Past Grants

BELL Foundation (Building Educated Leaders for Life)

For support of the Summer Learning Initiative to enhance the academic and social achievement of 2,000 Baltimore City public elementary school students. The program offers six weeks of high-quality academic and social enrichment, eight hours a day, five days a week. Serving students from nine schools identified as needing improvement, the initiative has a goal of ensuring that 100 percent of the BELL participants advance out of the failing level, and at least 75 percent achieve proficiency levels in core academic skills.

Johns Hopkins University/Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies

For the 2007 Abell Foundation Award in Urban Policy given to an undergraduate for researching and writing a report identifying and recommending a solution to a quality-of-life issue in urban life.

Boys’ Latin School of Maryland

Two grants to support tutoring, a meal plan, and a scholarship for a former Baraka School student.

Learning, Inc.

For continued support and expansion of The Learning Cooperative, a dropout prevention program for at-risk and over-age middle school students in Baltimore City public schools. The Learning Cooperative is an alternative to the traditional school setting, and offers an experimental curriculum to engage students in challenging individual and team-building initiatives, conflict-resolution training, environmental sciences, fine arts, job readiness community service, and life skills.

Building STEPS, Inc.

For expansion of a science and technology college access program for an additional 20 underserved students in two to three Baltimore City public schools. Beginning in 11th grade, the program is designed to recruit students who have an interest in science, technology, and math, and who have average grades. During the course of the year, the students will be exposed to science and technology-based professionals through monthly off-campus seminar series. The seminars will be followed by placements in summer internships with companies focusing on science and technology. Throughout the 12th grade, STEPS will assist in the college application process and free SAT tutoring. After the students matriculate in college, the STEPS staff will maintain contact with them and encourage graduation, to ensure employment in promising science, technology, engineering, and math fields.