(St. Mary's City, MD) January 27, 2010-This year's Christmas in April program has begun a little earlier than expected, thanks to volunteers from St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) and St. Mary's County.   Students and the community convened with little notice in Park Hall, Maryland, to clear out the underside of a trailer home and make room for a furnace and major bathroom repairs, neither of which were installed in the home occupied by a woman and her three children.  The woman needed a furnace and bathroom repairs immediately.  Christmas in April acted this week rather than waiting until their traditional April date.  With St. Mary's County Christmas in April purchasing the furnace, Winters Heating and Cooling are donating their services, along with additional materials, later this week, while A&K Plumbing will donate their services with major bathroom repairs. 

St. Mary's County Christmas in April is an affiliate of Rebuilding Together, a national volunteer organization that renovates homes of low-income, elderly, and disabled individuals.  St. Mary's College has been involved in the program since its inception, providing working hands and open hearts to many families throughout the years. For more information on Christmas in April, contact the St. Mary's County executive director, Mary Ann Chasen, at 301-863-2905.

St. Mary's College of Maryland, designated the Maryland state honors college in 1992, is ranked one of the best liberal arts schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, Kiplinger's, and The Princeton Review. Founded in 1840 as Maryland's "monument school" commemorating the state's first capital, SMCM is the state's only public honors college.

More than 2,000 students attend the college, which has the highest graduation rate for all Maryland public colleges and universities, and an SAT average for student admissions of 1848. The school's waterfront campus along the St. Mary's River in Southern Maryland is home to the 2009 National Intercollegiate Sailing Association Co-ed champions.