The Society of Italian American Businessmen gave $100,000 to the Char Hope Foundation to support their Rooting Recovery program.

Char Hope is a foundation dedicated to providing sober living opportunities, financial aid and community outreach to educate people about addiction and bring awareness to the topic. The foundation helps individuals move through the recovery process.

“The funds will help CHF work towards building an indoor riding ring which will allow CHF to support about 400 folks per year for outside groups year-round,” said the founder and director of Char Hope Foundation, Derek Hopkins, in a news release.

The money, Hopkins added, will also support the foundation’s mission CHF99.org campaign, allowing them to do more outreach work for stigma and promoting abstinence-based recovery and research.

Harford County Public Library hosting February events

From Feb. 2 to 28, the Harford County Public Library’s Bel Air branch will show an exhibit featuring artifacts, photographs and oral histories from the Hubert V. Simmons Museum of Negro Leagues Baseball.

The exhibit will be shown during library hours.

On Feb. 7, the Aberdeen library will host Vivian Fisher of Enoch Pratt Free Library to examine the life events of Frederick Douglass. The talk will take visitors through Douglass’ journey from an enslaved boy on the Eastern Shore to one of the highest-ranking African American men of the 19th century. Fisher will speak from 2 to 3 p.m.

Also on Feb. 7, at the Fallston library, Amy Young from Gunpowder Valley Conservancy will discuss how to grow clean water in backyards and preserve the Gunpowder Watershed. Young will speak from 2 to 3 p.m.

On Feb. 10 and Feb. 28, at the Bel Air library, representatives from the Hubert V. Simmons Museum of Negro Leagues Baseball, Inc. will share the history of the Negro Leagues in Maryland. The presentation will feature artifacts, pictures and video clips from the museum. The presentation will run from 6 to 7 p.m. on Feb.10 and 2 to 3 p.m. on Feb. 28.

Harford Mutual Insurance Groups donates nearly $600,000 to 90 organizations in 2025

Harford Mutual Insurance Group donated nearly $600,000 to over 90 nonprofit and charitable organizations throughout 2025, the group announced in a news release.

Through its HMIG Gives Back Program, Harford Mutual’s contributions supported initiatives focused on health and human services and on community enrichment.

The largest contributions were presented to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Harford and Cecil counties, Habitat for Humanity Susquehanna, Harford Family House, The Arc Northern Chesapeake Region, University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation, and United Way of Central Maryland, the group stated in the release.

Harford Mutual donated $20,000 to the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fun in the wake of severe weather events in Kentucky. The group also donated $10,000 to the Western Maryland Strong Fund to support regional flood relief efforts.

Over $92,000 in donations were distributed to organizations through the company’s HMIG Community Fund, managed by the Community Foundation of Harford County. The money included capital contributions to Anna’s House, The Harford Center and Harford Community College Foundation.

Have a news tip? Contact Shaela Foster at sfoster@baltsun.com or 443-826-5894.