Where are they now? – Candace Dold

Since my career at the Catholic Review has now stretched past the 15-year-mark, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at some of the individuals I have interviewed and see where their life journey has taken them.

I wrote about Candace Dold a little more than 14 years ago. Then a 17-year-old senior at St. Timothy’s School in Stevenson and a parishioner of Our Lady of Grace in Parkton, Dold was running her own chapter of Happy Helpers for the Homeless. Each Sunday, she and fellow students would gather at her school where they would form an assembly line to prepare peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for individuals who are homeless. Then she and her crew of volunteers, including her mother, would gather at the corner of Fallsway and East Madison Street where they would serve the sandwiches and other food contributions. They also set out clothing on nearby picnic tables.

“When I’m there, I always have a smile on my face,” Dold said during her interview with me. “I realize that’s what they need.”

Dold spoke of one little girl, Victoria, who always “comes running up to me, and I always pick her up.”

Fast forward 14 years, and Dold is now a traffic and entertainment reporter for Fox 45 News and a mom.

While her career has blossomed, Dold has still held on to that same spirit of giving back she embraced as a teenager.

I ran into Dold March 19 at the Believe in Tomorrow Children’s Foundation Benefit and Auction in Hunt Valley. Dold served as the emcee for the event, which raises money for the foundation to continue its work providing hospital and respite housing services to critically ill children and their families.

Not only did Dold speak with great compassion about Believe in Tomorrow and her visits there, but I watched as two different little girls who benefited from the foundation threw their arms around Dold for a hug.

So where is Candace Dold now? Turns out her heart and her smile are in just the same place.