You’re viewing the 2021 awardees.
Weaver Awards 2022 will announce awardees in just a few weeks.
Some people weave their communities together. They are the ones we all trust, the people we count on to get things done and to see the best in everyone. We call them Weavers and here’s our chance to recognize and celebrate the Weavers in Baltimore.
Congratulations to Baltimore’s 2021 Weaver Awardees!
Why an award?
The most important people in our communities are those who build trust and connect us. They may be the parent next door, the super-friendly high schooler, the energetic retiree. They make us feel good about ourselves and each other. We created the Weaver Awards to recognize them.
From 100 applications, a selection committee of locals chose the 10 finalists to receive $7,000 each to complete a project that connects us and makes us feel we belong here. Meet our Awardees!
2021 awardees
Aida Medina
of Highlandtown leads Gallery Church Baltimore, where she uses her bilingual skills to connect teen moms, newcomers and families in need to free childrens clothes, diapers and formula
Ashley Esposito
works for the State of Maryland and co-founded the Village of Violetville, Inc. to connect people and meet neighborhood needs from vaccinations to school supplies to beautification projects and community activities
Audrey Carter
of the Oliver neighborhood started the Team-up to Clean-up Project and will use the funds to beautify the community, offer youth stipends, and start a farmers’ market to address the fresh food shortage
Danielle Battle
of Cherry Hill founded RICH-Restoring Inner City Hope and will use the award for youth enrichment classes such as woodworking, STEM, conflict resolution, anti-bullying through improvisational comedy, mentoring and photography
Duane “Shorty” Davis
works throughout Baltimore on his project Good in the Hood, BBQ’ing to bring people together at family-friendly events so they can connect, share food and ideas
Elijah Miles
works with Tendea Family in McElderry Park and is starting the year-round Tendea’s Servant Leaders Program for teens with a paid summer learning institute
Geraldine Taylor
and Arica Gonzalez
of the Panway neighborhood work through the Urban Oasis, a community-created organization, and will use the award to support start-up grassroots projects in minority communities.
Reverend Michele Ward
leads an association of block captains in the Greenmount West neighborhood and is launching the Lights On Greenmount West campaign to allow 140 homeowners to get solar-powered outdoor lighting for their stoops and back alleys and inspire informal outdoor community gathering
Naimah Sharif
works in Belair-Edison and West Baltimore through her nonprofit NLife, which creates programs and events to connect people to each other, their neighborhoods and communal celebration to promote social and physical wellness
Rocky Brown
leads the Ellwood Park Project, which aims to attract more homeowners to the neighborhood, and will use the award to rehabilitate the park pavilion, resurface the playground and expand sports camps and youth programs
Who chose them?
We are grateful to the community folks who had the tough job of picking our awardees:
Judeith James of the Alternative Approaches to Mental Health Crisis Center
Shantell L. Roberts of Touching Young Lives, Inc.
Ako Changa Onyango of AO Services, Inc.
Krystle Starvis of the Aspen Institute
Antonio Tabora of the Latino Economic Development Center
Hershawna Frison of the Aspen Institute
Brian Gerado of Business Volunteers Maryland
Tanya R. Dorsey of M&T Bank
Nneka Nnamdi of Fight Blight Baltimore
Jim Peterson of M&T Bank
Crickett Woloson of the Elbow Fund
Paul Taylor of the Mayor’s Office
Join the party
If you care about building social trust and community, we invite you to connect with others like you. The Weaver Awards are about more than grants. We host a national online weavers community and are starting a special group for Baltimore Weavers. You’ll be able to share your work and stories, get support, find resources and funding, learn skills, and meet partners to advance your weaving.
Sign up now:
You can also just follow the progress of the awardees and learn about future rounds of Weaver Awards.
Contact us
If you have questions about the Awards, want to become a community outreach partner, or have any problems using this website, let us know. And if you want to learn more about Weavers across the US, visit weareweavers.org.