All Posts Tagged With: "Local Advocacy"

Greater Homewood Community Corporation (GHCC) is a non-profit organization serving 40 different neighborhoods in and around the north central areas of Baltimore City. Founded in 1969 to strengthen and safe guard communities the corporation helps to improve education, youth development, adult literacy and economic development and community revitalization.

Holistic Life Foundation is a registered non-profit that was found in 2001 by graduates of the University of Maryland College Park. The Foundation offers youth development and after school programs that include yoga classes hosted at the Druid Hill YMCA, mentoring workshops with a one on one approach, environmental advocacy with hands on watershed restoration and community clean-ups.

"In a viable neighborhood, neighbors ask themselves what they can do or provide for one another, and they find answers that they and their place can afford. This, and nothing else, is the practice of neighborhood." -Wendell Berry, "The Idea of a Local Economy," Orion magazine, 2002.

In recent years, Baltimoreans have enjoyed a steady growth of earth-friendly businesses. Among the many pleasures and benefits of buying locally: merchants and restaurateurs become your friends and your money stays in the community. A study in Maine by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance found that local businesses have a much greater positive impact on their economy than the big box chains. For every $100 spent in a big box store, only $14 stays in the local economy. By contrast, $100 spent in a local business results in $45 staying locally.

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The Sierra Club – Greater Baltimore Group, the local branch of the well-respected national organization, includes Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Harford County. The group spreads its conservation message via hiking outings, lectures, and seasonal events of both the urban and rural variety. Volunteers are consistently sought to lead outdoor programs, assist in fundraising campaigns, petition lawmakers to enact eco-friendly policies, and, on a microcosmic level, make conscious, environmentally aware changes in their own home- and work-spaces.

1000 Friends of Maryland seeks primarily to fight poorly planned development. They work to protect Maryland’s natural areas and waterways, strengthen neighborhoods, and restore Maryland’s cities through education, technical assistance, and advocacy. Protecting historic and natural resources, assuring efficient transportation choices, and supporting development that takes the public’s interest into account are all part of their commitment.

Based in Reisterstown, Md., Garden Harvest works to alleviate hunger and improve nutrition through the establishment of community farms, both nationally and internationally. With its “Milk and Egg Distribution,” “Donate Farm Equipment,” and “Donate a Farm Animal” programs, Garden Harvest helps provide impoverished areas — particularly in India and the Appalachian region of the U.S. — with the necessary agricultural tools to live comfortably.