Building STEPS, Inc.
$35,000 / 2018 / Education
Building STEPS provides promising students from Baltimore’s non-academic criteria high schools interested in science and technology (STEM) with an education in workplace dynamics and internships, as well as counseling in college and career choices in a program that spans from 11th grade through college to career. Building STEPS intends for 88 percent of its participants to earn a post-secondary degree, and the vast majority will be the first in their family to graduate from college. This grant will enable Building STEPS to expand the number of high schools it serves from 15 to 18-20, and increase the number of incoming 11th grade students to 150. Overall, the program will serve over 550 Baltimore City students/graduates ages 16-24 in the next year.
BioTechnical Institute of Maryland, Inc.
$80,000 / 2018 / Workforce Development
Since 1998, with support from the Abell Foundation, BTI has trained over 400 Baltimore City residents as entry-level technicians in the growing bio-pharma industry. Students first complete BioSTART, BTI’s six-week bridge program, which was started so that BTI could admit students with lower math scores. The program is working. On average, BioSTART students increase their math scores by at least three grade levels, testing at the 11th-grade level by the end of six weeks. Students move on to the Laboratory Associates program, where student continue training for 9 weeks and complete three-week internships. Over the past year, 45 enrolled into BioSTART, with 37 (or 82 percent completing the 6-week program). These 37 students enrolled in the 9-week Lab Associates program. Of these students, 32 (or 86 percent) completed the training. BTI estimates that over 77 percent of those graduates will be placed into research laboratory and manufacturing technician positions, at an average wage of $13.77/hour.
Banner Neighborhoods Community Corporation
$35,000 / 2018 / Community Development
Banner Neighborhoods provides low-income senior and disabled homeowners in zip code 21224 with home repairs, handicap modifications and tasks that involve climbing ladders or require heavy lifting. Relieving homeowners of the cost and difficulty of completing home repairs and maintenance enables them to age in place and retain their community ties and social networks. The exterior house improvements, and in some cases tree and vine removal in yards, are critical to keeping senior’s home compliant with code, avoiding environmental citations and municipal fines that unpaid can lead to tax sale and loss of a home.
Baltimore Urban Debate League
$25,000 / 2018 / Education
The Baltimore Urban Debate League (BUDL), a national initiative, has reintroduced debate into Baltimore’s public school classrooms over the last two decades as a strategy to engage and inspire students from our city’s most under-resourced schools. BUDL has reached thousands of students from 4th grade to 12th grade, and changed their personal and academic trajectories by helping them discover their voice and reach their potential through debate. This grant will support the expansion of the Debate League to 46 schools and serve over 700 students in the 2018/19 school year.
Baltimore City Health Department
$111,293 / 2018 / Health and Human Services
To better target asthma treatment resources to the children who are most in need of support, the Baltimore City Health Department will create an asthma surveillance system that uses state health claims data to identify children who have had emergency room visits and/or hospitalizations due to asthma. The Health Department will conduct outreach to these children and their families to offer supportive services to assist them in managing their asthma and reducing exposure to allergens. The department will also use the asthma surveillance system to identify asthma “hot spots” in Baltimore where asthma prevention interventions can be delivered. This grant provided funding to hire a half-time epidemiologist to design and manage the asthma surveillance system.
