Newsroom

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Philanthropic Event Aids the Military

Fund-raiser benefits Fisher House.
By Sharon Allen Gilder
The Almanac

Steven Lebling’s Round Hill estate was rockin’ for a good cause, Friday, July 11.  Lebling was host to 300 guests who gathered in support of Fisher House, a not-for-profit, selected by CharityWorks as its 2008 partner. Non-stop music by Millennium filled the dance floor with attendees wearing summer resort casual attire. Food catered by Ridgewell’s kept palates in step with the tropical tone set by a festively staged backdrop under the stars of palm trees, umbrellas, vibrant table covers and dramatic lighting. Read more ......

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Caribbean Colors
EVENT REPORT   07.15.08 8:00 AM

CharityWorks kicked off its first Summer Party at a private estate with neon colors amid Caribbean beats and eats. 

The McLean, Virginia-based CharityWorks—an organization that raises funds for smaller nonprofits—embraced the tropical weather on Friday night with an outdoor fete at the private Potomac estate of developer (and CharityWorks donor) Steve Lebling. Read more ......
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Additional photos of the CharityWorks event from KochFoto llc. Click here ........

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Development Plan Becomes Windfall In Gaithersburg

Developer’s grant gives shop another opportunity

Bethesda store lost its lease to a higher-paying tenant

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

 by Stephanie Siegel

Staff Writer

A real estate developer recently gave a lease – and money to help pay it – to a longtime Bethesda charity shop, saving the business from becoming another casualty of the community’s redevelopment.

Developer Steve Lebling leased the first floor of his building on Walsh Street in downtown Bethesda to St. John’s Opportunity Shop, a nonprofit consignment shop that benefits outreach programs at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Chevy Chase and other community charities.

Lebling also donated $30,000 to help the organization pay the rent.

“I just had to have them in the building,” Lebling said.

He was so impressed with the organization and the volunteers that run it he felt moved to help them, he said. “They had the most positive energy I have ever seen,” he said. “They’re doing good work and they’re having a good time doing it.”

The Op Shop, as some customers and volunteers call it, was almost forced out of the neighborhood, when it lost its lease on its Bethesda Avenue store to make room for a higher-paying tenant.

“We lost our lease because The Paper Store is coming in,” said Opportunity Shop Manager Pat Rich. “They can afford it because they’re a thriving business and we’re just a charity.”

In sort of a domino effect, The Paper Store is moving because the building where it was formerly located, at 7712 Woodmont Ave., was torn down for redevelopment. A new mixed-use building with 185 condominiums and retail stores is being built there.

Prior to Lebling’s offer, Opportunity Shop workers were having trouble finding another location in downtown Bethesda they could afford.

“We were concerned because of the [high] rents in Bethesda,” Rich said.

Even the rent on the Walsh Street location was a little steep for the shop, but Lebling’s donation made the deal possible.

“They were very nervous about the finances,” he said. “Their mission isn’t about spending money on rent; it’s about giving to charity.”

Rich said those who run the store wanted to remain in downtown Bethesda to stay close to the shop’s roots and its customers.

“We wanted to stay because of the location of the church, which is a landmark church and because most of our clientele is in Bethesda,” she said. “If we would have had to move up on [Rockville] Pike, or something, we would have lost an awful lot of customers.

The store will remain at its current location at 4710 Bethesda Ave. until Tuesday. It will reopen on May 2 at its new location at 4504 Walsh St.

The shop was founded in 1951 and first operated out of a cottage in the 7200 block of Wisconsin Avenue.

In more than 50 years, the shop has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to organizations including Bethesda Cares, the Children’s Inn at NIH, Community Ministry of Montgomery County and other charities in the county.

The store sells everything from clothing and household items to jewelry, china and antiques.

“I’ve been so fortunate in my life,” Lebling said. “This was a way to give back where I had knowledge of where it was going.”

Copyright © 2006 The Gazette – ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.