Photo courtesy: Star Charities
Star Charities members, from left, Sue Walter, Anna Foultz, Faith Stanley and Paulette Mari promote the group’s annual “Holiday Gifts for Soldiers” collection, which will take place during October. It will forge ahead despite the passing of Start Charities co-founder, Foultz, on Sunday.

By Greg Ellison

Staff Writer

(Sept. 26, 2019) Following the passing of Ocean Pines community stalwart Anna Lucarello Foultz, 93, on Sunday, volunteers with Star Charities are pushing ahead with the annual “Holiday Gifts for Soldiers” collection, while also considering plans to memorialize the charity’s founder.

Speaking on Tuesday, Sue Walter, who assisted Foultz with numerous Star Charities initiatives over the last four years, said the volunteer group are intent on continuing the spirit of giving that Foultz embodied.

“It’s a very sad day for all of Ocean Pines and the groups she had been involved with,” she said.

Foultz and her husband of 64 years, Carl, who died in 2010 and served during WWII in Burma, China and India, founded Star Charities in 2007. Walter said Foultz would likely insist that the show must go on.

“It just gives us that much more strength to follow in Anna’s footsteps,” she said.

Walter said Star Charities’ annual holiday gift drive for soldiers runs the entire month of October, with black collection buckets placed throughout Ocean Pines, Gold Coast Mall in Ocean City, the First Shore Federal Savings & Loan on Racetrack Road and public libraries in Ocean City, Ocean Pines and Berlin.

“This collection for the soldiers overseas Anna has been doing for many years,” she said. “Kind of a line I came up with is, “Fill the bins to the rims in honor of Anna.”

Collected items are distributed to U.S. Armed Forces members serving outside the states.

Walter said non-perishable and non-glass items are needed, with calling cards to enable soldiers to phone home especially sought after.

“Things that anybody would think their son or daughter or husband or wife who’s stationed overseas would enjoy having,” she said.

In November, the Salisbury National Guard will pick up collection buckets and handle overseas shipping.

Walter said Star Charities members would meet in short order to assess next steps for the organization.

“We do want to talk about doing something in Ocean Pines as a tribute or memorial service,” she said. “We want to run it by the family first.”