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The Weinberg Foundation has a lot of news to share! We hope you will take a few minutes to read our latest e-news:
Library Project celebrates grand openings of Year 2 school libraries, additional $5 million in funding
 The Weinberg Foundation recently celebrated the grand openings of the Year 2 school libraries redesigned and renovated as part of the Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project. The newest libraries are located at The Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School and Arlington Elementary/Middle School. The Weinberg Foundation has increased its $5 million commitment to create 12 school libraries by 2015 and has now committed a total of $10 million for as many as 24 new public school libraries.
The official grand opening took place on Monday, September 23 at Arlington Elementary/Middle School. This event featured several speakers, including Governor Martin O’Malley, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and Baltimore City Public Schools Interim CEO Tisha Edwards. In addition to showcasing the transformed library spaces, the Foundation also partnered with Maryland Food Bank and Heart of America to provide mobile food pantries at both schools, staffed with more than 60 volunteers. Just over 380 people attended the food pantries, while approximately 220 students brought home 25 pounds of food each.
The Weinberg Library Project now involves more than 30 business, nonprofit, and government partners working with Baltimore City Public Schools. Extending that public-private collaboration, the Foundation will also support the establishment of the Mayor’s Reading Club, a program intended to improve vocabulary and literacy skills of students from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. The Reading Club program will not only focus on the four schools associated with the Mayor’s Third Grade Reads initiative, but also the Weinberg Library Project schools.
The next three Baltimore City schools selected for the third year of the Library Project include Harford Heights Elementary School, Morrell Park Elementary/Middle School, and Windsor Hills Elementary/Middle School.
To see the Year 2 Library Project video, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjF-OfGgdRU&feature=c4-overview&list=UUoRvym6Alunxp7aNGqQuzmw and to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings of the Library Project,visit www.baltimorelibraryproject.org.
Weinberg Foundation supports Enoch Pratt Restoration with $3 million grant
 The Library Project grand openings celebration also included another major announcement. The Weinberg Foundation, in continued efforts to support learning and literacy, has awarded a $3 million grant to help fund the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s once in a generation endeavor—a $100 million capital project to restore and upgrade its Central Branch which is located in an 80 year old building in downtown Baltimore.
The $3 million grant includes funding for a new Children’s Learning Center in the Central Library. The Center will focus on children, ages birth to 12, and their caregivers. This area will feature interactive spaces where parents and guardians can observe children without disrupting the learning environment, but also learn together.
This new capital grant is the latest chapter in a growing partnership between the Weinberg Foundation and Enoch Pratt Free Library. Each new library created as part of the Weinberg Library Project includes an Enoch Pratt Parent Place - a spot for parents and guardians to read a newspaper, connect via computer to the Enoch Pratt system, read books selected specifically for their school community, or just spend a little quality time with their children. Last November, the Weinberg Foundation provided the largest grant of its kind in the United States - $350,000—to expand the Pratt’s collection of eBooks and eReaders.
Employee Giving Program awards total of $300,000 to 15 Maryland nonprofits
 The Weinberg Foundation celebrated its 7th Annual Employee Giving Program Wednesday, September 25, 2013. This program, initiated in 2007, allows Foundation employees to support a cause of their choice, consistent with the Foundation’s mission and grant guidelines, by nominating an organization to receive a grant. This year 15 employees each presented a check for $20,000—a $10,000 increase—to 15 Maryland nonprofits for a total of $300,000:
- Alliance for Career and Education, Inc.
- Alzheimer’s Association, Central Maryland Chapter
- Bluford Drew Jemison STEM Academy
- Camp Sunrise, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center
- Casey Cares Foundation, Inc.
- The Community Foundation for Montgomery County
- Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore City
- Family & Children’s Services of Central Maryland
- First Fruits Farm, Inc.
- The Freedom Center
- Maryland Family Network, Inc.
- Maryland Foster Youth Resource Center
- Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy
- Shared Support Maryland, Inc.
- Valley House, Inc.
$3 million Workforce Development matching grant initiative launched to support programs in North America and Israel
 The Weinberg Foundation is providing up to $3 million to be matched as part of a major workforce development initiative in North America and Israel. This initiative, administered by Jewish Funders Network (JFN), seeks to encourage support of service providers, primarily in the United States and Israel, who focus on career training and advancement.
The goal of the 1:1 match program is to increase the number of funders, as well as the amount of grant dollars, supporting organizations and projects that address unemployment and underemployment for both the Jewish and non-Jewish communities.
New, easier way to RSVP for the Weinberg Foundation’s Annual Community Gathering!
We hope you have received your invitation for this year’s Annual Community Gathering!
This year’s event will be held Tuesday, November 19, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Beth El Congregation, 8101 Park Heights Avenue, Pikesville, Maryland.
The Weinberg Foundation will celebrate its mission, partnerships, and accomplishments of 2013. This year’s featured speaker will be Jennie Chin Hansen, CEO of the American Geriatrics Society (AGS).
If you would like to RSVP, please contact Yvonne Sporrer at ysporrer@hjweinberg.org or 410-654-8500, ext. 213.
More than $8 million in additional new grants announced!
Older Adults
This is the single largest area of grantmaking by The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The Foundation remains committed to providing support to older adults to live dignified, meaningful, and engaged lives in the community and to maintain their independence for as long as possible.
Meals on Wheels of Central Maryland, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$200,000 program grant over two years ($100,000 per year) to expand and restructure case management services for older adult clients who are at risk of premature institutionalization. http://www.mealsonwheelsmd.org/
Pesach Tikvah-Hope Development, Inc.
Brooklyn, NY
$150,000 program grant over two years ($65,000/$85,000) to support the development of a supportive community and to provide training and education to caregivers that will allow clients to age in place averting or delaying hospitalization. http://www.pesachtikvah.org/index.php
P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds
The Alzheimer’s Association of Israel (EMDA)
Ramat Gan, Israel
$120,000 program grant over two years ($50,000/$70,000) to implement Lituf II, an individualized program that provides counseling sessions and support groups to family caregivers of people with age-related dementia.* http://emda.netmaster.co.il/
Workforce Development
The Weinberg Foundation is committed to helping people to help themselves by obtaining and keeping employment, preferably on a career track. The Foundation funds programs which provide the “life-tools” for clients to lift themselves from poverty into solid self-support.
Volunteers of America of the Chesapeake, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$750,000 capital grant to support the construction and renovation of the new Residential Re-Entry Center (RRC) that will provide improved housing and comprehensive case management services to ex-offenders. http://www.voachesapeake.org/
Per Scholas, Inc.
Bronx, NY
$600,000 operating grant over three years ($200,000 per year) to support a 15-week, immersive IT (information technologies) Professional Training Program for low-income individuals as a pathway to employment. http://perscholas.org/
Cara Program
Chicago, IL
$450,000 operating grant over three years ($150,000 per year) to support this organization that assists homeless and at-risk populations in securing and sustaining quality employment. http://www.thecaraprogram.org/
Jewish Vocational and Career Counseling Service
San Francisco, CA
$150,000 program grant over two years ($75,000 per year) to expand a healthcare-focused employment training program for low-income individuals seeking new skills and meaningful work. http://www.jvs.org/index.shtml
Basic Human Needs & Health
The Foundation supports programs that meet the basic needs of individuals, families, and communities. These include programs in the areas of homeless services, economic assistance, food security, and health.
Food Gatherers
Ann Arbor, MI
$400,000 capital grant to expand the warehouse so that the organization can increase its food distribution, over half of which will be proteins and fresh produce. http://www.foodgatherers.org/
Central Illinois Foodbank
Springfield, IL
$300,000 capital grant to renovate and transform a bottling plant into a food bank that will increase food distribution to families in need. https://www.centralilfoodbank.org/
American Heart Association of the Mid-Atlantic, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$45,000 capital grant to support the renovation of a commercial kitchen that will provide an instructional area for the Cooking for Life program. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/
Bridges to Housing Stability, Inc.
Columbia, MD
$100,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($50,000 per year) to support Bridges Alliance, a program that offers below-market rental housing for low-income workers. http://www.bridges2hs.org/
Capital Area Immigrants Rights Coalition
Washington, DC
$50,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($25,000 per year) to support efforts that will provide legal services for more than 300 adult immigrant men and women detained in Maryland. http://www.caircoalition.org/
Human Services Programs of Carroll County Inc.
Westminster, MD
$30,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($15,000 per year) to support the Women and Children’s Shelter that houses up to 23 women and children each night in a safe, home-like environment including food and access to programs intended to increase income and stability. http://www.hspinc.org/
Manna House Incorporated
Baltimore, MD
$25,000 Maryland Small Grant to support this organization that provides nutritious breakfasts as well as drop-in services to homeless individuals and families. http://www.mannahouseinc.org/
Disabilities
The Foundation supports organizations and programs that respect and promote the independence, integration, individual choice, and civil rights of children and adults with intellectual, physical, and sensory disabilities as necessary preconditions for a good life.
The Auditory Oral School of New York
Brooklyn, NY
$300,000 capital grant to support the construction of a specialty wing for deaf children that will include an occupational and physical therapy center, a library and literacy center, and a sensory integration room. http://www.oraldeafed.org/schools/aosny/
Main Street Housing, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$197,000 capital grant to purchase and renovate three properties that will house at least nine residents with psychiatric disabilities as well as their families. http://www.mainstreethousing.org/
The Arc Baltimore, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$160,000 program grant over two years ($80,000 per year) to support this organization’s Customized Employment Program that provides job evaluation, training, and development services for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. http://www.arcofbaltimore.org/
Community Support Services, Inc.
Gaithersburg, MD
$62,000 capital grant over two years ($40,000/$22,000) to support the purchase of a townhouse that will provide supportive services for adults with severe autism. http://www.css-md.org/
Education
The Weinberg Foundation supports organizations and programs committed to ensuring that children are ready for kindergarten; achieve grade-level academic performance in reading, math, and science; and graduate from high school prepared for college and the workplace. This portfolio includes an emphasis on STEM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Math) literacy, out-of-school time, early childhood development, and child and family safety.
Tikva Corporation
Ukraine and Former Soviet Union
$100,000 operating grant to support the Tikva Children’s Home that rescues homeless, abandoned, and abused Jewish children. http://www.tikvaodessa.org/home/
Children’s Advocacy Center of Northeastern Pennsylvania
Scranton, PA
$75,000 capital grant to purchase equipment for this organization that serves youth victims of abuse and neglect. http://cacnepa.org/
$15,000 operating grant to support the daily operations of this organization that serves youth victims of abuse and neglect. http://cacnepa.org/
New Pathways, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$100,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($50,000 per year) to support this organization’s job readiness program that provides youth who are aging out of the foster care system with pre-career training, an internship in a field of interest, and ongoing support from a team of career coaches. http://www.newpathways.org/
Asian American LEAD (Leadership Empowerment and Development for Youth and Family)
Washington, DC
$50,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($25,000 per year) to provide after-school mentoring programs to underserved middle and high school youth. http://www.aalead.org/
Tahirih Justice Center
Baltimore, MD
$50,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($25,000 per year) to support programs and services intended to help women and girls fleeing gender-based violence gain access to justice. http://www.tahirih.org/baltimore/
Radcliffe Creek School, Inc.
Chestertown, MD
$40,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($20,000 per year) to support the Horizons Summer Program that provides targeted, academic support to low-income students with disabilities, kindergarten through eighth grade. http://www.radcliffecreekschool.org/
Village Learning Place, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$40,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($20,000 per year) to support this organization’s Let’s Invest in Neighborhood Kids (LINK) afterschool and summer enrichment programs that serve low-income students, pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. http://www.villagelearningplace.org/
Umar Boxing Program, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$25,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($12,500 per year) to support No Hooks Before Books, a program that provides academic development, positive role models, and boxing training for at-risk youth. http://nohooksbeforebooks.org/
General Community Support
This program area includes support for Jewish causes worldwide and local community development efforts such as renovation or construction of affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and community improvement in low-income neighborhoods and grants to organizations that distribute funds to many of the Foundation’s priority areas.
Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore City
Baltimore, MD
$3,000,000 capital grant over three years ($1,000,000 per year) to support the renovation of this organization’s central library. http://www.prattlibrary.org/
Fisher House Foundation, Inc.
Fairfield, CA
$500,000 capital grant to support the construction of a second Fisher House at Travis Air Force Base that will provide housing to more than 260 families of active duty military and veterans receiving critical care each year at military medical centers. http://www.fisherhouse.org/
Catholic Social Services
Anchorage, AK
$220,000 capital grant to support the purchase and renovation of a new facility for Clare House, an emergency shelter for homeless women and children that provides daily meals and referrals for child care, substance abuse, affordable, permanent housing, employment, and continuing educational opportunities. http://www.cssalaska.org/
Roberta’s House, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$60,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($30,000 per year) to support this organization that provides bereavement support to children and their families in the wake of a traumatic loss. http://www.robertashouse.org/
* All grants with an asterisk are grants paid to P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds with the recommendation, but not requirement, that they be distributed as described.
Please help us to update your contact information
 The Weinberg Foundation is launching a major upgrade in communicating with our many friends and associates, and we hope you will take just a few seconds to assist us. If your contact information has changed within the past year, please share your new information by emailing us at updatecontact@hjweinberg.org. Thank you for your help to ensure an updated Weinberg Foundation database and, most importantly, continued connection with important Foundation news and events.
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