Comics Kingdom  (Baltimore, MD )

NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sheldon Pearlman Phone: 410-889-6005

COMICS' CHECK IN

Baltimore, MD June 4-- On Friday June 9 at 10:30 AM , local Baltimore business, Amazing Spiral Presents Comics Kingdom, will present a check for $1,000 to Baltimore Interfaith Hospitality Network (BIHN). The check is the result of a fundraiser held by Comics Kingdom on May 6th, during Free Comic Book Day.

"We are so appreciative to Comics Kingdom,” says Terry Martin-Minnich, president of the Board of Trustees of BIHN. “Comics Kingdom provided a fun and informative fundraiser as part of Free Comic Book Day. It allowed BIHN to not only raise money, but also inform the community about the work that we are doing and the families that we are helping. The money Comics Kingdom presents to BIHN will be used to help a few of Baltimore’s 30,000 homeless individuals.”

"It is easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless in the face of that number," Driana Pearlman co-owner of Comics Kingdom says, "I remind myself that each number is a face, the face of a mother or father doing their best to help their family, the face of a child who deserves a home. If we do nothing to help these people then we are helpless." Free Comic Book Day is Comics Kingdom's biggest event of the year, in which they give away specially made comics to the general public. This year the owners, Sheldon and Driana Pearlman wanted to use it as a way to stand up and do something more.

"Our customers really responded to the idea of this fundraiser," Sheldon Pearlman says, " by more than just shopping the sidewalk sale." There were numerous generous direct donations to BIHN, people signing up to volunteer, donations from the BIHN wish list. The high school students from the Baltimore Urban Debate League showed up to debate various comic book related topics from the fun: Batman vs Superman -- to the more serious: Should superheroes have to register their secret identities with the government under the Patriot Act. "People do care and want to get involved; we just had to provide a place for that to happen. We had one customer who brought in a donation a week later. He never made the sale because his car broke down as he left the store he had gone to that morning to purchase basic household products the BIHN families need."

All proceeds from the sidewalk sale plus additional funds contributed by Comics Kingdom are going to BIHN in the form of the $1,000 check. "It has always been part of our vision as small business owners to find ways to give back to the community. We started with the obvious, by donating comic books to teachers and schools that came to us. This sale worked out so well for us and our customers and BIHN that we are already working on future creative ways to help." Driana added, "during next year's Free Comic Book Day festivities, we hope to raise double what we did this year with monetary and BIHN wish list donations. It's a big goal for a store our size but with the help of the generous Baltimore community, it can happen."

Baltimore Interfaith Hospitality Network, Inc. (BIHN) is a network of interfaith congregations who have joined together in order to serve Baltimore’s homeless families by providing them with the basic human needs: shelter, safety, sustenance, as well as warmth and compassion. BIHN’s mission is to diminish the hurt of homelessness and provide the support necessary for families to become self-sufficient with housing and employment.

For more information about Baltimore Interfaith Hospitality Network, or the presentation of Amazing Spiral Presents Comics Kingdom‘s check, call Allie Pearlman at 410-235-2111. To view the BIHN wish list and make a donation go to www.baltimoreihn.org. Call Amazing Spiral Presents Comics Kingdom at 410-889-6005, www.ComicsKingdom.com or contact ShelmanR@ComicKingdom.com for more information about this local business. For more information about Free Comic Book Day go to www.freecomicbookday.com .

www.ComicsKingdom.com