Volunteer Of The Month: Simon Anders Fills Whitehurst With Patriotic Pride

Ten-year-old Simon Anders has been doing community service since he was in diapers — well, almost.

At 6 years old, he participated in an Anne Arundel County Public Library diaper drive. By 9, he started his own fundraiser.

“My mom suggested a flag business,” Simon said. “On that Fourth of July, I made a video and I put flags around the front of people’s yards.”

Simon posted the video in a neighborhood group chat last year, asking his Whitehurst neighbors for a suggested donation of $20. That call to action raised over $420, with a portion going to the Maryland Food Bank via cash donation and the rest going to the community pantry at Discoveries: The Library at the Mall in Annapolis through purchased goods.

Simon learned about hygiene products and that even adults need diapers.

“People need to stay clean, and diapers are super expensive,” said Simon’s mom, Megan.

He added a Veterans Day service last year, a Memorial Day one this year and has already surpassed the 2025 total with a combined $675 from 28 customers this summer.

“I made a package and it’s kind of a bargain,” he said with a smile, noting that his neighbors opted for a slightly larger donation to receive flags for both Memorial Day and Independence Day. “For the Fourth of July, I am lining the yards (with flags). For Memorial Day, I decorate the mailboxes.”

The Anders family collects donations through the Venmo app, and the 2026 total will be split between two causes: the community pantry at Discoveries and Leveling the Playing Field, which provides new and gently used sports and playground equipment to under-resourced youth groups, community programs and schools.

Simon swims and plays baseball, which made him aware of the expense kids and families take on even to play at the rec level.

Until June, Simon partnered with his friend Owen Swenor, whose family just moved from Severna Park. Simon will continue as a solo operation, with guidance from his parents, and even hopes to expand next year to the neighboring communities of Cape Arthur and Oakleigh Forest.

Simon’s mom, Megan Anders, is happy to see her son’s continued drive for community service since his first diaper drive in 2022. She hopes his 7-year-old sister will find her own volunteer passion.

“There are not a lot of volunteer opportunities that 6-year-olds can do, but we want them to learn about being part of the community and learn about people’s needs,” Megan said, referring to her kids’ first volunteer experiences.

Simon expects service to take another form when he gets older. He wants to enlist in the military and fly F-35 fighter jets. His dad was a helicopter mechanic in the Army National Guard, and the Anders family sponsors midshipmen, so the military is a big component in their lives.

When considering what makes Simon so intrigued in the military outside of those factors, Megan told her son, “You have a connection to traditions and stuff that spans generations.”

In fifth grade next year, Simon will serve as a flag ambassador for Folger McKinsey Elementary School, raising and lowering the flag.

No doubt, the lessons learned during his flag enterprise will aid him in the future. He has learned to use Google forms and track data in spreadsheets.

Just as important are the life lessons of leadership and giving back.

“I like knowing there’s something I can do to make things look better and more joyful,” Simon said, adding, “I want people to be inspired.”