Loyola awarded $267,000 in grants to support improvements at location of future community hub
蓝莓视频 has been awarded $267,000 in grants to support capital improvements to a small building on the Loyola-owned property at 5104 York Road in Greater Govans that is home to Loyola鈥檚 York Road programming. Loyola was awarded a $167,000 grant from the France-Merrick Foundation and a $100,000 grant from the Middendorf Foundation.
The improvements to the property are part of a larger effort towards creating a new center for neighborhood resilience, which will also include the existing programs of the York Road Initiative and a new community-university space. The University's 5104 York Road property is the home of both emerging spaces, located on opposite sides of the lot.
The grants will support new storefront windows and doors, exterior cladding, and improved lighting. They will also support the installation of a water bottle filling station and outlets and USB ports on the building鈥檚 exterior, both of which will be available to the community.
鈥淲e are grateful for these investments in enhancing our current York Road office,鈥� said Gia Grier McGinnis, Dr.PH., executive director of neighborhood resilience and community engagement. 鈥淔or over a decade, this site has been a community-university gathering place and a launch point for volunteer engagement through food access and neighborhood greening programs such as our and the York Road Community Day program. In more recent years, we launched the , and we saw an even greater demand for access to high-quality food and a safe and sustainable way for people to access drinking water and a charging point on-site.鈥�
The property has been the heart of the University鈥檚 commitment to place-based community engagement in Greater Govans and the institution鈥檚 food-access work. These upgrades will help position the building as a dedicated and hands-on new base for Loyola鈥檚 food equity and environmental work along York Road, as the team moves across the lot to the new larger and more flexible space in the community-university center.
The is one of Maryland鈥檚 largest private foundations, with an annual grant budget of approximately $10 million. The Foundation strives to improve and enrich the quality of life in the state of Maryland, and especially Baltimore City, by investing in nonprofit organizations to grow, strengthen and support vibrant and healthy communities.
鈥淲e were pleased to be able to support the renovations, and more importantly the work Loyola is doing in the community,鈥� said Amy M. Gross, president of the France-Merrick Foundation. 鈥淭his grant, and Loyola鈥檚 work, clearly meets our philanthropic interest in leveraging the intellectual and economic capital of higher education anchor institutions to positively impact their surrounding communities by assisting with strong community engagement, neighborhood revitalization, local hiring, and other economic development partnerships.鈥�
The was founded in 1953 by J. William Jr. and Alice Carter Middendorf to support institutions and projects in their areas of interest within the State of Maryland. Their focus includes: education, healthcare, social services, the environment, historic preservation, and arts and culture. Since 1972 the Middendorf Foundation has awarded grants totaling in excess of $66 million.
"The Middendorf Foundation is proud to support Loyola University's work in the Govans community,鈥� said Havaca Ganguly, executive director of the Middendorf Foundation. 鈥淭hrough the hub and farmers market, Loyola is addressing basic human needs and expanding access to fresh, healthy food in an area that has long been considered a food desert."