elementary boys from Severna Park sold dog treats in order to raise money for the shelter.
Their donations went to purchasing the air mattresses and diapers. Salb’s family and friends, with the boys’ donation, raised about $1,000, Walker said. Chick-fil-A donated gift cards for the women.
Amy’s Baskets is one of the yearly projects KCW Engineering Technologies does to support House of Ruth. They also help provide a Thanksgiving meal.
The service projects help the women and children affected by intimate partner violence, but they also provide education, something Walker finds to be lacking among the general public. She recalled a story where one of her employees said they didn’t realize how dangerous intimate partner violence could be.
Education might be lacking because it is an issue people do not always want to discuss, Walker said.
It affects one in four women, which makes education crucial, Walker said.
There are also stereotypes about intimate partner violence that need to be unlearned, such as the misconception about wealth and abuse, Salb said. People need to know the red flags of an abusive relationship and the signs of a healthy one.
Amy’s Baskets also helps the women know that people care, Salb said. Getting help in an abusive relationship is difficult. It can take a woman approximately seven attempts before they leave an abusive partner.
“They just have to have that little desire to reach out and ask for help,” Salb said. “And that desire to reach out and ask for help is major for these women.”