United Way of St. Mary’s County Board of Directors is pleased to announce the 2008 Merit Grant awards.  Merit Grants are given to support programs and services that provide solutions that strengthen our community.  The mission of UWSMC is to bring people together to recognize the needs of our community and implement those solutions.  

This year’s recipients are:

Lexington Park Volunteer Rescue Squad awarded  $10,000 toward purchase of an Auto-Pulse Cardiac Support Pump. These  devices are used to provide automated chest compressions to cardiac arrest  victims – a situation LPVRS encounters several times a month.

Care  Net Pregnancy Center awarded $5,000 to expand their free medical services  to include STD testing services.

Special Olympics awarded $5,000  to purchase bicycles with training wheels and three wheel bikes for their  athletes to compete at the local, state and international  levels.

Walden Sierra awarded $5,000 for Compass House – a  Halfway House for young women with children and pregnant women in recovery –  to replace 10 year old mattresses and cribs

Care Net  Pregnancy Center awarded $1,000 to purchase educational materials for a  new “Fatherhood” program designed to equip young men with the knowledge and  skills to empower them to be actively involved with their  children

Southern Maryland Center for Independent Living awarded  $1,000 to purchase a laptop computer for mobile programs in the community  regarding disability issues.

American Red Cross Southern Maryland Chapter  awarded $1,000 to outfit their newly donated fleet of emergency vehicles  with reflective markings and signs making their arrival to a disaster more  prominent and making transport safer for their volunteers.

Robbie Loker, President of the Board of Directors of United Way St. Mary’s County said,  “We are in the business of making our community a better place to live for those in need. We are excited to provide funds to these worthwhile programs.   The Merit Grants are funded through our general fund to which donors give their dollars with the understanding that we safeguard their trust and take our fiduciary responsibility seriously in considering which of the many applications to award.”

Presentations will be  made at the UWSMC 2008 Campaign Kick-Off Breakfast Sept. 5, at the J.T  Daugherty Conference Center.  For more information please call (301) 862-5577 or email uwsmc.ed@gmail.com