Press Release

August 31, 2022
Cardin, Van Hollen Announce Over $45 Million in Direct Investments for Greater Baltimore Region Included in Key Committee Legislation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) announced today the inclusion of $46,667,000 in direct federal funding for local projects across the Baltimore region within the Senate Appropriations Committee’s proposed annual funding legislation for fiscal year 2023. The projects encompass a wide array of local and regional priorities, ranging from public safety to infrastructure improvements to community and workforce development. Overall, the Senators included over $120 million in federal dollars directly for Maryland within the Committee’s proposed legislation.

A full list of the funds included by Senator Cardin in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations legislation is here. A full list of the funds included by Senator Van Hollen in the legislation is here. This legislation, released by the Committee as part of the annual Congressional Appropriations process, will proceed to consideration before the full Senate. Funding is not finalized until the Appropriations bills are passed by the Senate, reconciled with the House of Representatives, and signed by the President.

“I am proud to announce these Congressionally Directed Spending projects that meet the direct needs of nonprofit organizations and local governments across Maryland,” said Senator Cardin. “These earmarks advance long-planned and widely-supported construction and expansion projects for our nonprofit and faith based communities, bolster environmental and green space projects, support vulnerable citizens, enhance public safety and expand education opportunities for students. I stand united with the leadership of the greater Baltimore region in advocating for these projects and will continue to work towards the final enactment of this funding.”

“Securing direct federal investments for important local projects is one of my top priorities because they expand opportunity and improve crucial services for folks in our communities,” said Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “These resources will advance on-the-ground efforts to prepare people for good-paying jobs, improve public safety, strengthen our infrastructure, restore our environment, and so much more. I was proud to work with local leaders and community partners to identify these important investments for the Baltimore region, and I will keep fighting to get them across the finish line and into the hands of our local partners.”

The funding announced by the Senators includes:

  • $1.6 million for public safety, including for violence intervention and prevention programs led by the City of Baltimore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Over $2 million for economic development, including for Baltimore Community Lending Inc.’s Small Business Development & Resource Center, Maryland Institute College of Art’s initiative to boost the state’s creative economy, and construction of a four-story building to host a food eatery and office space in a current food desert
  • Over $5.5 million for affordable housing, including for transitional housing for homeless individuals, Jewish Community Services’ living group home renovations, converting vacant houses into affordable homes in the McElderry Park neighborhood, a safehouse for survivors of domestic violence and abuse, and Mary Harvin Community Development Corporation’s affordable housing construction program
  • Over $7.5 million for health care, including for Baltimore City’s initiatives to close racial disparities in infant mortality and strengthen community-based services for older adults, modernization of Sinai Hospital’s emergency department, Sheppard Pratt Health System’s residential crisis services center for mental health treatment, addiction recovery and support led by Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition, a seniors’ aging in place program led by Johns Hopkins University, and Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Pediatric Long Covid Clinic
  • $10.7 million for education and workforce development, including for AFRO-American Newspapers’ Digitization Preparation Fellowship; various training and degree programs as well as facility upgrades at Morgan State University, Coppin State University, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Notre Dame University of Maryland; Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake’s adult school and skill building center; Living Classrooms’ Job Training for Returning Citizens/Environmental Equity Tree Planting Project; the Transforming Lives Community Development Corporation’s STEM workforce pipeline program; and educational programming for dirt bike riders
  • Over $17 million for community development, historical, and cultural initiatives, including for the redevelopment of the site of East Baltimore’s former water pumphouse, Catholic Charities of Baltimore’s head start and community programming center, conversion of a former fire house into a mixed-use community center, reclamation of dilapidated land in Johnston Square for conversion­ into community amenities, a food pantry in Windsor Mill, New Shiloh’s Cultural Arts and Recreation Center, restoration of the WWII era S.S. John W. Brown, renovation of Arena Players Incorporated – the oldest continually operating African American community theater in the country – and the construction of a safe campus for young dirt bike riders.
  • Nearly $1.5 million for the environment, including for the Nature Conservancy’s forest conservation efforts and Goucher College’s solar panel installation

PUBLIC SAFETY

Project Name: Baltimore City Violence Intervention and Prevention

Applicant: City of Baltimore

Description: Funds will be used to advance the new Public Safety Accountability Dashboard and support intimate partner violence intervention activities. The new dashboard will incorporate traditional criminal justice data from multiple agencies and public surveys to better track violent crime and response and enhance transparency in public safety activities. The City will also undertake intimate partner intervention activities to address an increase in domestic violence-related homicides in the city by supporting survivors and reducing further harm.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $500,000

Project Name: Train the Trainer Interdisciplinary Violence Prevention Program

Applicant: University of Maryland, Baltimore

Description: Funds will be used to develop, implement, and evaluate an interdisciplinary training program for non-profit leaders, police officers, lawyers, and social workers on violence prevention. UMB plans to partner with Heartsmiles and the Black Mental Health Alliance to teach best practices in violence prevention, youth and community engagement, and avoiding interpersonal violence. By engaging with trusted community leaders and sharing effective strategies, the program will improve coordination on city-wide violence intervention and prevention.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $1,100,000

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Project Name: Baltimore Community Lending Small Business Development & Resource Center

Applicant: Baltimore Community Lending, Inc.

Description: Baltimore Community Lending has served the Baltimore community since 1989 with flexible financial resources. Funds will be used to acquire a facility to house their Small Business Development and Resource Center to serve as an accessible facility for community meetings, skill trainings, and other educational activities. The Center will provide co-working and business incubation space as well as legal services and support on accounting, procurement, insurance, and other technical assistance to develop start-up businesses. 

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $1,000,000

Project Name: Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network at the Maryland Institute College of Art

Applicant: Maryland Institute College of Art

Description: MICA’s Baltimore Creatives Acceleration Network (BCAN) supports artists, designers, creatives, and cultural entrepreneurs as they develop the businesses that fuel Maryland’s creative economy – a sector that added over $10 billion in economic impacts in our state in 2020 and sustained nearly 70,000 jobs. Funds will be used to expand BCAN’s Scale your Passion, Creative Coaching, and mobile programming to provide mentorship, technical assistance, incubation space, and coaching to entrepreneurs seeking to launch new ventures. Since the program’s creation in 2017, BCAN alumni have opened retail establishments, secured partnerships with national retailers, and even been featured in Oprah’s Holiday Gift Guide.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $1,000,000

Project Name: The HAVEN

Applicant: L.A.M.B., Inc., CDC

Description of Proposal: The HAVEN project will provide healthy food alternatives for residents living in a food desert, office space for conducting job training and internship opportunities, job training opportunities, and food pantry space for our continued food distributions. Funds will be used to erect a four-story food eatery and office space project that will serve more than 500 community residences, local businesses, and the District Court House, located in the North Avenue area of East Baltimore City.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $250,000

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Project Name: Druid House Transitional Housing Program

Applicant: Druid Heights CDC

Description of Proposal: The Druid House Transitional Housing Program assists single parents experiencing homelessness in developing more independent living skills and stability, as they move toward a more permanent living situation. Residents receive services, including counseling and assistance in finding employment, as well as a monthly food pantry and transportation. These funds will be used for the rehabilitation of 13 apartment units located within the Druid Heights urban renewal community.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $750,000

Project Name: JCS Community Living Group Home Renovations

Applicant: Jewish Community Services (JCS)

Description of Proposal: JCS provides a lifetime commitment of care, support, and guidance for people with disabilities in Maryland through 24-hour supervision, staffing, nursing, and other supportive services to 29 low and moderate income, developmentally disabled residents who live in one of nine Alternative Living units (ALU) in the Baltimore area. These federal funds will allow JCS to complete necessary renovations and accessibility modifications that will allow the residents to continue to live safely and remove barriers to mobility within the homes.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $760,000

Project Name: McElderry Park Affordable Homeownership Project

Applicant: Southeast Community Development Corporation

Description of Proposal: Since 2000, homeownership has declined in McElderry Park by almost 40% as landlords bought up properties for rentals. The pandemic subsequently sparked a home buying boom, making it more difficult for low-income buyers to compete for affordable homes. The Southeast CDC will use these federal funds to acquire vacant and distressed homes, then rehab and resell them at affordable prices to low-to-moderate-income homebuyers. Homebuyers will also have access to financial counseling and affordable loan products.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $600,000

Project Name: Rosa’s House

Applicant: L.A.M.B., Inc., CDC

Description of Proposal: This project will serve as a safe sanctuary for families, women, and children who have survived domestic violence and abuse. Funds will be used to build an emergency housing facility for 50-70 families, including 100 beds, playrooms for the children, community space, and a kitchen and dining area. Rosa’s House will also assist residents in finding permanent housing and other services and will provide individual and family counseling and healthcare services.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $250,000

Project Name: Southern Views Multi-Family Workforce Housing Project

Applicant: Mary Harvin Community Development Corporation

Description of Proposal: The Workforce Housing Project is part of the East Baltimore Revitalization Project, which aims to transform the neighborhood and encourage residents to stay long-term. Federal funds will be used to support construction of housing units for the Mary Harvin Transformation Center trainees, recent graduates, and their families, giving them a safe and stable home as they develop their skills and find new careers.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $3,259,000

HEALTH CARE

Project Name: B’more for Healthy Babies Expansion

Applicant: City of Baltimore

Description: B’more for Healthy Babies has created a national model to eliminate the Black-white racial disparity in infant mortality through a combination of intensive community outreach, linkage of mothers to community services, group-based programming to empower mothers and provide social support, and coordination across service providers to streamline referrals and access to services. Local sites hire people from the community to be Resource Moms and provide training and opportunities for mothers to become peer leaders. Since 2009, when B’more for Healthy Babies launched, the infant mortality rate in the City has decreased by 35%. Federal funds would allow the program to expand these vital services to eight additional neighborhoods: Allendale/Irvington/S. Hilton; Cherry Hill; Clifton-Berea; Greater Rosemont; Greenmount East; Orangeville/East Highlandtown; Pimlico/Arlington/Hilltop; and Southern Park Heights.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $425,000

Project Name: Baltimore Residential Crisis Services Center

Applicant: Sheppard Pratt Health System, Inc.

Description: An in-depth needs assessment by Sheppard Pratt and Greater Baltimore Medical Center has found that over a three-month period, 165 emergency room patients could have been better served in a Residential Crisis Service facility for mental health treatment if one had been available. 96 of those patients were admitted to the hospital because there was no other treatment option. To address this lack of appropriate care, Sheppard Pratt, GBMC, and the Maryland Department of Health are partnering to set up a Residential Crisis Services Center for Baltimore. GBMC has donated a site on North Eutaw Street, and federal funds will be used to complete renovations and make the program operational to serve the community.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $1,300,000

Project Name: Dee’s Place Wellness and Recovery Services

Applicant: Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition

Description: Every day individuals reach out to Dee’s Place for recovery support from addiction, which receives more than 5,000 calls a month. This number includes those who attend NA/AA/AIM support groups, receive support services such as referrals to treatment and housing, and those seeking one-on-one meetings with Certified Peer Recovery Specialists. Dee’s Place is committed to working with state agencies, the Baltimore City Health Department, numerous health institutions, community-based organizations, and other recovery centers to combat the opioid epidemic in Baltimore City. Federal funds will allow Dee’s Place to expand their services to increase the number of people participating in meetings and group sessions, peer-to-peer meetings, referrals to treatment and other supportive services; and expand hours of operation.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $600,000

Project Name: Johns Hopkins School of Nursing CAPABLE Baltimore City

Applicant: Johns Hopkins University

Description: CAPABLE is a person-directed, home-based program that empowers seniors to age in place. The program ranges four to five-months, integrating services from an occupational therapist (OT), a registered nurse (RN), and a handy worker who work together with an older adult to set goals and direct action plans that improve health, independence, and safety. Participants learn new skills, exercises, and how to work with additional tools/equipment/home modifications to make their daily routines more functional as they age. CAPABLE focuses on prevention and problem-solving, building skills that participants can use in the future. Federal funds would allow the Johns Hopkins HealthCare program to reach an additional 100 households within Baltimore City, yielding an estimated $5,000,000 in health care savings driven by reductions in both inpatient and outpatient treatment.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $473,000

Project Name: Pediatric Long-Covid Clinic

Applicant: Kennedy Krieger Institute

Description: Reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Children’s Hospital Association state that, as of March 24, 2022, there have been nearly 13 million pediatric cases of COVID-19, representing approximately 19% of the cases in the United States. In Maryland, the AAP estimates that as of March 24, 2022 there have been over 200,000 pediatric cases of COVID-19. Based on research estimates, it is expected that there are already 10,000-20,000 pediatric patients in Maryland who have had or will continue to have long-COVID. Evidence suggests that patients with long-COVID benefit from a multidisciplinary treatment approach. The Kennedy Krieger Institute has a long-standing history and proven excellence in multi- and interdisciplinary care models for children and adolescents. As a result, the Institute established the Pediatric Post COVID-19 Rehabilitation Clinic in June 2020 to treat young people with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 and symptoms lasting for more than a month. Federal funds will help support clinical operations and treatments, including for patients who are uninsured or underinsured.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $1,000,000

Project Name: Sinai Hospital Emergency Department Modernization

Applicant: Sinai Hospital of Baltimore

Description: Sinai Emergency Department (ED) is one of only four Level II Trauma Centers in the state and was initially designed to accommodate about 50,000 visits each year, far less capacity than is currently needed. Federal funds for the Sinai Hospital Emergency Department Modernization project will address the increasing rates of trauma patients by increasing the size and scope of all ED trauma bays and improve care for behavioral health patients by allowing separate and immediate access to the ED for these patients, affording them privacy and expedited entry into the facility. Additionally, this project will allow for the renovation of behavioral health rooms to provide for more comfortable settings for unavoidable long-term stays.

Project Location: Owings Mills, MD

Amount Included: $2,500,000

Project Name: Strengthen Community-Based Services for Older Adults in Baltimore City

Applicant: City of Baltimore

Description: National data has shown that social isolation is a prime risk factor for older adults. Many City residents are on waiting lists for in-home services. Federal funding will support a team of service coordinators in Baltimore City’s 13 senior centers who will reach out to older adults in senior housing buildings, private homes, and homeless shelters to connect them with services, resources, and community support systems. It will also pay for comprehensive assessments and case management for homebound City residents 65 and over who are not eligible for Medicaid, providing adult day care, chore service, personal care, medical supplies, home-delivered meals, and medical transportation.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $1,400,000

EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

Project Name: AFRO-American Newspapers’ Digitization Preparation Fellowship

Applicant: Afro Charities, Inc.

Description: The AFRO-American Newspapers is the oldest Black-owned business in Maryland and has an archive of approximately three million photographs, several thousand letters, back issues of the paper, and personal audio recordings of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Funds will be used to prepare the physical materials in the AFRO archives collection for future digitization so they can be available to the public. Afro Charities will recruit community members as Fellows to prepare the archive and digitize the collection.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $257,000

Project Name: B-360 STEM Programming and Educational Campus

Applicant: I am Mentality, Inc.

Description: Since 2017, B-360 has served over 7,000 students by turning Baltimore’s youth and young adults’ interest in dirt biking into an opportunity to educate them about the engineering design process and provide safe spaces to apply engineering and rider safety. They serve youth ages 5-15 with workshops on engineering, mechanics, robotics, coding, 3D printing, CAD, laser engraving, electricity, soldering, welding, team building, presentation, and entrepreneurship. Participants over the age of 16 learn similar training and programming but are also hired to work with younger students. Federal funds would be used to expand staffing and provide equipment for educational amenities like a 3D printing lab, auto body shop, and computer labs.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $2,000,000

Project Name: Center for Equitable Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

Applicant: Morgan State University

Description: Funds will be used to support the new Center for Equitable Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) at Morgan State University. The Center will address complex data projects related to the development, deployment, and verification of socially responsible and equitable AI that recognizes diverse needs and users.

Project Location: Baltimore, MD

Amount Included: $2,000,000

Project Name: Coppin State University Nursing Certification Support

Applicant: Coppin State University

Description: The COVID Pandemic proves just how critically important the need for qualified health care workers to serve the community, especially the City of Baltimore, which is home to some of our most vulnerable populations. Coppin State University’s nursing program provides significant personnel support to this community with highly qualified nurses. Federal funds will enable nursing students to participate in preparatory courses and register for needed certification exams.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $53,000

Project Name: Coppin State University Teaching Certification Support

Applicant: Coppin State University

Description: The State of Maryland continues to experience a shortage of highly-qualified teachers. In order to be certified, prospective teachers need to take and pass the Praxis Core and Praxis II tests. Federal funds will be used by Coppin State to provide students with prep courses for the exams at no or minimal costs and assist students in paying the exam fees so more are able to successfully reach certification.

Project Location: Baltimore, MD

Amount Included: $87,000

Project Name: Earth and Space Institute Upgrades

Applicant: University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Description: The Earth and Space Institute at UMBC supports multidisciplinary research and education in earth and space sciences and engineering. Funds will be used to upgrade laboratories to meet critical NASA certifications and enable the Institute to expand its capacity to undertake NASA and private missions while training students and young engineers.

Project Location: Baltimore, MD

Amount Included: $1,000,000

Project Name: Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake Excel Center

Applicant: Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc.

Description: Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake is working to open the Excel Center, an innovative school model that provides adults with a high school experience, the opportunity to access postsecondary credentials and skill-building experiences, and wraparound support services. Upon completion students will receive a state-recognized high school diploma. Each student is supported by a dedicated coach to provide guidance as they seek their diploma and credentials, and the site offers free childcare and transportation assistance. All students are encouraged to earn career certifications and/or college credit along with their high school diploma to emerge prepared to fill openings for good jobs- ones that offer complex, purposeful work alongside living wages, benefits and opportunities for advancement. Funds will be used to support program operations.

Project Location: Baltimore, MD

Amount Included: $1,400,000

Project Name: Living Classrooms’ Job Training for Returning Citizens/Environmental Equity Tree Planting Project

Applicant: Living Classrooms Foundation

Description: The Living Classrooms’ Job Training for Returning Citizens/Environmental Equity Tree Planting Project will work to annually train up to 24 apprentices who are returning citizens to Baltimore with skills in planting and care of trees that will be planted in disinvested communities in East Baltimore. Together, this will allow returning citizens to have a pathway to employment post-incarceration while providing community beautification and revitalization work.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $750,000

Project Name: Morgan State University Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences

Applicant: Morgan State University

Description: The need for African Americans in the medical profession is well documented, with black men representing less than 3% of all medical students nationally, a figure that has not changed in the five decades. Morgan State University seeks to address this through the creation of the first Osteopathic College of Medicine at an HBCU. In order to prepare students for admission into this program, the University will first establish a Master’s Level program in Biomedical Sciences. These federal funds will be used to support establishment of this new Master’s Level program, including equipping labs and classrooms, developing coursework, and recruiting faculty and staff.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $1,995,000

Project Name: Notre Dame University of Maryland Growing Primary Care and Health Professionals through Higher Education

Applicant: Notre Dame of Maryland University

Description: Since the founding of its School of Nursing in 1979, Notre Dame University of Maryland (NDUM) has provided high quality healthcare education. Its programming now includes a School of Pharmacy and Physician Assistant, Occupational Therapist, and Family Nurse Practitioner training. Federal funding will expand the Physician Assistant, Occupational Therapist, and Family Nurse Practitioner curriculum and purchase equipment and technology to ensure students are able to learn on the same tools they will use in practical settings.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $963,000

Project Name: STEMcx Workforce Development and College Readiness Program

Applicant: Transforming Lives Community Organization/STEMcx

Description: The Transforming Lives Community Development Corporation’s workforce pipeline program provides underserved students with STEM workforce experiences. Federal funds will help scale up the program to place 50 students in 8-week paid summer experiences working directly with local STEM companies and organizations, along with college readiness preparation programming, including mentoring from current college students taking STEM courses.

Project Location: Baltimore, MD

Amount Included: $195,000

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, HISTORICAL, AND CULTURAL INITIATIVES

Project Name: B-360 Educational Campus

Applicant: I Am Mentality Inc.

Description of Proposal: This project will establish a safe, permanent location for B-360’s education programming and allow youth and young adults to ride their dirt bikes in a safe place while learning about science, education, and math. With this new site, B-360 will solidify their impact in Baltimore with a multi-use facility and regional hub that provides transferable skills and culturally relevant education. The site will serve an estimated 3000+ youth and young adults in the space annually with educational programming and divert nonviolent offenders into job and career training programs.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $2,000,000

Project Name: Baltimore Pumphouse

Applicant: American Communities Trust, Inc.

Description of Proposal: Built 125 years ago, the Baltimore Pumphouse was the water pumping station for East Baltimore. Today it is a multi-phased project to bring retail and restaurants back to a distressed area for the first time in 50 years. The project includes five historical buildings. These federal funds will be used to complete renovation of the Historic Garage, Stables and Historic Machine Shop, which will house a manufacturing facility, catering business, and restaurant, as well as opportunities for job training and classes.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $3,200,000

Project Name: Catholic Charities Intergenerational Center

Applicant: Catholic Charities of Baltimore

Description of Proposal: Funds will be used to rehabilitate a building in Greater Rosemont to serve as an Intergenerational Center and support multiple generations of a family through Head Start classes and other community programming. While federal funds will primarily contribute to renovations to the section of the building that will house a Head Start program serving 120 children, the full project will include a community health clinic, behavioral health services for teens and adults, workforce development services, afterschool tutoring and summer programs, meeting rooms and community spaces, computer labs, a playground and open spaces for families, and two basketball courts.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $1,750,000

Project Name: Forest Park Renaissance

Applicant: WBC Community Development Corporation

Description of Proposal: Federal Funds will be used to acquire and revitalize the former fire station in Forest Park. The building will become the headquarters for the neighborhood associations and WBC CDC, meeting space for the delivery of housing and small business counseling and coaching services, and flex space with meeting rooms, technology lab, copy room, and business incubator suites to support the business district. The plans include the first and second floors with a third floor addition creating a mixed use property that is self-sufficient and serves the community.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $3,000,000

Project Name: Greenmount Park in Johnston Square

Applicant: Rebuild Metro, Inc.

Description of Proposal: The Johnston Square is an underserved neighborhood that is currently the site of the Johnston Square Gateway Project, an effort to build over 200 mixed-income homes and a series of new commercial spaces over the next five years. These federal funds will convert four acres of vacant and dilapidated land into a modernized and sustainable greenspace that will offer high-quality amenities like play spaces, fitness stations, and shade trees to the Johnston Square community and provide a high-quality lit practice field for St. Frances Academy’s football team. The park will be designed to serve as a place for Johnston Square families to play and exercise and as a locus of community gatherings, events, and other social activities like farmers markets and festivals for local residents. The project will also serve to connect the neighborhood to the Jones Falls Trail and East Coast Greenway, allowing greater access to Penn Station, Druid Hill Park, and other city amenities.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $500,000

Project Name: Liberty Community Development Corporation Food Pantry

Applicant: Liberty Community Development Corporation

Description of Proposal: The Liberty Community Development Corporation operates a food pantry that serves individuals and families experiencing food insecurity in the Randallstown, Gwynn Oak and Windsor Mill areas of Baltimore County. These funds will be used for the planning, design, construction, repair, renovation and reconstruction of the existing food pantry to expand and improve its services.

Project Location: Windsor Mill, MD

Amount Included: $400,000

Project Name: New Shiloh Cultural Arts and Recreation Center

Applicant: New Shiloh Community Development Corporation

Description of Proposal: Funds will be used to support the construction of the New Shiloh Cultural Arts and Recreation Center, which is the 8th and final project in the development plan for New Shiloh Village. The Center will service the Village and Greater Mondawmin area with basketball camps, track and field training, weight and exercise rooms, tutoring programs, and mentoring for local youth. It will also house existing programs, including the Carter Children Center for tutoring, the Mentoring Male Youth Program, Senior Exercise Programs, the YMCA Head Start Program, and health screening provided by Bon Secours Health Care.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $2,000,000

Project Name: Project Liberty Ship, S.S. John W. Brown for Drydock

Applicant: Project Liberty Ship, S.S. John W. Brown

Description: The S.S. John W. Brown, berthed in Baltimore, educates visitors about the vital role of the wartime American merchant marine, Naval Armed Guard, and shipbuilders – three largely unheralded groups that were instrumental in the Allied victory in World War II. Visitors can participate in training classes and experience living history aboard the authentically restored and sailing S.S. John W. Brown. Federal funding would support drydocking the ship to allow its hull and fixtures to be inspected, preserved, and kept in good operational condition. It will also give U.S. Coast Guard personnel the opportunity to inspect those parts of the ship that are not available when it is waterborne in order to continue safe operations.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $500,000

Project Name: Renovation of Arena Players Incorporated

Applicant: Arena Players Incorporated

Description of Proposal: Located in West Baltimore, Arena Players Incorporated is the oldest continually operating African American Community theatre in the United States. API’s current location is deteriorating and these federal funds will be used for comprehensive upgrades to the main performance space, a complete re-envisioning of the auxiliary spaces on the second and third floors, and immediate attention to the exterior, including ADA accessibility.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $4,000,000

CHESAPEAKE BAY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Project Name: Healthy Trees, Healthy Cities, Healthy Chesapeake Program

Applicant: The Nature Conservancy

Description: Healthy Trees, Healthy Cities, Healthy Chesapeake is an urban forestry health assessment that will increase forest conservation in Baltimore, work closely with the community to identify high-impact planting sites, and offer STEM-based workforce trainings for green jobs. Federal funds will be used for community outreach, science-based workforce development training, data collection and climate model integration, and science communication.

Project Location: Baltimore City, MD

Amount Included: $700,000

Project Name: Solar Panel Installation at Goucher College

Applicant: Goucher College

Description: Funds will be used to support the installation of three acres of photovoltaic solar panels (PVP) across campus grounds and rooftops, which will allow the college to significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels and reduce its electricity costs by $2 million a year.

Project Location: Baltimore County, MD

Amount Included: $750,000

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