Loretta Warfield

The holiday season is an especially tough time for families that are struggling. In Curtis Bay, an industrial part of Baltimore, Md., some members of the community are no exception to these hardships. Loretta Warfield tries to minimize this stressful time with her holiday outreach program.
The holiday outreach program helps 30-50 families each year with both Thanksgiving and Christmas by giving each family a box of food for both holidays and an assortment of gifts before Christmas. Loretta began this effort in 1998 with a partnership with the Curtis Bay Elementary School. The partnership provided turkeys for Thanksgiving and Christmas to local families that otherwise would not be able to afford them.

While the program was still in its early years, Loretta rallied and inspired her colleagues to donate one dollar each week. Eventually more than 100 employees were participating and eventually volunteers would “adopt” families and provide them with food and gifts. Volunteers began to help in any way they could, whether it be buying food, wrapping gifts, or making deliveries.

Loretta, a two time cancer survivor, is certainly doing her part to improve the lives of the people in her community. Her efforts have been recognized on CNN and in 2001 the mayor named March 2, “Loretta Warfield Day.” This is why Loretta is a Daily Point of Light.