Salvation Army delivers surprises to Cumberland kids

By: David Ibata

Weeks had gone by in Cumberland, Maryland, since Victoria Leasure and Katherine Lick had last seen the children in The Salvation Army's after-school program. So, to break the monotony, they loaded up "Big Blue," the corps van, with a surprise for the kids and their families and took off.

"We wanted to do something for our kids since we cannot have programming due to COVID-19," said Lick, who with Leasure runs the After-School Klub (A.S.K.) program for youngsters in kindergarten through fifth grade. "We decided to put together an activity box."

Each box contained crayons, markers, colored pencils, a coloring box, a notebook, a couple fun pencils, a game (some got card games, and others, board games), chalk, loom bracelet kits, a Mother's Day craft, balls, puzzles, paint activity, glowsticks and fun snacks. "Some boxes contained a slight variation depending on the age or gender of the child," Lick said.

On Wednesday, May 6, Lick and Leasure delivered one activity box each to 27 families, for a total of 36 children, and a second box of non-perishable food for each household. They then uploaded photos of children and gifts to the corps Facebook page.

“We know how sad quarantine can make you feel, and we hope all our A.S.K. kids have brighter, happier days with their surprise boxes,” they posted to Facebook. “We can't wait to see you all again, when the time comes.”