CFAAC recently awarded a total of $192,000 Fund for Anne Arundel (FFAA) grants to four Anne Arundel County organizations that are doing their part to help improve the physical, mental, and behavioral health of our county’s children. There are tremendous unmet health needs in Anne Arundel County, and these grants will aid nonprofits that are working to close the gap of inequities that exist in the county.

“Many children in Anne Arundel County still struggle with basic healthcare needs and the pandemic heightened the deeper trends of inequality in the form of less access to physical, mental and behavioral health programs, healthy foods, and family support,” said CFAAC President and CEO Mary Spencer. “These grants will provide financial resources to four worthy nonprofits that serve Anne Arundel County children so they can continue programs or launch new initiatives that prioritize the health of children and families. The grants will also help to ensure equitable access to comprehensive primary health care services for children; promote an understanding of and treatment for improved mental health; support families in accessing healthy food; and encourage regular preventative health, developmental, and behavioral screenings.”

This year, grants made through the Fund for Anne Arundel were directed to nonprofits who serve our county’s children by helping them thrive in school; improve their health, both mental and physical; and enhance the intangible – their wellbeing and happiness.

The most recent Fund for Anne Arundel grant recipients are Kingdom Kare, Inc. and its West County Support Center, the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, a collaboration between Arundel Lodge Inc. and Charting Careers, and Owensville Primary Care d/b/a Bay Community Health.

Since 2020, CFAAC’s Fund for Anne Arundel has distributed a total of $354,250 in grants to nine unique nonprofits that serve the county’s most vulnerable and at-risk children. In May, the Community Foundation announced that two CFAAC funds, the Crosby Foundation, and the Peterman Ponatoski Family Foundation, each contributed $25,000 to the FFAA to kick off a matching gift challenge to reach or exceed a $100,000 fundraising goal. Gifts will be matched dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000 by the Crosby Foundation, and the Peterman Ponatoski Family Foundation to help raise $100,000 and increase the amount of funding that the foundation has available to strategically align its grantmaking with the most critical needs in the county. Donate here. 

Here is a summary of what the nonprofits that received the grants hope to accomplish with their funding:

• Kingdom Kare, Inc. was awarded a grant to continue to support its initiative – the West County Family Support Center. The Family Support Center’s goal is to nurture children and their families, so they feel empowered to pursue their dreams. The center, which serves high school teen parents, expectant mothers, and parents of children ages 0-3 years old, provides prevention-oriented programs such as parenting classes, mental health services, and adult education (GED, ESOL). Other services offered include health education, home visiting, parent support and involvement, child health and development services, parent support groups, career training, family enrichment services, case management, peer support, and service coordination. Kingdom Kare’s target population are the low income, teen parents living along the corridor of two identified zip codes with few resources in North and West Anne Arundel County.
• The YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County was awarded a grant to support its Healthy Relations and Mental Health for Youth Initiative, which will fund individual, family, and group counseling services with youth, under the age of 18, who have been affected by intimate partner violence. As the only comprehensive provider of domestic violence and sexual assault services in Anne Arundel County, the YWCA plays a critical role in supporting those who are most vulnerable at a time when their lives are in danger. The YWCA plans to provide on-going individual traditional and play therapy counseling services to youth victims and families affected by domestic violence and sexual assault, provide teen support and psychoeducation group programming, and analyze service and survey data to complete required statistical reports.
• Arundel Lodge Inc. and Charting Careers were awarded a grant to support its ‘Partnership to Increase Health for Families Living in Annapolis Public and Subsidized Housing.’ The new partnership between Arundel Lodge, Inc. and Charting Careers will focus on improving the physical, mental, and behavioral health of children and families. Working in tandem with Charting Careers, Arundel Lodge will offer classes and social work services to strengthen parent-child relationships and promote the overall wellbeing of families impacted by inequities. Efforts will include home visits to assess mental health needs and status of preventative health care as well as follow up to create a plan to address these needs; social-emotional development workshops for youth to increase protective factors; parent and child cooking, art, and yoga classes; nighttime routine class; linkage to increase families’ access to healthy food and resources; and positive discipline workshops. Training will be provided to Charting Careers staff and volunteers so they are prepared to help address the impact of mental health issues and substance abuse through education and referral.
• Owensville Primary Care d/b/a Bay Community Health (BCH) was awarded a grant to open and operate a healthcare facility at a central Lothian location. Bay Community Health, a 501c3 incorporated organization that provides primary medical care, behavioral health services, and enabling and outreach services in Southern Anne Arundel County, currently operates two facilities, one in West River and one in Shady Side. According to the 2018 Community Needs Assessment, Poverty Amidst Plenty VI: On the Road to Progress for All. report, Lothian was described as a medically underserved area with high need and few resources. By opening a facility at a central Lothian location, Bay Community Health believes it can positively impact and address the healthcare needs of the greater Lothian area through mitigating the distance barrier to healthcare access. Bay Community Health anticipates servicing a primary and behavioral health patient population of 500 unique individuals by the end of the first operational year and plans to grow accordingly by patient need thereafter.