Moveable Feast, Inc.
$25,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
For continued support of the Culinary Arts and Life Skills Training Program for unemployed and underemployed Baltimore City residents. The program enrolls 32 students each year into a 12-week program, teaching the basics of commercial kitchen operations and menu planning. Graduates are placed in entry-level food service positions paying a living wage with benefits.
Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training, Inc.
$200,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
Toward renovation costs and the purchase of updated equipment and new furnishings for a facility in support of service to homeless veterans. The therapeutic residential setting offers shelter and an array of services to enable homeless veterans to rejoin their communities. Its employment program offers job development, placement, workshops, resume preparation, and training in interviewing skills.
Learning Is For Tomorrow, Inc. (LIFT)
$22,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
Toward general support, and for securing additional space for expansion of adult literacy and job-training programs for residents of Southeast Baltimore. LIFT specializes in providing educational services to adults with a variety of learning disabilities and then connects the literacy instruction to employment, and it helps students compose resumes, apply for jobs online, and improve interviewing skills. Moving into a larger space means more classrooms and computers, which will allow the facility to serve more students, many of whom are being referred to other low-literacy programs.
Job Opportunities Task Force
$50,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
For continued support of the Baltimore CASH Campaign, an initiative designed to increase the use of the Earned Income Tax Credit. Baltimore CASH plans to serve 10,000 tax filers by operating 15 to 17 free tax-preparation sites and training 200 volunteers. As the internal capacity of high-volume sites continues to grow, the quality of services and customer satisfaction will be monitored. Plans call for strengthening and expanding financial education/asset development activities for low-wage tax filers.
Harbor City Services, Inc.
$25,000 / 2010 / Workforce Development
Toward continued support of operating costs of a document management, moving/storage, and warehouse business, providing full-time and part-time employment to 30 Baltimore City residents with psychiatric disabilities. The business secures contracts with medical centers, financial and real estate firms, and law firms and social service programs, and is able to provide above minimum-wage jobs.