Wills Group Raises Over $525,000 for Blackie Wills Community Fund

The Wills Group, La Plata, Md., announced that it raised more than $525,000 at its second annual Blackie Wills Golf Classic and Gala at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, Md.

The golf event was postponed to Oct. 29 because of inclement weather. The gala took place on Sept. 9. The Golf Classic and Gala support The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund, formed in 2016 as part of The Wills Group’s 90th anniversary. The Wills Group is the parent company of SMO Energy, a provider of propane, heating oil, and HVAC equipment in southern Maryland. The Fund honors Julian Blacklock “Blackie” Wills, the third president and CEO of The Wills Group, and carries on his commitment to community and civic engagement.

During the past year, the Fund has donated more than $448,000 to more than 35 charitable organizations across the Mid-Atlantic region to help relieve childhood hunger and ensure safe and healthy homes.

In 2018, the Fund supported Share Our Strength, an organization focused on eliminating childhood hunger, and Rebuilding Together, an organization that completes approximately 10,000 projects annually to repair homes, revitalize communities and rebuild lives. The Fund also provided support to the Maryland Food Bank, the Southern Maryland Food Bank and Lifestyles of Maryland, a Southern Maryland nonprofit organization that serves approximately 14,000 individuals by providing emergency assistance, transportation, housing and job training.

“Over the past two years, I’m proud to say we have raised more than $1 million for the Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund which serves as a significant driver for our efforts to ensure that our communities’ basic needs of food and shelter are met,” said Lock Wills, chairman, CEO and president of The Wills Group.

Since 2006, The Wills Group has donated more than $2.3 million to communities in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The Blackie Wills Community Leadership Fund (BWCLF) is a component fund within Chesapeake Charities, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Chesapeake Charities financial statement is available at www.chesapeakecharities.org.