Helping Up Mission (HUM) received a donation of $100,000 from CFG Bank, made possible through the generosity of owner Jack Dwyer. The donation enables HUM to make the facility renovations necessary to re-open its emergency shelter program which closed in March 2020 due to health and safety concerns associated with COVID-19.
The contribution from CFG Bank has allowed HUM to make the necessary COVID-related facility renovations, including changes to restrooms and the air-handling system, to safely allow men experiencing homelessness to shelter at HUM. Additionally, by partnering with the Baltimore City Health Department and the GBMC Health Partners Clinic at Helping Up Mission, all current HUM clients and those entering as Overnight Guests are being provided with COVID-19 vaccinations.
Robert Gehman, HUM’s Chief Executive Officer, shared, “This generous gift from CFG Bank and Jack Dwyer will enable us to re-open our Overnight Guest Services and provide some of Baltimore’s most vulnerable residents with a warm bed, two hot nutritious meals, showers, toiletries, clean clothes and, most importantly, with hope. Consequently, when an Overnight Guest realizes their personal need for recovery, they may apply to our year-long residential recovery program right there on the spot.”
HUM’s Overnight Guest Services has been in operation since 1885 but was forced to suspend services last spring so the dormitory could be used to isolate and COVID-test new applicants to the year-long recovery program.
Bill Wiedel, CEO of CFG Bank, said, “We were more than happy to make this donation. We want to help our community, and the work Helping Up Mission is doing is so important. Especially in this pandemic, it is great to know they can reopen their emergency shelter program and give these men a chance at recovery and hope.”
ABOUT HELPING UP MISSION (helpingupmission.org)
Helping Up Mission (HUM) is an IRS designated 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization founded in 1885 to meet the needs of Baltimore City’s and the surrounding counties’ poor and underserved residents. For 136 years, HUM has developed deep roots among the inner city’s poor and homeless, helping countless individuals overcome poverty, homelessness, and addiction. HUM is located on the 1000 block of East Baltimore Street in the Historic Jonestown community of Baltimore City.
HUM serves 530 people daily in eight programs, ranging from Emergency Overnight Shelter to the largest long-term recovery program in Maryland, the one-year Spiritual Recovery Program. HUM’s programming is guided by our mission statement : Helping Up Mission provides hope to people experiencing homelessness, poverty, or addiction by meeting their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs.
ABOUT CFG Bank (www.thecfgbank.com)
CFG Bank provides commercial, personal, and online banking solutions to the Mid-Atlantic business community and national healthcare market. Locally owned and operated, the bank dates back to 1927 when La Corona Building and Loan Association, Inc., was formed to meet the financial needs of Highlandtown and East Baltimore residents. Though the name has changed since 1927, CFG Bank prides itself on delivering big-bank capabilities and expertise with relationship-driven community bank service. The bank is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, with branches in Lutherville/Towson and Baltimore City.
