Building STEPS, Inc.
Building STEPS partners with non-academic-criteria Baltimore City high schools and provides college going support including STEM seminars, summer internship experiences, college workshops, tutoring support, and college counseling. Students are identified by their school counselor and are admitted through an application process. Participating students must meet the 3.0 GPA threshold and have strong school attendance. This grant from the Abell Foundation will enable expansion into the tenth grade in order to provide an additional year of programming to improve foundational math skills, boost SAT scores/college math readiness, and expand college persistence programming.
BUILD
Turnaround Tuesdays is a BUILD jobs initiative in which residents meet at Zion Baptist Church on Tuesday mornings from 9 am to 11 am to receive help in finding employment. During the pandemic, Turnaround Tuesday has been holding weekly online orientation sessions on Monday, and transitioned its 30-hour essential skills training to a four-day, 16-hour online session. Last year, Turnaround Tuesday placed 202 people into jobs, most of which are defined by Turnaround Tuesday as being quality jobs, or those that pay over $16 per hour and offer medical and vacation benefits as well as a career pathway. In 2021, Turnaround Tuesday expects that 100 of its 225 placements will be in quality jobs.
Black Girls Cook, Fiscally Sponsored by Bmore Empowered, Inc.
Black Girls Cook aims to teach girls of color, how to grow, buy, and prepare healthy and affordable food. In addition to offering cooking and edible gardening programs, Black Girls Cook guest instructors are role models of different career possibilities in the food and hospitality industry. This grant is for general operating support.
Betamore
Betamore provides mentorship, skills based education and training, and flexible term office space. It provides its members with direct access to a knowledge pipeline of leaders and businesses that provide real world solutions to their growing business issues. The Betamore Academy will provide participants with direct access to the education, training, and robust network of employers needed to launch into a new career as entry-level software developers. This grant will support costs associated with the launch of this new Betamore Academy offering.
Banner Neighborhoods Community Corporation
Banner Neighborhoods leads the Southeast Youth Collaborative (SEYC), a consortium of seven non-profit organizations that provide summer work and learning experiences for young people in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED) YouthWorks Program. The goal of SEYC is to engage youth living in low-income neighborhoods of east and southeast Baltimore City in meaningful five-week learn and earn activities for 140 youth ages 14-21 during the summer of 2021.