2024 Birdland Community Heroes

Sharon and Bill Reuter have lived in the Ridgeley's Delight neighborhood for over 30 years. They are the first to introduce themselves to new neighbors to make them feel welcome, run national night out for the neighborhood, connect people to form lifelong friendships, lead and participate in neighborhood clean-ups, organize a meal train for a family with a newborn, and champion for new playground equipment for the local park.

Outside their neighborhood, they strive to make the greater Baltimore area a better place for everyone, serving on nonprofit boards, adopting immigrant families, sponsoring scholarships, and encouraging and setting an example of how to give - both in time and money.

In honor of Sharon and Bill's recognition, the Orioles Charitable Foundation will make a donation to Next One Up.

Cameron Livesay started his own baking business, Soul Man Sweets, at the age of 9. A year later at age 10, he started a community giving project, Sweets for the Soul, donating time and a portion of his sales to people and organizations in need. He is a writer for the Farmers’ Almanac, has baked for celebrities, weddings, corporate events, local vineyards and breweries and more. Cam has gained attention with both his baking and cooking skills winning National competitions and competing against restaurants and celebrity chefs.

His giving project, Sweets for the Soul, has donated to the Carroll Community College Foundation scholarship program, Lifebridge Health, local schools, nursing homes, Carroll Arts Center, Grassroots Crisis Intervention, B+ Foundation, St. Jude, Conectando US and local sports teams. He is a friend of the Carroll County Public Library System and supporter of Library events such as Battle of the Books and author events.

A big part of the Sweets for the Soul Project is helping families in need. This includes meals and fundraisers for families with an illness or loss, providing birthday cakes to families that cannot afford one, delivering Christmas gifts to shut ins on Christmas Eve to help them feel less alone, and setting up a Christmas “Shop” where kids can pick out gifts for siblings and parents and experience the “gift of giving.” Since the Sweets for the Soul Project began, he has been able to help over 100 families.

In honor of Cameron's recognition, the Orioles Charitable Foundation will make a donation to BridgingLife - Dove House.

Clyde Hicks is a vibrant eight-year-old boy with a deep love for his family, cats, and baseball. In December 2023, he was diagnosed with Grade 2-3 Intermedullary Astrocytoma, a rare pediatric spinal cancer. Since removing the tumor safely was not an option, Clyde completed 30 targeted proton radiation therapy sessions. After several weeks, the root cause of his cancer was identified as Mismatch Repair Syndrome. In April 2024, he was also diagnosed with a lower-grade (Grade 2) brain cancer.

Throughout his battle, Clyde has relied on the support of his friends, family, Boy Scout Troop (Pack 918), community, and his incredibly supportive 8U baseball team. When Clyde was diagnosed with spinal cancer and later with brain cancer, his first concern was whether he could continue playing baseball. He has made it through the spring season, serving as a pitcher, slugger, coach, and catcher. His spirit and tenacity are unwavering. Clyde is now preparing for Fall Ball and is working hard to start walking by the end of the season.

In honor of Clyde's recognition, the Orioles Charitable Foundation will make a donation to the Casey Cares Foundation.

Baltimore City Police Officer Jahlik Mathis founded Police and Sneaks in July 2021. This Baltimore-based non-profit assists inner-city youth and helps foster positive interactions and improved relationships between law enforcement and minority communities. The organization provides footwear on a bi-weekly basis to youth across Baltimore city, which started with personal contributions from Officer Mathis.

Since the organization's founding in 2021, they have donated over 400 pairs of sneakers to youth in Baltimore. They also donate sneakers to youth who participate in Boys & Girls Clubs programming and to youth at the Jewish Community Center in northwestern Baltimore. They have expanded their reach by partnering with the Baltimore County Police Department providing sneakers once per month to an officer, who gifts them to a kid in their county.

Mathis also mentors 5th grade boys at Oakleigh Elementary School in Baltimore.

In honor of Jahlik's recognition, the Orioles Charitable Foundation will make a donation to Police And Sneaks.

Paige Hoskins is a senior at Bowie State University studying Psychology and has a passion for forensics and community service. Since joining the House of Bowie as a freshman, Paige has been dedicated to enhancing its impact and creating a welcoming environment for all. Her involvement includes establishing safe spaces on campus for queer individuals and their allies, and fostering a supportive and inclusive community. She currently serves on their leadership board and is the Miss House of Bowie.

The mission of House of Bowie is to defend, protect, celebrate, embrace, and nurture students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning (LGBTQIA+) or any other sexual orientation. This organization also seeks to educate the Bowie State University community of the needs of students who identify as LGBTQIA+ or any other sexual expression.

Paige won a $600 grant from Campus Pride, a nonprofit based in North Carolina that seeks to create safer, more inclusive college environments for LGBTQ+ students. She was one of 13 winners across the country and plans to use the grant money to improve the LGBTQIA Resource Center on the Bowie State University campus.

In honor of Paige's recognition, the Orioles Charitable Foundation will make a donation to the National Black Justice Coalition.

Catherine Morneault is the founder and president of Let’s Eat Inc. When Covid shut down food banks, she saw the need and the obligation to become a mobile food pantry which would collect and deliver food to the most at-risk citizens. She created Let's Eat Inc. to pick up fresh food and deliver it to hundreds of families. In the ensuing five years, Let's Eat Inc. has collected close to 1 million pounds of food which has fed over 500,000 people.

She has had a passion for feeding people for more than 36 years. As an ESOL teacher for 6 years, Catherine was deeply moved by the overwhelming needs of the people she interacted with. This, in part, led to the vision and genesis of Let’s Eat Inc. in 2020. Her vision is to partner with communities throughout the Greater Baltimore Area. Catherine personally values all people and their right to access food, regardless of their economic circumstances.

Catherine is a wife, mother of three and grandmother of five. She deeply enjoys working with individuals with special needs. She is an avid gardener and raises rabbits. Another of her hobbies – along with neighbors – is saving hundreds of Monarch butterflies. In doing so, she creates multiple opportunities to teach the children in her Baltimore neighborhood.

In honor of Catherine's recognition as a Birdland Community Hero, the Orioles Charitable Foundation will make a donation to Let's Eat, Inc.

Zachary Gwiazda, 15, chairs We Cancerve’s all-youth Board of Advisors. As a child who was always drawn to helping others, he began volunteering with We Cancerve in February 2022, and embraced the mission of bringing happiness to children through the organization’s many initiatives. After consistently volunteering for over a year, he was selected by We Cancerve’s Founder to lead the organization in May 2023. Since then, Zack has led a new group of dedicated youth board members through numerous successful service projects; been instrumental in hosting, filming, editing, and helping produce On the Move with We Cancerve, a children’s television show that highlights youth performing community service and encourages other to take part; and led a dental hygiene drive that collected more than 900 dental health items that were distributed to youth and families in need in Harford and Baltimore Counties, as well as unhoused teens and young adults in Washington, DC. He was named a 2023 Hormel Foods Rising Star for his work in addressing food insecurity among youth. Zack also loves school theater.

Natalie Deitz, 12, is a 7^th grade student in Harford County. She has been on the board for one year and over that time she has helped pick out and organize over 600 outfits for infants and youth experiencing homelessness. She also organized and ran a cereal event supplying 100 breakfast bags to children experiencing food insecurity in Harford County. In fact, she filmed a cooking tutorial for a nutritious, affordable meal for our children’s TV show, On the Move with We Cancerve. She delivered the ingredients to families experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence. Natalie recently shared her perspective as a youth leader as the youth keynote address during Harford County’s 250th anniversary culminating event. Last summer, she created and led a craft project for pediatric cancer patients at Cool Kids Campaign in Towson. She routinely supports We Cancerve events, including Brunch Bags stuffing party and the Super Hero craft kits event, and is a regular reporter on the nonprofit’s children’s show.

Nael Shakur, 12, is a 6th grade student from Harford County, who is serving his first year on the all-youth board of advisors. He rallied family and friends last summer to collect hundreds of snacks for an area Boys & Girls Club when he learned of a dire need. Since then, he’s routinely supported our Brunch Bags project, the Super Hero craft kits for hospitalized children and was co-project leader for the Breakfast Bags and Pasta Party collections this spring. He also led the Eggstra Special Easter Bagskits project this year that recruited more than 100 volunteers, and donated Easter treat bags to more than 400 children from Bel Air to Washington, DC!

Gloria Park, 13, is a 7^th grade student at Patterson Mill Middle School in Harford County. She has been one of the board of advisors of We Cancerve for almost a year. Catch Gloria regularly on the nonprofit’s children’s show, “On the Move with We Cancerve,” or supporting the group’s routine Brunch Bags stuffing parties. She served as project leader for the Pasta Party, which collected enough food to provide food boxes to families experiencing homelessness who were temporarily housed in motels during the winter. Her efforts also provided quick meals to dozens of unsheltered teens as far away as Washington, DC. She served as a sous chef when We Cancerve signed on to feed 80 children and their families at the Ronald McDonald House in March. She also filmed a cooking tutorial for a nutritious, affordable meal; she delivered the ingredients to families experiencing homelessness in Bel Air. Gloria also plays violin.

Sydney Thompson, 11, has served as project leader of We Cancerve’s pillow drive, ensuring families at a Harford County homeless shelter had new pillows and pillow cases to take with them when they transitioned to permanent housing. She teamed with a local elmentary school and collected over 40 pillows and 14 pillow cases. She is also a regular reporter on We Cancerve’s children’s show, On the Move with We Cancerve, and served as a sous chef when We Cancerve signed on to feed 80 children and their families at the Ronald McDonald House in March. Sydney also regularly supports We Cancerve’s Brunch Bags stuffing parties. She also plays piano.

Kate Williams, 17, is a junior at the Garrison Forest School. She has supported We Cancerve’s Brunch Bags Stuffing parties and served on an ad hoc committee to find Baltimore area organizations to receive donations of brand-new men’s clothing and shoes from a huge donation to We Cancerve. Kate also served as co-project leader of a major Brunch Bags stuffing party in collaboration with Stevenson University that provided supplemental meals to 300 children and youth over the Thanksgiving holiday. Kate also chairs the Communication and Publicity committee for her school’s Asian Student Alliance.

Sara Artes is a dedicated advocate for youth leadership development, education, and community development. Together with her husband, she co-founded Corner Team, Inc. in 2017, driven by their combined passions of boxing and community service. Corner Team, Inc. is a transformative community boxing program that utilizes the Olympic sport as a catalyst to nurture essential skills, bolster academic achievement, promote active lifestyles, and foster vibrant communities of engaged citizens. Beyond boxing, Corner Team has evolved into an anchor institution in Baltimore City's Midway Coldstream neighborhoods, serving as a safe haven for individuals of all ages to participate in positive activities and learning opportunities.

Each year, Corner Team employs over 60 Baltimore City teens in afterschool and summer initiatives that integrate academic support, boxing, fitness, STEM education, literacy, and leadership development. These young individuals have made remarkable contributions, transforming vacant lots into vibrant community spaces, conducting interviews with renowned authors, designing and leading community programs, and representing the organization at prestigious events.

When not at Corner Team, Inc., Sara dedicates her time to curating exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, further demonstrating her commitment to public service and enriching the lives of others through education and culture.

In honor of Sara's recognition as a Birdland Community Hero, the Orioles Charitable Foundation will make a donation to Corner Team, Inc.