CASH Campaign of Maryland
The Baltimore CASH Campaign—Creating Assets, Savings, and Hope—was launched in 2001 to increase access to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a powerful work incentive and poverty-alleviation tool, lifting more families out of poverty than any other federal aid program. Now a program of the CASH Campaign of Maryland, Baltimore CASH plans to serve 10,000 Baltimore residents by operating 15 to 20 free tax preparation sites, continuing its efforts to build high volume sites that can provide quality tax preparation, and asset development services.
Art with a Heart
Each year, 70 Art with a Heart teachers and assistants provide 14,500 engaging, educational, and interactive visual arts classes to vulnerable Baltimore children, youth, and adults in schools, group homes, shelters, community centers, recreation centers, senior facilities, and hospitals. Funding from the Abell Foundaiton will support HeARTworks, a workforce development program that uses art as a vehicle to teach job skills; HeARTwares, Art with a Heart’s social enterprise/retail store that sells HeARTworks participants’ artwork; and arts integration, Art with a Heart’s engaging visual arts programs that supplement academic curricula in 19 Baltimore elementary/middle schools.
Per Scholas
Founded in South Bronx, NY in 1994, Per Scholas has trained more than 9,000 individuals in Information Technology, producing impressive outcomes: 85 percent graduation, 80 percent certification, and 80 percent job-placement rates. Funding from the Abell Foundation will support Per Scholas’ expansion to Baltimore City, where Per Scholas plans to train 60 Baltimore City residents. Per Scholas expects that 85 percent will graduate, 80 percent will earn at least one industry-recognized credential, and 80 percent will secure employment within six months of training. TEKsystems, with its headquarters in Hanover, MD, has pledged to hire 40 program graduates.
TurnAround, Inc.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, sex trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery, in which women and girls are forced to engage in the commercial sex trade. Since 2012, with funding from the Abell Foundation, TurnAround, Inc. has provided services to 880 trafficking survivors (187 survivors last year). TurnAround works with clients in three phases: emergency and assessment, stabilization, and support and transition. Services provided include emergency response, trauma therapy, intensive case management, food, shelter, and social service advocacy. With this grant, TurnAround plans to serve at least 100 trafficking survivors over the next year.
Public Justice Center
In 2015, with support from the Abell Foundation, the Public Justice Center launched its Home Care Worker Initiative to address wage theft. Through this initiative, PJC works to enforce a new federal regulation that, for the first time, granted HCWs (who are mostly women and people of color) federal minimum wage and overtime protections. With this grant from Abell, PJC will educate 400 HCWs concerning workers’ rights and advancement opportunties, represent at least 20 HCWs and and other workers to recover at least $100,000 in lost wages, and advocate for state-level legislation that will benefit HCWs.