SoBo groups get cash for community projects
by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com
The checks are in the mail.
The Southside Marketplace grants for 2007 have been announced, and the recipients—and the projects they intend to fund—are as diverse as the community itself.
The grant provides $10,000 in funds a year to organizations that offer services to the South Baltimore Peninsula. The grant’s history goes back to 1992, when the developers of the Southside Marketplace agreed that the shopping center would make payments to benefit the community for 20 years in exchange for the opportunity to develop the land.
Dave Hirst, a member of the Southside Marketplace Grant Committee, provided the information on this year’s grant recipients. Applications for grants were submitted beginning in early winter, and were due in the first week of January. Grant recipients are as follows:
A grant of $650 was awarded to Baltimore Outreach Services at Christ Lutheran Place. The funding will help provide a 12-week program of parenting classes for the residents at their emergency shelter for women and children.
Baltimore Animal Rescue & Care Shelter received a grant for $500. The grant will help offset the costs for needed medical care for the stray, abandoned and abused animals at the South Baltimore shelter, located on Stockholm Street.
A $1,000 grant went to the Inner Harbor Church of God. The grant will be used to fund various church-sponsored community programs such as the annual Easter egg hunt in Riverside Park, the annual Christmas party for neighborhood children and the preparation of food and toy baskets for needy residents at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The money will also be used to provide area residents with assistance with their medical and utility bills, and to help provide free meals every Sunday morning for the homeless.
The Sharp-Leadenhall Youth Committee received a grant of $1,000 to support an after-school and safe-haven program for youth in the neighborhood.
A grant of $1,000 went to the South Baltimore Recreation Center, and will be used to purchase equipment to support the center’s general recreation program.
The Ella Bailey Recreation Center received a grant of $1,000. The grant will help to fund the position of Program Coordinator to supervise their hockey and soccer leagues for boys and girls ages 8-12.
A grant of $1,000 went to the South Baltimore Emergency Relief (SOBER) program. It will help provide a 3-day supply of emergency food to needy individuals and families. In addition, the grant will be used to assist needy residents with their medical and utility bills.
Federal Hill Preparatory School #45 won a $1,000 grant which school administrators have earmarked to help provide for the purchase of software to develop the institution’s digital art program.
A grant of $500 went to the South Baltimore Little League. It will be used to pay uniform fees for children who want to participate in the program, but who are unable to purchase uniforms.
The Light Street branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library was awarded a grant of $150 which will be used to purchase supplies to maintain and replant the flower bed in front of the Light Street library. Michael Felner, who applied for the grant, is a supporter, and ex-neighbor, of the Library who donates his time every year for this project, according to Hirst.
The Allen Center for Senior Citizens received a grant of $1,200. The funding will help employ two physical education instructors to enhance the center’s exercise program.
The Friends of Light Street Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library received a grant of $1,000. The funding will be used to purchase and install a water fountain for use by staff and patrons of the library. The Friends have noted that they are also raising money to put toward the eventual installation of an elevator in the building.
The disbursement of funds to the community is managed by a committee of representatives from six neighborhood associations: Locust Point Civic Association, Federal Hill South Neighborhood Association, Federal Hill Neighborhood Association, Riverside Action Group, Sharp-Leadenhall Planning Committee and the South Baltimore Improvement Committee.
Having committee representation from each of the neighborhoods on the Peninsula means that many organizations that apply for grants are already known to the committee.
The next time the grants will be offered will be early winter 2007. A notice of the availability of grants, and of the deadline, will be carried in The Baltimore Guide.
