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
$15,550 / 2007 / Workforce Development
For continued support and expansion of Summer Jobcorps, a visual arts program for 30 at-risk youth living in the Rose Street community. Developed as a four-week job-training program for 14- to 21-year-olds, Art With A Heart offers summer work experience in the creating and selling of marketable art at the 2007 Artscape.
Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare, Inc.
$90,000 / 2007 / Workforce Development
For continued support of career coaching, career mapping, and the Pre-Allied Health Bridge Project. The Alliance was created in response to reports that many entry-level workers lack requisite basic skills for post-secondary training leading to high paying jobs.
BioTechnical Institute of Maryland, Inc.
$75,000 / 2007 / Workforce Development
For continued support of the BioSTART and Laboratory Associates Programs. BioSTART, a 12-week bridge program, has been developed to introduce Baltimore residents to bioscience terminology, employment possibilities, laboratory procedures, and laboratory math. Upon successful completion, students move on to the Laboratory Associates Program that includes nine-week laboratory classes, followed by three-week internships. The internships qualify the applicants for entry-level laboratory positions with average starting wages of 12 per hour, plus benefits.