The law firm of Baker Donelson has selected the recipients of its annual Community Grants Program, which awards $35,000 in community grants to aid non-profit organizations serving at-risk youth living in Baltimore City and Washington, D.C.
(L-R): James Edwards, Baltimore office managing shareholder of Baker Donelson; Regine Elie of Healthy Babies Project; Jazmine Brazier of Healthy Babies Project; Christopher Dean, chair of Baker Donelson's Community Grants Committee
The $35,000 in grants are awarded as two $10,000 grants and one $15,000 special grant that includes a volunteer supplement through which Baker Donelson employees volunteer time to the grant recipient.
Healthy Babies Project: The recipient of a $10,000 Baker Donelson Community Grant, this organization provides food for malnourished, hungry, pregnant, and parenting Washington, D.C. teenagers and their babies through its "Feeding Our Girls" program. The program helps ensure maternal/child health and food security for this vulnerable population as young mothers make measurable progress in having healthy pregnancies and healthy birth outcomes. The $10,000 grant will be used primarily to feed and educate teenage mothers and their babies as well as educate these young mothers about nutrition and breastfeeding.
Dreaming Out Loud's Farm at Kelly Miller: This urban farming program located adjacent to the Kelly Miller Middle School in Washington, D.C.'s Ward 7 will also receive a $10,000 Baker Donelson Community Grant. One hundred percent of the Kelly Miller Middle School students, who live primarily in five large public housing complexes adjacent to the school, are eligible for free/reduced meals. The grant will help the Farm feed and educate children about healthy food choices and the importance of nutrition.
(L-R): Christopher Dean of Baker Donelson; Starsha Valentine of Dreaming Out Loud's Farm at Kelly Miller
Baltimore Hunger Project: This year's recipient of the Baker Donelson Community Grants Program's $15,000 special grant with a volunteer component, the Baltimore Hunger Project distributes critical weekend food packs to fill the "Hunger Gap" that starts at the last school-provided meal on Friday afternoon and ends with the first meal provided on Mondaymorning. The $15,000 grant will allow the Project to support an additional 75 children for an entire school year. At a volunteer event in 2018, Baker Donelson employees will assemble 500 weekend meal packs that will be provided to food-insecure students and their families.
"We're exceptionally proud to be able to continue our tradition of giving to organizations committed to the betterment of the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. communities," said Christopher P. Dean, a shareholder in Baker Donelson's Baltimore office and chair of the Community Grants Committee. "Each of these organizations plays a vital role in improving the lives of at-risk youth, and we're honored to have the opportunity to contribute to their efforts."
(L-R): Lynne Kahn of Baltimore Hunger Project; Christopher Dean of Baker Donelson
Established in 2003 on the occasion of Ober|Kaler's 100th anniversary, the Ober|Kaler Community Grants Program continues as the Baker Donelson Community Grants Program, as a result of the combination of the two firms in January 2017. Every spring, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organizations serving at-risk youth living in Baltimore City and Washington, D.C. are invited to apply for the grants. A committee comprised of the Firm's staff members, associates and principals chooses specific programs focused on enriching the lives of underprivileged children, improving living standards for lower income families with children, and creating educational opportunities for at-risk youth. The committee reviews each application thoroughly and bases its selections on perceived need, the community served, and the impact the grant would have on the selected organization.
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