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Hope out of Tragedy
- Dana Jones
- Jul 17
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 5
July 18th, 2025
Dear Neighbor,
Hope out of Tragedy
It was a gorgeous celebration earlier this week for the grand opening of the HM2 Buck for Hope Foundation headquarters! The foundation raises awareness and supports sexual assault & suicide prevention in the military in honor of U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Danny Buck. This phenomenal mural, created by local artist Ginger Vander Haeghe, now serves as a permanent tribute to Danny and a testament to the Foundation's enduring mission to raise awareness of sexual assault across all branches of the military.
I’m incredibly grateful for the work of the Foundation and for the remarkable Betty Buck. Her strength, compassion, and unwavering dedication to helping others is truly inspiring.
For more information on the Foundation, visit their website here: https://www.hm2buckforhope.com/
Summer Reading and Book Drives
As the summer is coming to an end, Bill from the Naval Academy reached out and offered an incentive to encourage reading throughout the rest of summer vacation. The 2025 Books for Bill Summer Reading Program is presented by Navy Athletics and supported by Annapolis Ice Cream Company. They are encouraging every student to read 10 books over the course of the summer. If a student does complete this task, he or she is eligible for the following benefits:
- Free admission to the Navy vs. Rice game on 9/27. Parents are offered a discounted ticket for just $30 ($55 value).
- Certificate of completion signed by Navy Head Football Coach Brian Newberry
- Postgame photo with Bill the Goat on the field
- 10% off coupon from our sponsor Annapolis Ice Cream Company for all participating schools
- Buy One, Get One Free Coupon from Annapolis Ice Cream Company for all students who complete the program
Click HERE for instructions on how to participate
They hope to see your schools and students participate in our Summer Reading Program and look forward to having them in attendance this fall!
Once you are finished your summer reading challenge, consider donating some of those books to the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council! They do incredible work in our community, offering free, individualized literacy, math, GED, and ESOL tutoring for low-income adults and out-of-school youth.
They are collecting gently used books all summer for their fall fundraiser book fair at Annapolis Mall (9/27/25). Email AACLC.bookfair@gmail.com to inquire about book drop-off locations.
The proceeds from this book fair help fund their year round work, thank you for considering a donation!
More information on the book fair can be found here: https://icanread.org/bookfair/.
Federal Worker Emergency Loan Program
This past session, I was a proud supporter and co-sponsor of the The Protect Our Federal Workers Act. This legislation is vital because it is a clear way that we can fight back in support of the Maryland pubic servants who have been wrongfully terminated from their federal employment. Not only did this legislation provide the structure Maryland needed to fight terminations, but it also established much needed relief for those impacted.
To support eligible former federal employees who reside in Maryland, this month the MD Department of Labor has opened a new online application portal for applicants to apply for an emergency no-interest loan.
This program provides a $700 no-interest loan, to be paid back after 180 days, with a possible 90-day extension. To be eligible, applicants should be a (1) Maryland resident; (2) terminated from federal employment due to mass layoff, relocation, closure of a unit of federal government, or similar circumstance; (3) terminated within the past six months, and on or after Jan. 1, 2025; and (4) experiencing financial hardship.
A link to the application is available through our federal worker support page at https://labor.maryland.gov/federalworkers/. Please don't hesitate to reach out to my office if I can be of assistance to you while applying to this program.
July 4th in Annapolis
There is no better place to celebrate July 4th than the #Annapolis Independence Day Parade! This year was a beautiful evening filled with great friends, colleagues & neighbors.
Severe Weather Recovery Tips
Maryland has experienced quite a bit of thunderstorms and tornado warnings. While the Maryland Insurance Administration urges Marylanders to prepare to avoid the risk of damage to their property, sometimes it is unavoidable. So, what happens if you are impacted by the effects of a storm?
They have created these resources, including topics such as:
Quick tips if you have damage after a storm
How to file a claim
What if a tree falls on your property
Videos, resource cards, and more
Overdose Response Training
Learn how to use Narcan to stop an opioid overdose and save a life. After completing the training all participants will be given a Narcan kit to keep. This training is presented in partnership with South County Bridges a Prevention Coalition of Anne Arundel County.
For more information, visit their website HERE.
Disability Pride Month at AACPL
This July, we celebrate Disability Pride Month, honoring the strength, creativity and contributions of individuals with disabilities. Disability Pride Month was established to commemorate the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990. The disability community is the world’s largest minority, representing roughly 16 % globally- and in the U.S., more than 1 in 4 (28.7%) of adults have some type of disability.
Disability Pride Month seeks to help remove the societal and cultural stigma of disability and change the way people think about and define disability. It also aims to highlight the ongoing challenges that people with disabilities still encounter while providing an opportunity for the disability community to come together and celebrate their individuality.
Celebrate Disability Awareness with Literature and Film
Discover a vibrant collection of books that honor the experiences of people with visible and invisible disabilities, neurodivergence and chronic illnesses. Highlighting both everyday realities and extraordinary resilience, we've curated special booklists featuring authors with disabilities and their remarkable works. Pick up a book for tales of personal empowerment, social justice and representation, or show solidarity by reading from a new perspective. AACPL's collection uplifts and amplifies the voices of the disability community.
Choose your next read from their lists of books written by or about a member of the disability community!
Check out their curated booklists, including fiction and nonfiction titles for adults, teens and kids!
Download eBooks and eAudiobook formats to enjoy instantly using Overdrive/Libby.
Looking for more books written by ability-diverse authors? Use NoveList’s “Advanced Search” feature to generate a list of books by authors with specific identities.
Stream films featuring stories about people in the disability community via Kanopy.
Research Resources
Dive into a world of knowledge and discovery with our extensive collection of research resources at AACPL. From their online databases full of scholarly journals, articles and research, we provide a wealth of materials to support your quest for information and exploration.
Explore information on the disability community, civil rights, ability-diverse perspectives, accessibility advancements and more using their Gale research databases, such as their Diversity Studies or Information Science databases.
Study American Sign Language (ASL) with Handspeak.
Learn about notable historical and contemporary figures in the disability community like Marilyn Golden, Stacey Park Milbern or Justin Dart, Jr. using their Biography database.
Access state and local community resources to find information about healthcare, accessibility and mental health.
Delve into Maryland's Deaf Culture Digital Library with eBooks, eAudiobooks, online journals and streaming videos.
Discover how to become a disability ally in your community and promote inclusion for all.
Check out the U.S. Department of Justice's website for the Americans with Disabilities Act to review federal resources, rights, regulations and more.
Accessibility at the Library
Anne Arundel County Library offers a range of accessibility options at our locations to accommodate diverse needs. They provide wheelchair-accessible computers equipped with screen-reader and text-enlarging software. Large Print materials are available at all locations, and ADA Accessible Workstations offer specialized software and equipment at select locations for those with accessibility needs. C-Pen ReaderPens, portable scanning pens that read printed text aloud, are available to borrow from our Library of Things.
They also provide sign-language interpreters for library-sponsored programs upon request and partner with Maryland's Deaf Culture Digital Library, which offers accessible eBooks, eAudiobooks, online publications and streaming videos related to the d/Deaf experience. Looking to attend a library program highlighting accessibility? Check out their online calendar of upcoming accessibility events. For those who are homebound due to illness, injury or disability, their Library by Mail service delivers a full range of library materials free of charge!
The Recite Me toolbar on the library's website and catalog offers a number of helpful digital accessibility tools:
Screen Reader can read aloud website text for web users with visual impairment.
Translation will quickly and easily translate web content into over 100 languages, including 65 text-to-speech voices.
Reading Aids are available for those with learning disabilities or visual impairment and include a ruler, screen mask, magnifier, page summarizer and dictionary.
Color Adjustment is a great option for neurodivergent web users, allowing them the ability to customize the website's color scheme as well as the text, font style, size, color and spacing.
All you have to do is click on "Accessibility" in the top right corner of the screen on AACPL's website or the ReciteMe icon (the circle with the shape of a person on the bottom left side of the screen) in their online catalog and select which tool you need!
Additionally, AACPL is proud to be a dementia-friendly library, with staff trained to better serve individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Library staff have heightened awareness of the challenges faced by those who live with dementia and have learned valuable tips and tools to improve communication and care.
At AACPL, they are dedicated to fostering inclusivity and accessibility, striving to ensure that all their customers can freely explore and enjoy our resources. They hope to continue to be a vital resource and a champion for equal access to information and knowledge for everyone in our community.
You can follow me on Facebook, Bluesky, X, and Instagram to learn about volunteer opportunities, community resources, legislative updates and much more. If you have any questions or concerns, you can always contact my office by email at Dana.Jones@house.state.md.us or by phone at 410-841-3211.
Stay safe and healthy,
Delegate Dana Jones
District 30A, Annapolis & Anne Arundel County
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