Vehicles for Change, Inc.
$60,000 / 2008 / Workforce Development
For continuation of an initiative to provide 30 reliable, reconditioned, and Maryland-inspected cars to low-income persons in Baltimore City. Partnering with community-based organizations, Vehicles for Change enables individuals to drive to work and transport their families to essential destinations.
Year Up Washington, Inc.
$120,000 / 2008 / Workforce Development
For the implementation of the Year Up Baltimore Pilot Program, a workforce development initiative for at-risk young adults ages 18 to 24 in Baltimore City. By providing a core group of talented students to serve the Baltimore business community, Year Up will recruit and train 40 low-income young people for entry-level positions in information technology. At the same time, Year Up will build partnerships with Maryland colleges to provide academic credit for program participants.
Art with a Heart, Inc .
$20,000 / 2008 / Workforce Development
For continued support and expansion of the Summer Job Program of visual arts for at-risk youth in the Rose Street community. The four-week program, designed as job-readiness training and operating five days a week, four hours each day, engages 30 youth in creating 60 pieces of art work, including mosaics and decoupage furniture, to be marketed at Artscape.
Homeless Persons Representation Project, Inc.
$150,000 / 2007 / Workforce Development
For continued support of an initiative designed to reduce housing and employment discrimination against ex-offenders in Maryland. The program will provide direct legal representation for Baltimore City ex-offenders, helping to expunge past arrests and convictions from criminal records. The program educates ex-offenders about the ramifications of their criminal records, sentencing procedures, and probation and parole.
Humanim, Inc.
$500,000 / 2007 / Workforce Development
Capital funding toward the restoration of the American Brewery Brewhouse which will house Humanim’s vocational programs and staff, serving nearly 1,000 clients a year. Once the building is completed in spring 2009, Humanim plans to launch a pilot employment program to serve the residents of Broadway East.