Grant Recipients
Grant Recipients 2003 – 2023
$839,523 to 110 non-profit organizations
2023 Grant Recipients
17 Grants Totaling $57,221
The following is a description of each of the 2023 grants.
BENEDICTINE SCHOOL FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN – $4,900
“Accessibility Upgrades for Group Home”
Founded more than 60 years ago and based in the belief in the dignity of all people, Benedictine School’s mission is to help children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities achieve their greatest potential. Located in Ridgely, it is an accredited multi-functional year-round education and residential center for children ages 6 through 21 and adults with severe intellectual disabilities, multiple disabilities, and autism. The Adult Services Residential Program provides professionally staffed residential support for 68 adults, ages 21 or older, in 18 group homes located in Annapolis and in Caroline and Talbot Counties. Community living gives residents the opportunity to be independent, while still receiving the support they need. Homes are staffed on a 24-hour basis, with Direct Support staff in each house encouraging individuals to learn new skills, develop meaningful relationships, and actively participate in their communities. This grant will provide the funding for necessary repairs and renovations to a group home in Caroline County that houses four women and is staffed by five women. www.benschool.org
COMMUNITY MEDIATION UPPER SHORE – $3,750
“Family Conflict Resolution”
Founded in 2002 by the Maryland Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office, Community Mediation Upper Shore (CMUS) provides community-based conflict resolution and peacebuilding services at no cost in Kent and Queen Anne’s Counties. Committed to working in the community for sustainable peace and resilience, CMUS teaches strategies and skills to resolve conflict. Conflicts that benefit from mediation include family conflicts, health and elder care, divorce and childcare issues, living situations, recovery from drug or other use disorders, loss and or separation. The organization uses trained volunteers to execute the work and train community participants. Referrals are made through the courts, public schools, local management boards, community partners and others. Services are free to all. This grant will provide mediation training and/or services to 115 girls to help them to resolve conflict, build communication skills, and create peace in their communities. https://www.cmusmediation.org/
COMPASS REGIONAL HOSPICE – $2,500
“Grief Support for Women and Girls”
Founded in 1985, Compass Regional Hospice offers individuals, families, and the community “Care on your terms” through comprehensive, professional, and compassionate end-of-life and grief support. Compass is a fully licensed and accredited hospice offering a residential and general inpatient center in Centreville, home hospice, and a palliative care program. The Compass Hope and Healing Center offers a wide range of grief services and counseling for people of all ages who have experienced the death of a loved one. This grant will support two of the Healing Center’s grief programs, Camp New Dawn, a four-day retreat for children and families that helps campers through the grieving process and learn healthy coping skills, and Camp Reflections for teenagers who have previously attended Camp New Dawn. www.compassregionalhospice.org
CRITCHLOW ADKINS CHILDREN’S CENTERS – $1,450
“Building Brighter Futures”
Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers’ mission is to provide quality, financially accessible childcare for children ages 2 – 12 and their families in a nurturing, diverse, safe, and enriching environment. All five CACC’s sites have the Maryland EXCELS Check Level 5 rating, are fully accredited, and have achieved these highest levels of excellence for over 30 years. Over the past five decades, CACC has remained committed to the vision of its founders who were concerned about the lack of available quality childcare for working families in Talbot County. The families receiving tuition assistance are families who struggle to afford the cost of quality, licensed daycare for their children. Data shows that quality early care programs help prepare children to be more successful in school both socially and cognitively. This grant will provide tuition assistance for single mothers who are working and/or going to school but still struggling financially to enable them to provide the best care and educational opportunity for their children in the Before- and After-School Care program. www.cacckids.org
FOUNDATION OF H.O.P.E. – $5,000
“Economic Development and Empowerment Program”
Foundation of H.O.P.E. helps young girls lead productive lives in their communities by providing cultural, social, and educational and leadership development. Conceived, created, and led by an Economic Development professional, the program focuses on personal empowerment and financial and economic development education for girls. The program teaches girls to be viable contributors to the future workforce. It covers topics including self-esteem, bullying, using technology and social media, workforce development, economic and community development, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and more. Girls in the program learn how to respect themselves and others. With an understanding that hard work pays off, girls in the program plan ahead to succeed and become community leaders. The grant supports full program participation for 30 girls.
GIRL SCOUTS OF THE CHESAPEAKE BAY – $1,600
“Mental Health Programming”
The mission of Girl Scouts is to build girls of confidence, courage and character who make the world a better place. Founded in 1962, Girl Scouts of the Chesapeake Bay serves approximately 4,300 girls in grades K-12 on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Girl Scout Leadership Experience is based on four program pillars: STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), Outdoors, Life Skills, and Entrepreneurship. Post-covid, three areas critical to girls’ success are of primary concern: supporting girls’ mental health, mitigating learning loss, and helping girls reflect the values of justice and fairness. This grant will support virtual, age-appropriate Mental Well-Being programming for 200 girls who belong to Mid-Shore troops. www.gscb.org
IMAGINATION LIBRARY OF TALBOT COUNTY – $2,500
“Early Literacy Lifts”
Imagination Library of Talbot County‘s mission is to address the very important need to expose children birth to age 5 to a literature and vocabulary rich environment by providing each child enrolled in the program with the gift of a new, age-appropriate, engaging book which is mailed to his or her home each month. Low-income parents may not have the resources to help prepare their children for kindergarten, and access to these books prepares preschoolers for kindergarten and improves their chances for a successful academic career and future. Because 90% of brain development occurs between birth and age 5, the first five years of life offer a critical window for learning. Preschool children who have limited exposure to books enter kindergarten a full 12 to 14 months behind their peers in terms of kindergarten readiness. By third grade, if they have not closed this gap, it becomes an achievement gap to continue throughout their schooling. 50% of kindergartners enrolled in Talbot County Public schools come from low-income households. Only 29% of Talbot County kindergartners living in poverty were fully school- ready. Making sure there are books in the home not only helps prepare a child for school and but also offers opportunities for loving experiences between a parent and child. With this grant, 100 girls living in poverty will receive 12 books for one year to contribute to their own personal forever library. www.imaginationlibrary.com
KENT ATTAINABLE HOUSING – $2,680
“Future Homeowners Program”
Kent Attainable Housing (KAH) is a nonprofit that was formed in April 2019 by three Kent County residents with a deep commitment to bettering the plight of the working poor among us who are stuck in the cycle of inter-generational poverty. The organization is attacking this problem by increasing the number of affordable homes in Kent County and preparing those with limited incomes to become financially secure homeowners with a major asset to pass on to their children. KAH has two primary programs: 1. constructing and renovating affordable housing for first-time home ownership and 2. applicant financial literacy and support services. The biggest obstacle faced by their target population is establishing and maintaining sufficient credit history and credit rating to qualify for a mortgage. This grant helps to provide, via data tracking, a method to monitor applicant credit progress. The detailed tracking of milestone achievements of applicants will provide many of them with positive feedback that will spur them to further achievements in the program. Milestone achievements include: completing initial assessment of credit; completing credit, money management and budgeting classes; obtaining first-time homeowner class certificate of completion; designing an individual plan for reducing debt and demonstrating adherence to that plan; and increasing credit score by 50 points. The program manager, with the assistance of volunteers, will track this progress. The grant will also support the cost of volunteer training. www.kentattainablehousing.org
MID-SHORE COUNCIL ON FAMILY VIOLENCE – $2,750
“Food Pantry Program”
The mission of the Mid-Shore Council on Family Violence (MSCFV) is to create healthy opportunities to break the cycle of domestic violence through intervention and prevention by providing shelter, counseling, and advocacy services for victims of domestic violence. In fiscal year 2021, MSCFV, which operates in all five Mid-Shore counties, served 397 victims of domestic violence and their 587 children. Services spanned from hotline services, legal services, emergency shelter, longer term transitional housing, ongoing case management, mental health services, credit counseling, basic living needs, transportation, interpretation and translation services, pet safety, support groups, abuser intervention programming, community outreach, and awareness. Access to nutritious food is critical for those in crisis, and often difficult to obtain. The MSCFV Pantry Program offers full food pantries that stock diverse food and toiletries at each of its county offices to meet the growing need of necessities for victims and their children and reduce this worry so they can focus on the longer-term issues of addressing mental health challenges, improving their financial foundation and credit, and developing a safe, violence-free future for themselves and their children. This grant will support the purchase items for the pantries. Additionally, the grant will support the purchase of grocery store gift cards, which provides victims the freedom to choose what they want. www.mscfv.org
NEW BEGINNINGS YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES – $5,000
“Who Am I Program”
New Beginnings Youth and Family Services’ mission is to provide a safe, nurturing, and structured environment for children in under-resourced communities. Their commitment is to provide free afterschool and summer career, educational, recreational, and cultural experiences to children and their families who reside in Altair, Parkside Village, and other affordable housing units along the Greenwood Avenue corridor in Cambridge. Many of their participants are raised in single-family household by single mothers. The “Who Am I” program addresses low self-esteem to help the girls, ages 6-14, and their caretakers, who often also have low self-esteem, increase their confidence and self-awareness. The course has a set of journals that encourage the girls to express themselves and reiterates their lessons. Each journal is supported by a series of activities and field trips. Building confidence improves communication and problem-solving skills that transfer to better interactions at school, at home and in the community. As a result of this program, participants should increase positive conversations, self-advocacy, and good decision-making. This grant will help underwrite the cost of the program for six months. www.newbeginningsyouth.wixsite.com
ONE MISSION CAMBRIDGE – $2,000
“Food Pantry Program”
One Mission Cambridge is a coalition of Christian Churches serving together at a mission center located at 614 Race Street, Cambridge. One Mission offers a food pantry, monthly community dinners, and individual and group counseling services. The food pantry centralizes the collection and distribution of food rather than separate pantries at the various churches. This system encourages relationship building and reduces food waste, since the food is pre-packaged instead of selected by clients. Since its opening in June 2022 on Race Street in downtown Cambridge, within walking distance of low-income neighborhoods and bus stops, it has served more than 340 individuals with over 850 household members positively impacted. The need for the purchase of feminine hygiene products for the Pantry is a critical need as the products, which are necessary for many women and girls to work or attend school as well as community programs, are expensive and considered a luxury to many of their clients. This grant funds the purchase of a variety of feminine hygiene products, including tampons, pads, adult incontinence items, soap, body wash, and wipes. www.onemissioncambridge.org
OPEN DOORS PARTNERS IN EDUCATION – $5,000
“High Quality Literacy Tutoring for Girls in Kent County Area”
Open Doors Partners in Education strives to increase the literacy rate of struggling readers by providing tutoring, offering educational enrichment opportunities, and increasing community awareness of learning differences in Kent County and surrounding areas. It uses the Orton-Gillingham Approach, a multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive way to teach literacy when reading, writing, and spelling does not come easily to individuals, such as those with dyslexia. Founded in 2020 for children in grades K-2, it quickly became apparent there were many outside that range who needed what Open Doors was providing, and the age range was expanded to include all ages. Currently students range from ages 4-34. Tutoring is provided at no cost to Kent County Public school students and adults who live in Kent County who are falling behind in reading skills. Students enrolled in other schools and adults who live outside Kent County may also enroll in tutoring for a discounted cost. This grant will support the High Quality Literacy Tutoring for Girls in Kent County and Surrounding Community program through the purchase of Orton-Gillingham tutoring materials and program-related supplies to help address the issue of low and declining literacy rates in Kent County. www.opendoorsed.org
PINE STREET COMMITTEE – $5,750
“Girls in Focus Tutoring Program”
The Pine Street Committee’s mission is to work in partnership with the diverse community of Cambridge to provide the underserved youth and adult population with education, health and wellness, work skills, and cultural enrichment programs. With the Cambridge Empowerment Center, they operate community programs meeting an extensive variety of needs. Their “Girls in Focus” program is a summer enrichment program aimed at helping girls catch up with academic and other learning that suffered during COVID, when many girls were tasked with helping care for younger siblings and may have missed out on supportive learning activities. The summer program offers girls tutoring in math and reading, STEM lessons, music and art. Reading and math improvement outcomes are measured and tracked. Family outreach and support wraps services around participating girls. This grant will provide the 7-week “Girls in Focus” learning and enrichment program for 15 girls in Cambridge this summer.
RADCLIFFE CREEK SCHOOL – $2,000
“Girls Empowerment Group”
Founded in 1995, Radcliffe Creek School’s mission is to empower children in a dynamic environment that celebrates unique learning. The school’s educational program provides an inclusive environment in which faculty and staff work to ensure all students, grades K-8, succeed by recognizing and celebrating their extraordinary individual talents and by identifying and remediating those areas in which they struggle. Students benefit from the five pillars that compose the Radcliffe Way: Growth Mindset; Care and Connection; Personalized Experience; Multi-Sensory Instruction; and Genuine Feedback. Radcliffe believes that as each student develops a positive belief about oneself, he or she can engage in the learning process and become a more self-regulated and independent learner. One of RCS’s goals is to prepare children for high school and to provide them with tools and teach them skills for that chapter and beyond. To address the unique social pressures and emotional challenges that neurodivergent girls experience, two Girls Empowerment Groups were formed for girls K-5 and 6-8. In their cohorts and in joint meetings, girls learn personal skills such as how to engage in self-reflection, regulate their emotions and nurture positive self-talk as well as age- appropriate practical life skills like problem solving, relationship development, money management and social skills. This grant will support field trips, an etiquette dinner, outside speakers, and other resources to enhance and expand the Girls Empowerment Groups. www.radcliffecreekschool.org
TALBOT COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS – $2,741
“Children’s Advocacy Center Teen Group”
Talbot Community Connections (TCC) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to raise and distribute funds to enhance the Talbot County Department of Social Services capacity to respond directly to problems of safety and well-being to all Talbot County residents. Typically, at least half of TCC’s funds is distributed to the Talbot County Children’s Advocacy Center. At its core the Children’s Advocacy Center brings together all the agency professionals involved in a child abuse case and facilitates the investigation and prosecution of the case, while ensuring that the needs of the child victim come first. The Talbot County Children’s Advocacy Center works as a multidisciplinary team to ensure the children are not re-victimized by the system designed to protect them. This grant will support the Children’s Advocacy Center Life Skills Teen Girls Group. The life skills group is an activity/therapy to provide important information, help the girls connect, and keep the girls in touch with supportive peers. Group therapy provides an environment for the girls to learn more about themselves while interacting with other victims with similar experiences, and to see that they are not alone in their struggles.
TALBOT INTERFAITH SHELTER – $3,400
“Parenting Skill Classes”
Talbot Interfaith Shelter is dedicated to ending homelessness on Maryland’s Mid-Shore by providing Shelter, Stability, Support and a path to Success (S4) for families and individuals in need. Since 2008, the organization has provided temporary shelter and long-term supportive housing to hundreds of people including families with infants and children of all ages. Hundreds of volunteers have assisted their trained staff to provide ongoing support for families in transition. TIS is committed to providing parent guests the right tools for raising their families. Parenting classes, taught by facilitators from Talbot County Department of Social Services, are an important component of the S4 program. They provide tools for self-care, communication, and nurture bonds to help mothers/caregivers build stronger relationships with their children as well as personal and family resilience during what is one of the most stressful times in their lives – housing insecurity. This grant will support a ten-week series of parenting classes for women and their children. https://talbotinterfaithshelter.org/
TILGHMAN AREA YOUTH ASSOCIATION – $4,200
“Just for Girls Program”
Tilghman Area Youth Association (TAYA) enriches the lives of Tilghman area youth by connecting them to each other, their families, and their community. It offers enrichment and community programs that provide educational and need-based opportunities for youth and their families, many of whom lives below the poverty line. During COVID-19 restrictions, TAYA pivoted to offer monthly take-home enrichment kits, in lieu of the Tilghman After School Kids (TASK) program, funding Care Packs, and home essentials, and coordinating the Maryland Mobile Food Truck visits to Tilghman, since the island is 12 miles away from services. TAYA directly benefits the entire school population of ninety- four students, approximately 250 family members, and teachers and staff of Tilghman Elementary School. It offers high-quality enrichment activities designed to support student learning and development and set students up to be successful adults who contribute to their own communities. This grant will underwrite 25 4th and 5th grade girls in the “Just for Girls” program, which focuses on building self- esteem, self-respect, healthy habits, community service, building positive relationships, and conflict resolution, all while learning to enjoy each other’s company, through small self-led discussions. This is the only such program for young girls on Tilghman Island. www.tilghmanyouth.org
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