Heritage partners with Manna House on “Operation PB&J” to deliver food to homeless and needy families in Baltimore

Kathy Armstrong, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional with Heritage Financial Consultants, a Hunt Valley-based independent financial services and wealth management firm, was named a recipient of the 2020 Mayor’s Business Recognition Award for her corporate leadership and service. Kathy and Heritage were recognized in a virtual awards ceremony hosted by the Greater Baltimore Committee on Friday, Dec. 11th.

In 2020, Kathy and her team within Heritage Financial Consultants created “Operation PB&J” to provide sandwiches to the Manna House, a nonprofit that provides the homeless and needy of Baltimore City with assistance and support to move towards independence and stability. The team orchestrated a contact-free effort to engage their network, including friends, colleagues, clients, and centers of influence in Baltimore, to make “homemade” peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"Since COVID hit, Heritage Financial has gone above and beyond to ensure the hundreds of people that come to our doors every day have the food and support they need in these tough times," says Antonio Coffield, Executive Director at Manna House Inc. "It means so much to our organization, and our community, to have partners and people like them showing up despite the circumstances. We have a saying at Manna House, 'It all starts with breakfast.' We can't do the work we do for our clients without the kindness and generosity of people like the ones at this company. This award is well deserved, and we're so grateful for everything Heritage Financial has done to support us!"

Since starting this initiative in August, “Operation PB&J” has delivered close to 2,000 sandwiches to needy families at the Manna House. Every third Friday, cars line up at noon in front of the Heritage headquarters in Hunt Valley to deliver their PB&J sandwiches to the team. The sandwiches are inventoried and then delivered to The Manna House to help feed families facing homelessness.

The Mayor’s Business Recognition Award is given each year, as the Mayor of the City of Baltimore joins with the Greater Baltimore Committee and the Baltimore Development Corporation to recognize businesses that have demonstrated significant corporate leadership and service to improve the quality of life in Baltimore. The award is given for specific activities or projects that have significantly benefited the citizens of Baltimore City and are outside the regular mission or day-to-day work or activities of the business.

Led by founder Brian Gracie, Heritage Financial Consultants aims to make a positive impact on the lives of their clients, and their clients’ families, through education and innovative financial solutions. In April 2020, Heritage Financial Consultants celebrated the company’s 21st anniversary, now with more than $4 billion in assets under management across seven offices in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Florida.

About Heritage Financial Consultants

Heritage Financial Consultants is a full-service, independent financial services and wealth management firm headquartered in Hunt Valley, Md. with offices in Wilmington, Del., Preston, Md., Vienna, Va., and Miami, FL. Heritage Financial Consultants helps individuals, families and businesses gain a sense of security through comprehensive financial services including wealth management, retirement and estate planning, business ownership and succession, insurance and risk management, and employee benefit services. For more information, please visit www.heritageconsultants.com.