Putting Good in the Neighborhood
Eighty local organizations have been awarded more than $753,000 this year through United Way of Central Maryland’s (UWCM) Neighborhood Grant program.
The program provides between $2,500 and $10,000 for projects that foster community connections and support the efforts of local leaders on a neighborhood level.
“These grants are instrumental in amplifying the power of local leaders and identifying and supporting change agents from within the communities we serve,” says Franklyn Baker, president and CEO of UWCM, in a news release.
One of the organizations awarded funding this year is The Cavanaugh House, Inc., a nonprofit in Baltimore County.
The Cavanaugh House provides free fashion apparel and upholstery training to aspiring designers and upholsterers. Individuals ages 17 and older can learn trade skills like home décor sewing, alterations and small batch production work through the organization’s apprenticeship programs.
After completing the skills training course, students enter Cavanaugh House’s paid apprenticeship program until job placement.
For more information or to apply for one of its trade programs, visit thecavanaghhouse.org. To see a list of the other 2023 Neighborhood Grant recipients, visit uwmc.org/nonprofit-funding.
The Goddard School Expands Access
The Goddard School opened its third Baltimore location this summer in Locust Point. The 15,000-square-foot learning center includes an indoor gymnasium with a rock-climbing wall, two playgrounds and hospital-grade filtration and sanitation gear to keep little learners healthy and safe.
“In Canton, there wasn’t enough supply to meet the demand for early childcare,” says Jim Wolfarth.
Wolfarth and his wife, Mary, are the owners of the new school, as well as Goddard’s location in Canton, which has been open for five years.
The Goddard School offers a play-based learning experience where children can explore and discover music and art while developing other skills and languages through games. Enrichment programs at Locust Point include yoga, American Sign Language lessons and Spanish immersion.
Located at 1111 Key Highway East, it has 14 classrooms and will serve more than 160 children from 6 weeks to 6 years old from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
A Wish Come True
The Baltimore Orioles recently had a new manager—for a day. Luke Brockway, a Make-A-Wish Foundation participant, is a 17-year-old boy from Catonsville with a love for baseball.
Luke is diagnosed with a serious heart condition, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), which forced him off the field. Prior to his diagnosis, he was an avid baseball player himself. Now, he stays in touch with his favorite sport in a different way, by managing his high school baseball team, volunteering at baseball camps and coaching Little League teams.
For Luke, the experience of managing his favorite team for the day showed him that despite his condition, he could work his way up to the major leagues by managing or coaching baseball.
That day, Luke got his own Orioles jersey and hat, sat in on Manager Brandon Hyde’s media lessons, watched batting practice from the field and participated in the lineup exchange.
“What I have is underlying,” Luke says of his condition, which wasn’t detected until he passed out on the field while playing hockey.
HCM is historically the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in athletes younger than 35, according to an article published in European Cardiology Review.
That’s why Luke emphasizes today that it’s important for young athletes to get screened. HCM can be found in people of all ages, and diagnosis is particularly important for young athletes. According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 1 in every 500 people have HCM, but many go undiagnosed.
