Archive

JP Morgan Chase recently announced a $20 million investment in Baltimore in the form of low-cost loans and job training programs. As part of this five-year commitment, the bank has awarded Parity Homes, founded by 2020 OSI Community Fellow Bree Jones, $2 million. Parity acquires and renovates homes in and around the Harlem Park neighborhood, […]

Last week, Baltimore Homecoming announced the 10 semifinalists for its Homecoming Hero Awards and the list includes three OSI Community Fellows – 2019’s Janet Glover-Kerkvliet; Ateira Griffin and Atiya Wells, both from the 2020 cohort – and Sam Novey, founder of the OSI grantee Baltimore Votes. Members of the public will determine the five winners. […]

This week, the Baltimore Children and Youth Fund (BCYF) launched The Avis Ransom Institute, a pilot program for youth leadership development in Baltimore City. The fund is named for activist and 2002 OSI Community Fellow, Avis Ransom. The program will train young people in Baltimore City to be effective leaders in their communities.  Ransom, who […]

To celebrate their 5th anniversary, MOMCares, the program started by 2019 Community Fellow Ana Rodney that provides postpartum doula services to single, low income women of color in the NICU, will hold a special celebration on Friday October 1 from 11am-2pm at Dovecote Café. MOMCares is also observing NICU Awareness month on September 29 with a […]

At its annual Heschel Vision Awards ceremony in November, Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) will honor Tara Huffman, who recently stepped down as director of OSI’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program. “[Huffman] is a rare funder who is also seen as a partner by scores of grantees,” JUFJ said in its announcement. “She has played […]

Recently, the director and members of OSI’s grantee Baltimore Safe Haven were featured in a commercial for Dove. The organization is dedicated to providing opportunities for every transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (TLGBQ) person in Baltimore City to live a life that is healthy, self-determined life free from stigma, violence, and oppression. Learn more about […]

Fearless, a Baltimore-based digital services firm just announced the creation of a $50,000 donation matching fund to support nonprofit organizations in Baltimore and Montgomery, Alabama, (where the company has offices) that are committed to bridging the racial gap. Baltimore organizations chosen to receive the funds include many OSI grantees Job Opportunities Task Force, CASA, Out […]

This week, 2018 OSI Community Fellow Shelley Halstead was a virtual guest on the Kelly Clarkson Show. Halstead started Black Women Build Baltimore, which trains Black women in construction skills like plumbing, electrical, and carpentry by restoring vacant and deteriorating houses in West Baltimore, which the women then have an option to buy. She was […]