Gaddy drive raises $17,000 for needy

An October campaign honoring late Baltimore City Councilwoman Bea Gaddy netted $17,000 and dozens of boxes of canned food to provide Thanksgiving dinners to the city?s neediest families, organizers announced Thursday.

The sum is the most in the annual event?s five-year history, said City Council President Sheila Dixon, who chairs the drive and is responsible for legislation that launched the annual day of giving three days after Gaddy died of breast cancer in 2001.