Give A Gift Card

We saw this on the Town Center e-letter:

KidsKorner TV hosts Kristin and Jalen, from CA’s “Columbia Matters” TV show, are sponsoring a gift card donation drive for Howard County families in need this holiday season. Gift cards from grocery stores, Target and Wal-Mart will be given to Healthy Families Howard County, a free program that assists first-time parents in their new roles. The gift cards will assist local families when purchasing necessary pre-natal and baby items, such as vitamins, diapers and formula. Kristin and Jalen will present the donations to Healthy Families Howard County at their holiday dinner on November 24. The event will be filmed and featured on the December episode of “Columbia Matters.”

Community members can assist Kristin and Jalen by visiting the gift card trees set up at community associations in Dorsey’s Search, Harper’s Choice, Hickory Ridge, Kings Contrivance, Long Reach, Oakland Mills, River Hill, Town Center and Wilde Lake; the Columbia Art Center and Lakeside Café. They can also drop off or mail gift cards to Columbia Association, Attn. Columbia Matters TV Show/KidsKorner Holiday Campaign, 10221 Wincopin Circle, Columbia, MD 21044. The deadline to submit gift cards is Friday, November 20.

Healthy Families Howard County is part of the Healthy Families America initiative in the U.S. This free, national program identifies first-time parents in the community, aligns them with community resources and offers them support in their new role as parents. Program benefits include prenatal education; information on parenting skills, nutrition and health care; discounts on hospital educational classes; and more. For more information, please call 410-715-3716 or visit www.hcgh.org.

“Columbia Matters” is a monthly television show produced by the Columbia Association that provides fun and educational information to the residents of Columbia and Howard County. KidsKorner is a recurring segment on “Columbia Matters” that is hosted by local kids and highlights topics of interest to Howard County youth. Please visit www.ColumbiaMatters.org to view past segments.

For more information on “Columbia Matters” or the KidsKorner Holiday Campaign, please contact “Columbia Matters” Producer Mary Weeks at 443-864-0556.