Making a match to spark love
As coronavirus began to narrow nearly everyone’s lives to the confines of their homes and essential errands, Leora Hoffman despaired that the matchmaking business she had built and grown since 1990 would take a big hit. But she couldn’t have been more wrong. The pandemic hasn’t put a damper on her company, Love By Leora, which focuses on making matches primarily between older... READ MORE
Why a virtual Expo?
They say human beings are “social animals,” and that deprived of human contact, we wither away. But what are we to do in an age when social distancing can be a matter of life and death? Fortunately, we humans are also highly creative and resourceful, so there are many answers to that question: We hold FaceTime or Zoom conversations, virtual events, and small-scale, outdoor gatherings ... READ MORE
What retirees (should) want
Since he was 24 years old, author and aging expert Dr. Ken Dychtwald has studied the psychology of retirement. Now 70, he has given presentations on his research into the subject of aging to more than one million people over the years. Yet the renowned gerontologist is in no hurry to retire himself from the company he started 40 years ago. “The irony of the fact that I’m not... READ MORE
Meals on Wheels still delivers
For the past seven years, Julia Murray has received several home-cooked meals delivered straight to her doorstep each week. Murray, 79, a retired nurse who suffers from arthritis and asthma, said that getting her food delivered at her home in Columbia, Maryland, by Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland “keeps me out of assisted living or a nursing home.” The pandemic has made the... READ MORE
Virginia Voice helps blind stay tuned in
When Debra Hill was in her 50s, living an independent lifestyle and working on her doctorate in education, she had a heart attack, developed diabetic retinopathy and lost her eyesight. “It made me really depressed; made me feel isolated,” Hill said. “I felt I was losing touch with the world.” And then she found what she called a “lifesaver” — Virginia Voice, a Richmond... READ MORE
Charity’s small gifts help kids
When Ron Fitzsimmons was growing up in the 1960s in West Islip, New York, his father left his mother and their three children. With just $250 a month in welfare benefits, barely enough to cover food and rent, his mother cleaned houses and took in ironing. In middle school, Fitzsimmons had to wear the same shirt for days, enduring schoolmates’ taunts. One year, he missed 67 days of... READ MORE
Help from healthcare students
In 2009, two college roommates, Sarah LaFave and Liz Bonomo, co-founded a volunteer group called Lori’s Hands. LaFave’s mother, Lori, had passed away from breast cancer while LaFave was in high school, and the nursing major wanted to make a difference within her community at the University of Delaware. From personal experience “I had seen how chronic illness could impact a... READ MORE
Repairing and restoring together
An Ellicott City house, badly damaged by the 2016 and 2018 floods, was in such rough shape that it was barely habitable. However, the Greene family, who had lived there for 30 years, didn’t want to abandon the house where their children grew up and didn’t have the means to bring the house up to code. A local group, Rebuilding Together Howard County (RTHC), which had repaired eight... READ MORE
Taking steps to revive a historic district
Strolling the streets of Richmond’s historic Jackson Ward with a bounce in his step and a snazzy bowtie, Gary Flowers greets almost everyone, waving at drivers and (pre-pandemic) giving bear hugs to bank employees leaving work for the day. Flowers, who hosts a Richmond radio show, loves meeting people, which is partly why he leads “Walking the Ward” tours. “My purpose in life is... READ MORE
Food banks face spike in demand
Longtime volunteers for the Capital Area Food Bank were accustomed to working long hours packing boxes with fresh fruit and vegetables in a Northeast D.C. warehouse. What kept them coming back was the camaraderie and satisfaction of helping others. But in March, when the pandemic hit, some volunteers suddenly found themselves in need of food themselves. “I’m so sorry to have to... READ MORE
Cover Stories 2024
