Ana Fernandez-Napp and Julia Sharapi are both 19-year-olds who grew up in Greenbelt. Since they were children, they have been actively involved in the Greenbelt community, from just attending various festivals to volunteering at the Community Center to serving on the Youth Advisory Committee.
They organized a yard sale/bake sale a few weeks ago to raise funds for the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and were stunned and inspired by the amount of support they got. This led them to want to go even further and host another bake sale. They hope this event will further foster community in Greenbelt, while again supporting a cause that is impacting the entire nation.
The fundraiser will be held this Saturday, July 4, starting at 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (the end time is flexible; it could be earlier or later based on supplies) at the entrance of Boxwood Village, in the public field at the corner of Lastner Lane and Rosewood Drive.
The BLM movement is at the forefront of media coverage right now and has been discussed heavily at a national level, which can make it seem distant and unrelated to our small-town lives. But BLM is just as important to consider and discuss on a local level. Therefore, this bake sale is designed not only to raise funds, but to be educational. There will be informational posters and anti-racism self-help resources. The goal is to foster, what may frankly be uncomfortable, conversations surrounding race.
Neither Fernandez-Napp nor Sharapi is Black and they will never understand what it’s like to be Black in America. However, they have had the privilege of living in this racially diverse area and of learning from Black peers in school as well as from all the Black scholars and activists that have made their content and this movement accessible on social media. The two women hope to amplify their voices and make them accessible to folks that don’t have social media. This bake sale fundraiser will feature a wide range of baked goods, with gluten-free and vegan options. Paintings by local artist Beth Tindall (iplaywithpaint.com) will also be sold. All proceeds will be donated to the COVID-19 Protest Relief fund, DC Freedom Fighters, Black Visions Collective, Black Trans Lives Matter Youth Fund by Joshua Allen (Black Excellence Collective), Baltimore Legal Action Team and Black Swan Academy. Further information about these organizations will be available at the event or can be found at each organization’s website.
This 4th of July weekend we won’t have fireworks, but it doesn’t mean we can’t be patriotic.