April 29, 2013

United Way of Central Maryland Announces Regional Funding Aimed at Building Self-Sufficient Families and Stronger Communities

Part of organization’s collective impact movement focused on the building blocks of a quality life – income, health and education – for central Marylanders facing poverty

BALTIMORE, MD (April 29, 2013) – With long-term sights set on a community where every family is financially stable, every individual is healthy and every child receives a quality education, United Way of Central Maryland (UWCM) today announced nearly $3 million in grants to local nonprofits focused on advancing education, income and health for the region’s impoverished residents – an increasingly large population that will be among those hit hardest by the federal sequestration. The grants are made possible thanks to the generosity of central Maryland individuals, businesses and foundations.

“Successful communities aren’t about social service programs working in isolation,” said Mark Furst, President and CEO of United Way of Central Maryland. “These grants to 71 nonprofit programs across central Maryland allow us to work together toward our overall goal of creating self-sufficient families, stronger communities and a more successful region for us all.”

Overall, United Way of Central Maryland received 246 applications for more than $12.4 million, and approved $2.7 million in community impact funding for 71 programs across the region, with nearly $200,000 additional dollars approved for Community Response Grants throughout the year.

“Our region is simultaneously experiencing increases in poverty rates and government cuts to critical social programs,” commented Dominique Moore, UWCM’s Baltimore City Partnership Board Chair and owner of Moore Real Properties. “At a time when the need is so immense, we must be strategic about funding programs that provide immediate help, as well as those that move people in poverty toward self-sufficiency in the long-term.”

The grant funding addresses the unique needs in each central Maryland jurisdiction, but overall supports a spectrum of programs that provide opportunities for families and individuals to stabilize their lives and achieve self-reliance.

“Funding from United Way allows us to connect elementary school students from low-income Baltimore families with literacy skills and personal attention they need to succeed in school and beyond,” said Lisa Lazarus, regional executive director of Reading Partners. “By bringing partners together to focus on the issues of education, financial stability and health – which are all interconnected – United Way is enabling real, lasting change here in the Baltimore metropolitan area.”

Community Impact and Response Grants represent just one portion of UWCM’s larger funding strategy aimed at lifting low-income families out of poverty. In 2011, the organization launched its Access to Healthy Food Initiative, followed in 2012 by its Family Stability Initiative and READ LEARN SUCCEED effort. In addition to these programs, United Way infuses millions of dollars into the region each year via donor designations and directed service grants to organizations including Associated Black Charities, American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. UWCM also operates a 24/7 health and human service hotline, 2-1-1 Maryland at United Way of Central Maryland, and leads resource events such as Project Homeless Connect.

FY2014 United Way of Central Maryland Community Impact Grant Awardees

• Access Carroll County ($30,000): To support the Family Dental Clinic
• AIDS Interfaith Residential Services ($33,390): To support case management services
• Anna’s House (Catholic Charities of Baltimore) ($42,411): To support  case management services
• Anne Arundel County Food Bank ($50,000): To support program services and operation costs
• Anne Arundel County Partnership for Children, Youth & Families ($40,000): To support Family Navigator program
• Arundel House of Hope ($50,000): To support the Day Resources Center and Medical Wellness Clinic programs
• Baltimore Child Abuse Center ($40,000): To support Family Advocacy & Transportation program costs
• Baltimore City Health Department ($56,677): To support the Virtual Supermarket program
• Baltimore County Department of Health ($37,000): To support the Bureau of Healthcare Access
• Boys & Girls Club of Harford County ($50,000): To support programs at all club locations
• Bridges to Housing Stability ($70,000): To support the Housing Stability Program
• Caroline Friess Center ($60,000): To support the Certified Nursing Assistant program
• Carroll Child Care Center ($10,000): To support child care costs
• Center for Urban Families ($30,000): To support the Baltimore Workforce Development program and the Baltimore Responsible Fatherhood Project
• Civic Works ($34,370): To support Baltimore Farm Alliance program
• Civic Works ($50,000): To support Real Food Farms
• Community Action Council of Howard County ($25,000): To support a volunteer coordinator for food bank
• Dayspring Programs ($47,103): To support the children’s program staff
• Domestic Violence Center of Howard County ($30,000): To support legal services and domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocacy
• Episcopal Housing Corporation ($50,000): To support the Neighbor to Neighbor program
• Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland ($30,000): To support Project Self-Sufficiency
• Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland ($40,000): To support program costs at Harford County Medical Adult Day Care
• Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland ($45,000): To support the Abuse Counseling Center
• Food Link ($12,000): To support the Emergency Baby Pantry Program
• Fuel Fund of Maryland ($30,000): To support Energy Assistance for Baltimore County Families
• Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center ($50,000): To support Housing Specialist staff
• Green Street Academy ($50,000): To support Green Street Academy Farms
• House of Ruth Maryland ($37,500): To support legal assistance for victims of domestic violence
• House of Ruth Maryland ($50,000): To support domestic violence victim advocacy programs
• Human Services Programs of Carroll County ($64,000): To support operational and supportive services for women and children, and intact families in the shelter
• Jewish Community Services ($25,290): To support the Older Adult Service Coordination program
• Jewish Community Services ($49,064): To support the Eviction Prevention program
• Jewish Community Services ($49,990): To support Older Adult Service Coordination
• Living Classrooms Foundation ($30,000): To support Project SERVE
• Marian House, Inc. ($50,000): To support the operation of the Shelter Services Programs
• Mason-Dixon Community Services ($25,488): To support case management services
• Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland ($15,000): To support the Home-Delivered Meals program
• Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland ($20,000): To support the Home-Delivered Meals program
• Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland ($24,000): To support the Home-Delivered Meals Program
• Mission of Mercy ($40,000): To support the Mobile Medical and Dental Clinic
• Mosaic Community Services ($53,150): To support the Dental Services Project
• Moveable Feast ($20,000): To support Home Delivered Meals program
• Moveable Feast ($45,500): To support the Culinary Training Program
• Neighbor Ride ($10,000): To support the Good Neighbor Fund
• Northwest Hospital Center ($20,000): To support the Domestic Violence (DOVE) Program
• Nueva Vida ($32,000): To support the operation of the Network for Latinas with Cancer program
• PACT: Helping Children with Special Needs ($50,000): To support PACT’s World of Care program
• PACT: Helping Children with Special Needs ($65,000): To support the Therapeutic Nursery
• Partners In Care Maryland ($35,000): To support older adult program services
• Paul’s Place, Inc. ($20,000): To support food assistance programs
• Prologue ($60,000): To support the Homeless Outreach Program
• Reading Partners ($35,000): To support the Personalized Reading Tutoring program
• Shepherd’s Clinic ($75,000): To support the primary care services for uninsured
• Sinai Hospital of Baltimore ($44,200): To support the HIV Services Program
• Soccer Without Borders Baltimore ($10,000): To support youth outreach program costs
• St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore ($20,000): To support the Beans and Bread program
• St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore ($50,000): To support the Cottage Avenue Community
• St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore ($65,000): To support Sarah’s Hope at the Hannah More shelter
• The Arc Central Chesapeake Region ($25,000): To support the Family Supports program
• The Center of Help ($12,000): To support the Building Lives for New Americans program
• The Light House ($50,000): To support client case management services for homeless clients
• The Salvation Army, Greater Baltimore Area ($40,000): To support the eviction prevention program
• The Salvation Army, Greater Baltimore Area ($50,000): To support the Glen Burnie Boys and Girls Club
• The Sexual Assault/Spouse Abuse Resource Center (SARC) ($52,000): To support legal services and domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocacy
• The Women’s Law Center of Maryland ($20,000): To support the Multi-Ethnic Domestic Violence Project
• The Women’s Law Center of Maryland ($20,000): To support the Multi-Ethnic Domestic Violence Project
• The Women’s Law Center of Maryland ($20,000): To support the Protection Order Advocacy and Representation Project
• The Women’s Law Center of Maryland ($20,000): To support the Protection Order Advocacy and Representation Project
• TurnAround ($35,000): To support the Victim Advocacy program
• Village Learning Place ($35,000): To support the Let’s Invest in Neighborhood Kids (LINK) program
• YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County ($50,000): To support legal services and domestic violence and sexual assault victim advocacy

About United Way of Central Maryland (UWCM)

For nearly 90 years, United Way of Central Maryland (UWCM) has been the region’s human service leader, encouraging all central Marylanders to give, advocate and volunteer. Its mission is to mobilize the community to improve people’s lives. UWCM is dedicated to helping individuals and families living at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level meet their basic needs, stabilize and achieve self-sufficient lives. By drawing upon local knowledge, data and expertise to understand the community’s needs, UWCM is able to identify where gaps exist and concentrate on what works in addressing them – serving as a powerful advocate on critical health and human issues. UWCM supports programs and initiatives in the city of Baltimore and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford and Howard counties. For more information, visit www.uwcm.org.

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