Neighborhood Design Center
Build Together is a new Neighborhood Design Center (NDC) initiative to partner with community groups in three neighborhoods – Johnston Square, Broadway East and Midway in East Baltimore – to scope and implement small-scale design interventions such as signage and wayfinding, seating, streetscaping, sculpture and other open space enhancements. With priority given to designers who have been historically underrepresented in the design field, NDC will commission three emerging community designers, selected through an open call, to collaborate with the neighborhood groups to develop and fabricate functional design pieces.
National Aquarium, Inc.
The National Aquarium’s mission is to build public awareness of the importance of clean water and the threats facing oceans and waterways. The Aquarium is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top three aquariums, housing 20,000 fishes and animals in award-winning habitats. As Maryland’s largest paid tourist attraction, the Aquarium is an economic driver for Baltimore City and state. After 40 years on Baltimore’s Harbor waterfront, the Aquarium is undertaking an $8 million project to replace the glass in the iconic Rain Forest pyramid roof.
Maryland Food Bank
The Maryland Food Bank (MFB) School Food Pantry Program operates food pantries in schools that serve large populations of families living in poverty. MFB has operated the program since 2005, providing easy access to supplemental food for families facing food insecurity. During the current school year, when most schools are closed, MFB has shifted to a “grab and go” food distribution model, where families can pick up bags of food at participating schools on a monthly basis. The program has also greatly increased the amount of food provided to families during the pandemic, distributing more than twice as much food during the first two quarters of FY 2021 compared to the same period in FY 2020. This grant supports MFB’s Baltimore City School Food Pantry Program.
Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering
The Baltimore Healthcare Innovator Retention Program fellowship stipends enable talented Johns Hopkins University biomedical engineering students to continue working on promising healthcare innovations after they complete their graduate studies. These teams of Fellows operative as virtual startups creating commercially viable products, seeking follow-on funding, and creating new companies. The program maximizes the translation of discovery and invention from the University biomedical program into income-generating companies which have the potential to generate local employment and address critical healthcare challenges.
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.