The mission of Next Generation Language Access is to provide professional interpreter training to bilingual and/or multilingual high school students to increase the number of professionally trained interpreters in community settings. High students enrolled in a career technical education (CTE) program at Patterson High School participated throughout the 23-24 school year as a pilot. The program will expand to Digital Harbor and Benjamin Franklin High School for the upcoming school year. This grant provided core operating support.

Helping Oppressed People Excel Baltimore (HOPE) is led by those with experience overcoming the challenges of returning to society after incarceration. HOPE empowers men and women to make the transition from incarceration to community successfully and permanently by working with returning citizens to remove barriers of reentry, such as resources for job and GED training; managing caseworker and other appointments; and developing new coping skills, accountability, life laws, and strong relationships to help deal with the stresses of life outside jail or prison, as well as deeper hurt and trauma. HOPE participants are guided by peer mentors, connected to needed resources, provided with bus passes, and attend weekly mentoring and support dinners. HOPE has served over 120 formerly incarcerated members with their local reentry with only two rearrests since its founding in 2017. This grant provided capacity building support.

The Fund for Educational Excellence plays a unique and vital role as Baltimore’s only public education fund. It serves as an independent partner, able to leverage deep insight into education needs and priorities, along with relationships with partners across Baltimore, to accelerate the pace of reform for public school students. This grant provided general operating support.