Grants

Johns Hopkins University

Vision for Baltimore is an innovative, citywide partnership designed to improve vision screening and follow up care for Baltimore City public school students. The program provides expanded school-based vision screenings, eye exams and glasses, simplifying the process of obtaining vision care and increasing the likelihood that students who need glasses will get them. Partners in Vision for Baltimore include the Baltimore City Health Department, Baltimore City Public School System, Johns Hopkins University, and Vision to Learn, a national nonprofit organization that operates mobile school vision treatment programs throughout the country.  This grant supports Vision for Baltimore’s operations.

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Jane Addams Resource Corporation

The Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC) Baltimore trains unemployed and/or underemployed Baltimore City residents in welding and computer numerical control (CNC) at the Regional Skills Training Center on Park Heights Avenue in West Baltimore. With funding from the Abell Foundation, students receive hands-on training and earn industry-recognized credentials in a work-like environment. Beyond technical skills training, JARC Baltimore provides employment readiness and financial support services to trainees during and after training. Graduates are placed into jobs earning an average starting wage of $16 per hour.

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Holistic Life Foundation, Inc.

The Holistic Life Foundation (HLF) through its Mindful Moments program provides schools the opportunity to address climate and culture through a multi-tiered approach. The program is currently active in 23 schools and serves 3700 students throughout Baltimore. All students attending HLF schools receive the tier one supports by participating in the daily meditations and engaging in the classroom push in services provided by the mindfulness coaches. The most intensive, tier three students are able to self-refer or be directed by a teacher to report to the Mindful Moments room where they have time and space to decompress, cool down, talk to a caring adult, and ultimately return to the classroom better prepared to learn. The mindfulness practice, forwarded by the Holistic Life team equips students with much needed coping, relaxation, and centering techniques that can be employed universally, both inside and outside of the school setting.

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Higher Achievement Baltimore

The Higher Achievement model provides multi-year, out-of-school programming in the areas of academics enrichment, family engagement, and high school placement support for middle school students in fifth through eighth grades. Each child participating in the program receives around 400 hours of programming. Program outcomes from 2019-2020, yielded 69% of students increasing one letter grade in math or maintaining As and Bs through the second quarter. Through the support of the Abell Foundation grant, Higher Achievement is currently engaging in an expansion plan that seeks to double their footprint by expanding to two additional schools by the Fall of 2022.

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Civil Justice, Inc.

Civil Justice expands legal services to clients of low and moderate income while promoting a network of solo, small and community-based lawyers who share a common commitment to increasing access to justice. It is a common practice that, after evicting tenants who fall behind on rent, landlords will later sue those same tenants for prospective rent and alleged damages, as well as unlawfully withhold security deposits. These suits result in millions of dollars in judgments against tenants each year in Baltimore City and further destabilize tenant households. With Abell funding, Civil Justice will address aggressive landlord debt collection suits against tenants, serving 50 households and preventing judgments totaling $100,000 either through in-house counsel or through their referral network.

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