LEONARDTOWN, MD – May 15, 2020. – Leadership Southern Maryland (LSM) delivered sustenance and encouragement to tri-county healthcare workers over the past two weeks as part of its initial COVID-19 community support effort.

The non-profit organization raised over $2,000 since April 1 to purchase breakfast foods from local, small businesses and produce “signs of encouragement” to be placed at the three county medical centers and health department offices.

“Our healthcare teams who are on the front lines of this pandemic were the worthy recipients,” said Theresa Johnson, associate vice president for Corporate Communication and Philanthropy at CalvertHealth and LSM Class of 2014. “Our nurses caring for our medically ill patients and our ICU nurses loved the breakfast. From the bottom of our hearts (and stomachs), thank you for giving us sustenance as we fight another day for our patients and our community.”

LSM alumni have also sewn masks for St. Mary’s County Department of Emergency Services and assembled bag lunches to be donated to The Mission and distributed to St. Mary’s County’s in-need population.

“The overwhelming response from our alumni has been incredible,” said Denise Foster, Executive Director of LSM. “It started as a discussion on how we could give back to the community and 48 hours later we were formulating a path forward. LSM alumni are dedicated to strengthening our communities and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to use our resources and give back to Southern Maryland.”

LSM hopes to continue the support efforts as the communities begin to recover from the COVID-19 crisis.

Leadership Southern Maryland educates and inspires a diverse group of current and emerging leaders creating opportunities for collaborations and partnerships impacting the community needs of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s counties. LSM offers a nine-month tuition-based Executive Program and this past year launched the pilot Emerging Leaders (LEAP) program that provides educational programming and networking opportunities to new or emerging leaders in our region.