2024 Celebration of Philanthropy Program Book - Book - Page 16
YOUNG VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
Young Volunteer of the Year
Tara
Chase
Nominated by Happy Helpers for
the Homeless
It’s another rainy Saturday morning and Tara Chase’s routine
remains unchanged: a warm smile, a bagged lunch, and years
of quiet dedication. Tara, a 2024 Summa Cum Laude graduate
of North County High School, has served more than 2,000 hours
at Happy Helpers for the Homeless, an all-volunteer nonprofit
organization that delivers necessities directly to the homeless
and those in need every weekend including holidays and no
matter the weather.
“The words, ‘above and beyond’, and ‘dedication’, do not
do justice to what Tara has accomplished through her
humanitarian service,” said Happy Helpers for the Homeless
Executive Director, Bobbi Coffman. “The service here at
Happy Helpers is challenging, encompassing, and deeply
meaningful. Nothing deters Tara. She pours her whole being
into Happy Helpers.”
Tara is the first to arrive and the last to depart and has
made tens of thousands of sandwiches, bag lunches, "Bag-aBreakfasts," and toiletry gift bags over the years, said Bobbi.
She has recruited many of her peers to serve along with her
and leads the bi-weekly food basket preparations for 239 Anne
Arundel County children who are in heart-breaking, crisis
situations. Tara also sorts massive incoming donations and
serves at the organization’s "Freedom Harvest Food Drives,"
birthday parties, and Christmas parties for the homeless. Tara
actually ran Happy Helpers for the Homeless on two occasions
when adult staffing wasn’t available because of emergencies.
16 | COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY
