BALTIMORE — The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland has awarded $175,000 in grants to six community groups in its first distributions from a historic $1 million reparations fund.
The diocese announced Thursday that it will present grants of up to $30,000 to groups dedicated to “restoring African American and Black communities.” Three of the winners are based in Baltimore and three in other areas of the state.
The city awardees are St. Luke’s Youth Center, a collaborative of families in the Poppleton and Franklin Square communities of Central Southwest Baltimore that provides young people with “resources, life-enriching experiences and a safety net of support”; the Samaritan Community, a nonprofit organization that operates a food pantry and clothing store and offers counseling and other services from an office in Bolton Hill in West Baltimore; and Next One Up, a nonprofit group based at Belvedere Square in North Baltimore that provides support services to young men experiencing “significant obstacles” on their paths to success.
