Nine Baltimore City Student Project Finalists to Present Social Impact Program Ideas, Receive Funding of Up to $15,000 During Virtual Event on November 19
Philanthropy Tank Baltimore, a new initiative whose mission is to empower student changemakers to put creative solutions to action in addressing and improving social issues in their community, has selected nine student project finalists to present their social impact program ideas to a panel of Philanthropist Mentors on November 19. Each project will receive funding of up to $15,000 and a mentor to work with during the first year.
"We have an impressive roster of student changemakers, and accomplished mentors from the local community to guide them. Our purpose in everything we do is to help shape students’ leadership paths, and by connecting them with mentors from the local business community, we’re helping to set them and their projects up for success," said Joann Levy, executive director of Philanthropy Tank Baltimore."
Following a call for submissions earlier this year, students identified an issue that interested them, conceptualized a project and submitted it to Philanthropy Tank Baltimore for consideration.
The following student-lead projects, comprised of a team leader and additional students, were selected to present:
- Isaiah Dingle, 12th grade, Explo Foods
Dingle has plans to build a hydroponic garden close to Goodnow Community Center Police Athletic League (PAL) with the goal of providing fresh food options to families living in the Frankford neighborhood.
- D’Mond Davis, 11th grade, Hungry for Change
Davis wants to help prevent minority communities from potentially developing life-threatening diseases, by partnering with Heart Kitchen at Living Classrooms to host a meal preparation delivery service that will serve low income and minority communities in Baltimore.
- Jaynori Grissom, 12th grade, Life, Light, and Power Podcast
Grissom and his peers would like to use their own personal experiences to serve as a positive influence for younger youth by producing the Life, Light, and Power Podcast, a forum for youth in the City to discuss difficult issues and their resolutions.
- Diane Fakinlede, 12th grade, Linking to Brilliance
Fakinlede will work with 6-8th grade students at Calvin Rodwell Elementary/Middle School in order to provide direct mentorship to students and help them improve their financial literacy skills.
- Daion Walker, 10th grade, Memory Creation
Walker will use the adopt-a-lot process to build a memorial garden in the Upton neighborhood where youth can honor family members who have been lost to gun violence.
- Ania McNair, 12th grade, NOT FOR SALE
McNair seeks to launch NOT FOR SALE, a human trafficking initiative, to raise awareness and provide education and prevention resources to the Baltimore City community.
- Tayla Chambers, 11th grade, Play Your Way Initiative
Through the Play Your Way Initiative, Chambers hopes to build a new playground in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood and improve existing neighborhood playgrounds in the community.
- Esaiah Watson, 11th grade, RWE (Reducing Waste Entrepreneurship)
Through RWE (Reducing Waste Entrepreneurship), Watson strives to reduce waste in Baltimore and address illegal dumping and the excess waste being used in Baltimore by exploring ways for it to become a sustainable energy source and made into 3D printing material.
- Chassity Soto, 12th grade, We Are All Human
Soto plans to organize a resource fair for homeless individuals every two months providing hygiene stations and care packages. The fair will partner with organizations and businesses to assist with jobs, mental health referrals, wellness checkups, and applications for benefits.
In addition to funding of up to $15,000, each project will be matched with a mentor to help launch and implement their social impact program. The five Philanthropist Mentors from the Baltimore community will play an essential role in each of the student-lead project’s success. Kera Ritter, founder of the consulting firm The Ritter Group, and former chief executive officer of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake, and Anthony Rodgers, a real estate development executive with over 20 years of experience, will work as a mentorship team. The other mentors to join them include Traci Callendar, senior associate at the Annie E. Casey Foundation and former executive director of Higher Achievement, Stephanie Amponsah, vice president of Dream BIG Foundation with nine years of experience at Urban Alliance, and Kabir Goyal, a managing director and senior portfolio manager at Brown Capital Management. All mentors, through both work or volunteer experience, have shown a steadfast commitment to improving the lives of youth in Baltimore and beyond.
To accompany the mentor support, the student projects are being funded by a group of local Philanthropist Investors lead by Theo C. Rodgers, chairman and chief executive officer of A&R Development. "A bright future for Baltimore rests with the potential to tap into the creative minds and the innovative solutions that students bring to address social issues," said Rodgers. "I look forward to working with Philanthropy Tank to help develop a culture of giving amongst young people in Baltimore."
Philanthropy Tank Baltimore is made possible by a group of founding partners that include Alliance Bernstein, Allegis Group, David and Beth Swirnow, Fader Innovation Center, Footlick Family Foundation, T. Rowe Price Foundation, and Whiting Turner.
Philanthropy Tank started in 2015 in Palm Beach County, Fla., and announced its expansion to Baltimore in April 2020. Through its mission of Empowering CHANGEmakers™, Philanthropy Tank has distributed more than $500,000 in funding and provided hundreds of hours of mentorship for teens over the last five years. These changemakers have created and continue to run organizations that support music and art education, women's empowerment, the environment, pediatric cancer patients, and more. More information can be found here.
