Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Inc.
$5,000 / 2007 / Arts
Challenge grant for support of a residency at Baltimore City College High School. The Festival places a teaching artist for a semester to work with a class of up to 20 students. The students participating in the class often come to the program with no prior theatrical experience and a limited understanding of Shakespeare’s work. Students develop stage presence, vocal projection, and text comprehension, and they learn to perform on stage before an audience in a production of a version of a Shakespeare play.
Baltimore Stars Coalition/AAU
$30,000 / 2007 / Health and Human Services
For continued support of the Baltimore Stars Basketball Program for 120 inner-city boys, ages eight to 17. This program provides the boys with an opportunity to compete in the AAU state and national basketball tournaments and serves as an incentive to maintain good grades and positive behavior on and off the court. Mentoring, tutoring, and SAT preparation assistance are available to all Stars players.
Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, Inc.
$50,000 / 2007 / Criminal Justice and Addiction
For continued funding of the three-year Threshold to Recovery initiative. The program seeks to demonstrate that threshold centers are a low-cost, high-volume, and effective means of increasing access to treatment, retaining patients in treatment, and sustaining recovery. Threshold centers distinguish themselves from other drug treatment centers in that they remain open for extended hours, accept walk-ins, and offer alternative healing therapies such as Tai Chi, acupuncture, and meditation.
Banner Neighborhoods Community Corporation (BNCC)
$25,000 / 2007 / Health and Human Services
For continued support of the Patterson Park Youth Programs, including a basketball and football league, a reading club, an art club, and a youth employment project. Serving a minimum of 300 children and youth from the Patterson Park community, BNCC programs are designed to provide safe and healthy recreation. At least 70 adult volunteers act as coaches, mentors, teachers, and tutors. The summer employment program involves eight young people taking part in keeping Patterson Park and the surrounding blocks clean. The inter-generational activities with adults are expected to build positive generational relationships and reduce neighborhood conflicts.
BCPSS/Academy for College and Career Exploration
$5,000 / 2007 / Education
Toward the purchase of equipment for a state-of-the-art computer lab.