United Way of Central Maryland names Changemaker Challenge finalists

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United Way of Central Maryland Tuesday announced the Changemaker Challenge finalists for each of the participating jurisdictions in the greater Baltimore region.

Finalists could win up to $30,000 to bring their ideas to life. In total, the organization will be awarding more than $600,000 in grants across the region. The Changemaker Challenge finalists each submitted their idea to one of the jurisdictions United Way serves, including: Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Harford, and Howard Counties, as well as Baltimore City.

Beginning in January, individuals and nonprofit organizations were invited to submit their innovative ideas to address community needs and to help close gaps in services and resources. United Way received almost 200 ideas addressing issues like access to healthy food, mental health support, digital access, expanding equity, early childhood and youth education, maternal health support, trauma-informed care, workforce development, and more.

Finalists will receive a $1,500 stipend and coaching support leading up to the final competitions this spring, where they will pitch their ideas before a live audience for United Way grants of up to $25,000 per location, and could win the Audience Choice grant of $5,000. Grantees will also receive free access to The Lonely Entrepreneur learning community, a one-stop shop for the tools and support needed to start or grow a business.

The finalists are:

Anne Arundel County (April 30)

• Annapolis Ag Inc. – A collaborative food preparation framework where people gather in pre-existing, certified kitchens to prepare meals for themselves and their neighbors.
• Maze – Storybook Maze installs book vending machines in book deserts to combat illiteracy and encourage early reading.
• Ballet After Dark – The organization provides trauma-informed programming that explores performance art, STEAM therapy and education to encourage healing, enhancing arts appreciation and providing mentorship.
• Co-op Arundel, Inc. – The organization offers five 16-week community-based, trauma-informed life goals achievement and community leadership courses for underserved at-risk youth, women, and men.
• Kits to Heart – Kits to Heart gives cancer care kits to patients and caregivers. The program reimagines community service by hosting service projects in existing community spaces such as libraries, cafés, and community centers.
• Opportunity Builders, Inc. – The organization is working to create the first fully inclusive nightclub tailored to accommodate the unique needs of people with disabilities yet designed to attract individuals with and without disabilities.
• Rob’s Barbershop Community Foundation, Inc. – The program provides apprenticeship training for Anne Arundel County Public School students who have barriers to entering their barber vocation program.
• Shelley’s House Inc. – The organization proposes Family Wellness Retreats with a focus on intergenerational well-being.
• Street Angels Project – Recovery Linkz is a peer support app providing accessible resources and personalized guidance to individuals navigating substance use disorders and mental health challenges.

The Anne Arundel County Changemaker Challenge will be livestreamed April 30 at 6:30 p.m.

Baltimore City (May 14)

• BLinG-Health – This holistic school-based program will address the multidimensions of health, including physical activity.
• Drink at the Well, Inc. – The Well will expand its existing workforce development social enterprise, Hon’s Honey, which helps women rise above their circumstances by hiring, training and employing at-risk and recovering women in South Baltimore.
• Fosterpreneur – The program has equipped foster care alumni with mindset development and entrepreneurial training anchored in high-quality, trauma-informed entrepreneurship instruction, and one-on-one and small group support.
• Itineris – As part of a pilot grant program, Itineris works with Baltimore City Public Schools to provide federally mandated transition services that many City schools are unable to offer.
• Open Works – Westside Open Works, a partnership between Coppin State University and Open Works, plans to establish a second location to improve economic mobility, technical education, and arts programming for marginalized residents of West Baltimore.
• RISE Arts Center of Baltimore – The Emerging Artists Program is a year-round initiative catering to young adults between ages 13-24 with autism and other intellectual disabilities in Baltimore City.
• Safe Alternative Foundation for Education, Inc. – The Foundation’s program will provide hands-on technical skills training required to become certified in the construction trade.
• STEMulating Art – A transformative program in Baltimore City that merges art, fashion, and STEM to empower youth.
• Sweet Bee Services – The organization innovatively blends mindfulness and education by offering a transformative journey for parents navigating high-risk pregnancies.
• The Violet Project – The project aims to reduce period poverty by improving menstrual hygiene and reproductive health education.
• Wide Angle Youth Media – The innovative media arts pre-apprenticeship program will serve Baltimore area youth ages 18-24 who demonstrate interest and aptitude for media-making, but do not yet have the skills necessary to produce content in a professional environment.
• Winning Strategies: Fatherhood, The Courts & Custody – Winning Strategies aims to empower and advocate for fathers who want co-parenting rights, custody, and access to their children.

The Baltimore Changemaker Challenge will be livestreamed on May 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Baltimore County (May 9)

• Ballet After Dark – The organization provides arts and cultural programs, comprehensive education, and activities that help Black and Brown girls and youth impacted by sexual violence and various traumas heal their minds and bodies with performing arts, dance therapy and somatic interventions.
• Camp Opportunity – The organization provides an overnight summer camp experience and year-round programming for children who have been abused and neglected.
• Financial Field Trips – The program is designed to empower marginalized children and young adults ages 9–24 with essential financial knowledge and skills to navigate adulthood successfully.
• Liberty’s Promise – The program aims to inspire low-income immigrant youth to envision a brighter future for themselves and their families, despite the formidable challenges they face during their transition to the United States.
• Mindful Movements – Dedicated to creating opportunities to improve mental health, education, and foster character-driven friendships in underrepresented communities through outdoor adventures designed to uplift spirits and sharpen minds.
• National Cryptologic Foundation Inc. – To remedy digital access inequalities, the organization will host an online hackathon for high school students to educate and empower youth by enhancing their cyber literacy and introducing them to the field of cryptology and cybersecurity careers.
• Neighborhood Companions, Inc. – With a focus on enhancing the quality of life for older adults, the organization provides seniors with iPads and volunteer companions in the Turner Station and Dundalk area.
• Nu Momish – Mama Needs a Hand will provide supplementary support to moms and women, improve the mental health of moms, and impact the community by showing up for families when they need it most.
• I.C.O.C.H.E.T., Inc. – A community outreach and performing arts program that provides opportunities and resources for young adults who are differently abled and aspire to become performing artists.
• Sunshine Promises, Inc. – The Diva Project’s Beauty Bus will be a mobile healing unit restoring hope and self-esteem to victims of domestic violence and women in transitional facilities.
• The Education Foundation of Baltimore County Public Schools, Inc. – The Foundation provides training, materials, resources, funding, and support to educators in Baltimore County Public Schools as they participate in the Breathe for Change 200-Hour Yoga and Social-Emotional Learning Certified Facilitator training.
• Tinina Q. Cade Foundation – The Foundation’s Baltimore County Reproductive and Maternal Health Equity Summit will focus on educating and empowering communities at greatest risk for poor reproductive and maternal health outcomes.

The Baltimore County Changemaker Challenge will be livestreamed on May 9 at 6:30 p.m.

Carroll County

In Carroll County, United Way of Central Maryland will sponsor the Changemaker Challenge Award as part of the Carroll Biz Challenge in August.

Harford County (May 16)

• Arrow Child & Family Ministries – The organization seeks to expand its Transitional Aged Young Adult Program, which supports young adults transitioning from foster care to independent living.
• Ballet After Dark – The organization provides arts and cultural programs, comprehensive education, and activities that help Black and Brown girls and youth impacted by sexual violence and various traumas heal their minds and bodies with performing arts, dance therapy and somatic interventions.
• Bmore Sk8 Youth Project – Create & Skate is an innovative, hands-on demonstrative way of developing a physical and creative path to empower youth.
• Compress and Shock Foundation – The Foundation brings free and equitable access to CPR and AED education to all communities with a specific dedication to communities most adversely affected by cardiac arrest due to race, ethnicity, language, or access to healthcare education.
• One Touch – The organization provides beautification services to the overlooked, underserved, untouched population in Harford County.
• Technology 4 Causes – Volunteer Harford will give volunteers a central repository to easily browse needs and sign up for roles that match their interests and availability.
• Tequity4All – The project brings exciting robots and coding lessons to all Harford County elementary school students in grades 3-5.
• The Harford Community College Foundation – The Foundation seeks to invest in a standardized patient program using actors trained to portray a patient for instruction, practice, and evaluation of nursing skills, allowing students to engage their training in a realistic and immersive, yet risk-free, environment.

The Harford County Changemaker Challenge will be livestreamed on May 16 at 6:30 p.m.

Howard County (May 7)

• Ballet After Dark – Lack of access to proper menstrual products, resources and education are things Black and Brown girls and youth below the poverty line endure. Ballet After Dark will launch Periodt!, a peer education fellowship program for girls led by girls and youth.
• Brightminds – Reimagining the Rainbow: Strengthening Community Through Visible and Transparent Support will include, educate, and celebrate topics of interest inclusive of the LGBTQIA+ community through a year-long hybrid speaker series run by Howard County Public School System high school students in partnership with local community groups.
• Community Ecology Institute – The Farming for Food Security initiative improves food security in Howard County by creating a collaborative team of local farms, food assistance programs, and youth community members to distribute fresh and nutritious food to those in need.
• Eudaimonia Project – A compassionate initiative dedicated to reshaping the perception of mental health in Howard County, emphasizing a community-driven approach to foster a culture where mental wellness is embraced as an essential aspect of overall well-being.
• HoCo Pride – With a focus on creating a more inclusive Howard County, HoCo Pride will provide an inspiring, powerful program for LGBTQ+ individuals to share and spread their voice through images.
• Irie Cooking Adventure – The initiative brings joy to home cooking with a Caribbean-American version of the Mediterranean Diet.
• JustLiving Advocacy, Inc. – Grammy’s KIDS is a community service program that serves as a resource to promote access to successful development for kids ages 6 weeks to 17 years old in early learning education, youth workforce readiness, tutoring and social activities.
• Luminus Network for New Americans – Luminus seeks to empower up to ten young undocumented immigrant girls or non-binary people in one to two Howard County High Schools seeking to pursue studies in STEM through comprehensive immigration representation and mentorship in pursuit of their educational goals.
• NonFudgery – The organization aims to become Howard County’s premier tech-focused non-profit, empowering educators and youth to excel in an AI-driven future.
• Sacral Roots – A certified peer support training and toolkit focused on maternal mental health for anyone affected by a maternal mental health crisis.
• Sobar, Inc. – Sobar Secure® is a program for bars, restaurants and entertainment venues to help them create a safe, profitable, adult non-alcoholic beverage program that will reduce alcohol consumption and provide options for people in recovery.
• Women’s Art Therapy Support Group – Create a monthly Art Therapy Support Group for women to create art and community in a therapeutic environment.

The Howard County Changemaker Challenge will be livestreamed on May 7 at 6 p.m.

The Changemaker Challenge began in Howard County in 2017 as a partnership between United Way of Central Maryland, the Horizon Foundation, the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County, and the Community Foundation of Howard County. For the first time, Howard County Government is providing $100,000 in grants to support changemakers in Howard County.