Baltimore Grows

Get a head start on Mother’s Day with the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance’s First Annual Tour of Kids’ Spaces on Saturday, May 9, from 10 am to 3 pm, in historic Federal Hill. This self-guided walking tour, which features everything from historic gems to quirky row houses, will showcase the work of urban parents who have transformed limited or awkward spaces into amazing places for kids. It’s a great way to treat an expecting, new, or even seasoned mom!

DBFA counts among its goals attracting new families to Baltimore City and encouraging others to stay as their children grow. To that end, the house tour will demonstrate how parents are raising their children in the city with style. The tour will feature 8 to 10 houses over several city blocks and take approximately an hour to an hour and a half to complete, rain or shine.

WHAT: DBFA First Annual House Tour of Kids’ Spaces

WHERE: Federal Hill and South Baltimore

WHEN: Saturday, May 9, 2009, from 10 am to 3 pm

WHO: Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance

SIGNIFICANCE: The house tour is DBFA’s foremost annual fundraiser, with 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales going toward DBFA’s mission of improving, supporting, and advocating for family life downtown

Event Flyer (PDF)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Cost: $25 per ticket ($5 discount for DBFA members); $30 day of event

Tickets: Purchase in advance at www.dbfam.org/housetour or day of at Spoons Coffee Cafe, 24 E Cross St

Sponsors: Currey Real Estate Group and Indigo Ink Digital Printing

For More Information: To volunteer, nominate a house, help sponsor the tour, or place advertising in the program guide, please see www.dbfam.org/housetour, or email housetour@dbfam.org

ABOUT DOWNTOWN BALTIMORE FAMILY ALLIANCE
Propelled by the belief that thriving, connected families are key to vibrant communities, the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance fosters and promotes family life in Baltimore’s city center.

As an independent, nonprofit alliance, we partner with local government, business, and nonprofit organizations to develop family-wise programs and policies, including initiatives for strong public schools and early childhood programs, enhanced public safety and environmental quality, and expanded recreational and cultural opportunities. We further endeavor to cultivate community by connecting families with one another and with the resources to take full advantage of life in downtown Baltimore.

DBFA Celebrates Year of Making Downtown Baltimore a Top Choice for Families

In just over a year, the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance has grown from a fledging idea in the mind of one local parent to an organization with serious name recognition and heavy hitting sponsors, from the Goldseker and Meyerhoff foundations to Whole Foods Market.

The thriving grass-roots organization—now with 225 members—was spearheaded by Rebecca Gershenson Smith, a PhD candidate and Upper Fells Point mother of two who saw the need for an organized, cohesive group of parents advocating for family life downtown.

“I saw that more and more families with children were moving into the area, but no one seemed to notice this trend. I wondered what the potential could be if families worked together to make downtown a better place to raise children and to get the word out about it,” she says.

DBFA is almost entirely volunteer-driven, with over 100 parents in communities from Locust Point to Canton, working together to recruit—and keep—downtown families. A big part of that effort includes working toward positive change in the public school system.

“The single most important issue for downtown families is the quality of public schools. We are seeing better and better options for local families and see it as our job to make sure families have good information about local public school options,” Smith says.

DBFA also works with Baltimore City on other efforts to improve family life downtown, such as enhancing pedestrian safety and expanding cultural and recreational opportunities in public parks and other public spaces. Since its inception, it has held many successful community-wide events, including a day of service with a variety of volunteer opportunities, a school fair, a Christmas adopt-a-family event, and two hugely successful Easter egg hunts in Patterson Park. Most of these events will occur annually.

“Volunteering for DBFA has allowed me to become acquainted with many resources that are available in the community,” says Brandi Clifford, a DBFA volunteer who co-chaired this year’s Easter egg hunt. For example, “If it weren’t for the community partners that we have worked so closely with, the egg hunt would not have evolved into the highly organized and inclusive event that it was. I think this was our first bilingual event, where we had representation from families residing in all neighborhoods surrounding the park.”

DBFA received its official nonprofit status on October 6 of last year and has since secured donations from a variety of big Baltimore names. It has also had a hand in local politics, presenting its mission to the Baltimore City Council and partnering with Mayor Sheila Dixon’s office on initiatives to improve family life downtown. In addition, it has worked with other organizations in Baltimore City to oppose school funding cuts proposed by Governor Martin O’Malley.

In the future, says Smith, “I hope that downtown Baltimore will be a shining example of family-friendly, urban vitality and that DBFA will continue to provide a means for parental advocacy, resources, and connectedness.”

Major Milestones
• March 15, 2008: DBFA incorporated by the state of Maryland
• March 22, 2008: First annual DBFA Easter Egg Hunt in Patterson Park, attended by over 200 children
• May 1, 2008: DBFA awarded a $25,000 grant from the Goldseker Foundation
• July 19, 2008: DBFA’s inaugural Day of Service, with volunteer opportunities with The Baltimore Station, the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter, and the International Rescue Committee
• September 10, 2008: DBFA partners with the Mayor’s Office and various city agencies on initiatives related to improving family life downtown
• October 4, 2008: The first annual Harbor Harvest Festival in the Inner Harbor attracts approximately 2000 attendees
• October 6, 2008: DBFA receives official 501(c)(3) nonprofit status
• October 17, 2008: DBFA partners with Baltimore City Public Schools for its first annual school fair, Keeping Education Local: Early Childhood and Public School Options for Downtown Baltimore Families
• November 20, 2008: DBFA awarded a $5000 grant from the Baltimore Community Foundation
• December 18, 2008: The first annual DBFA Adopt-A-Family program matches volunteers with 97 needy families
• April 2, 2009: DBFA awarded a $30,000 grant from the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds
• April 4, 2009: Second annual DBFA Easter Egg Hunt in Patterson Park, attended by over 800 children (a 300% increase over 2008)

Upcoming
• May 5, 2009: First-time Moms Support Group begins
• May 9, 2009: First annual DBFA House Tour of Kids’ Spaces
• May 30, 2009: Inaugural DBFA Soiree to honor Founding Families ($500-plus donors)

Press
• June 2008: DBFA featured in SoBo Voice article, “What would it be like if parents worked together to improve the quality of life in their downtown neighborhoods?”
• June 2008: DBFA mentioned in Baltimore Magazine, “The Next Big: Baby Boom”
• June 2008: DBFA featured in The Urbanite Magazine, “The Kids Stay in the Picture”
• July 2008: DBFA mentioned in The Daily Record, “Maryland’s bars and restaurants find ways to deal with smoking ban”
• January 28, 2009: The Baltimore Sun publishes DBFA’s letter to the editor opposing proposed school funding cuts

DBFA MISSION STATEMENT
Propelled by the belief that thriving, connected families are key to vibrant communities, the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance fosters and promotes family life in Baltimore’s city center.

As an independent, nonprofit alliance, we partner with local government, business, and nonprofit organizations to develop family-wise programs and policies, including initiatives for strong public schools and early childhood programs, enhanced public safety and environmental quality, and expanded recreational and cultural opportunities. We further endeavor to cultivate community by connecting families with one another and with the resources to take full advantage of life in downtown Baltimore.