Ice House In White Marsh To Raise Funds For Needy Marylanders

WHITE MARSH, MD — Thousands of people in central Maryland facing financial challenges have to go without heat during the winter months. To give the public a sense of what it feels like, a local ice sculptor will build an "Ice House" on The Avenue at White Marsh during a fundraiser for the Fuel Fund of Maryland.

Casey Connor of Ice Lab will start putting together the sculpture at 8 a.m. Friday, and it will be complete by 3 p.m. Then the public is welcome to walk through and donate to the Fuel Fund of Maryland, which assists more than 23,000 Marylanders a year with heating and electric bills.

"Every winter and throughout the year, thousands of our central Maryland neighbors, veterans and seniors live with the difficult situation of having to go without heat or power in their homes," Fuel Fund of Maryland Board President Sean Dunphy said in a statement. "They live down the block or right around the corner and now find themselves in a temporary financial crisis brought on by an illness, accident or job loss. In fact, it could be any of us."

Said Dunphy: "At the Fuel Fund, our goal is to connect our neighbors with the financial and community resources they need to keep their power on."

The Ice House is billed as Operation HON (Heat on Now) and encourages people to donate to the cause. Staff and volunteers will be on-site to collect donations. People can also put donations in a giant “mail box” by the ice house or donate online.

“We are really excited to once again host Operation HON and highlight the amazing work that the Fuel Fund does in our community,” The Avenue at White Marsh Marketing Director Lisa Geiger said in a statement. "The ice house is a perfect fit for us combined with the skating rink and allows families to shop, dine, skate and, more importantly, donate when they visit."

OPERATION HON SCHEDULE:

Friday, Jan. 10

• 8 a.m. – Construction begins
• 3 p.m. – Operation HON Opens!
• 3–7 p.m. – MIX106.5 will broadcast live with Priestly
• 4–4:15 p.m. — Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski will speak and flip a giant ice light bulb switch
• 5–6 p.m. — Orioles Mascot visit
• 6–7 p.m. — Marshmallow Mascot visit

Saturday, Jan. 12: Noon – 6 p.m.

• Noon–3 p.m. — Electrofy Productions
• 1–2 p.m. — Orioles Mascot visit
• 3–5 p.m. — Marshmallow Mascot visit

Sunday, Jan. 13: Noon – 6 p.m: Canceled