Making the choice between city and county living: Heidi and John Vorassi both grew up in the suburbs, in the town of Brighton outside Rochester, N.Y. Since then, they’ve become confirmed city-dwellers — first in Buffalo, N.Y., where they attended graduate school and then, in 2008, in Baltimore City, where they moved for their careers.

DBFA Adopts Wolfe Street Families

On Sunday December 11th the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance (DBFA) held an amazing Adopt-a-Family Event at Wolfe Street Academy. Ninety-four Wolfe Street families received hundreds of dollars worth of clothing, boots, winter coats, gift cards and toys for the Holidays. This is the fourth year that DBFA has partnered with Wolfe Street to provide gifts for families in need. DBFA also partnered with George Washington Elementary. Last year, DBFA was able to match nearly 150 families through the program. In November participating DBFA families and businesses received wish lists from Wolfe families detailing each child’s age, gender, clothing size and a list of items the child might like. Families purchased the gifts and delivered them to the school. “The program was originally going to provide one $40 gift for each child, but the donors go all out!” said Wolfe Street Academy Community School Coordinator Connie Phelps.

PTO Celebration
This year Wolfe Street’s PTO held a Holiday Party Fundraiser alongside the DBFA event. Volunteers sold tamales, hot dogs, hot chocolate, baked goods, and atole, a hot Mexican rice drink. The school’s Mexican Folkloric Dance Troupe performed while children took pictures with Santa Claus. Funds raise will support field trips during the day and during Wolfe Street's after-school program, which is supported by a grant from the Family League of Baltimore City. This year the PTO initiated a grant program for teachers so that they can apply for field trip grants.

Thank You
We would like to thank Allison Pendell Jones, Michele Esch, and all of the DBFA volunteers for making this event possible. Thank you to the generous families and businesses that provided gifts for our families. Thank you to aMuse Toys offering a 15% discount on gifts purchased as part of the program. Thank you to the Wolfe Street PTO for holding the Holiday Party.
 

Larry Schugam
Chief Development Officer &
Executive Vice President
Baltimore Curriculum Project

See Judy O'Brien's letter to the editor of the Baltimore Sun that was published today in regards to the mayor's goal of attracting new families to Baltimore.  

DBFA applauds Stephanie Rawlings-Blake’s goal of attracting 10,000 new families to Baltimore city.  Making families a crucial part of her inaugural address and forthcoming initiatives will help make Baltimore a vibrant place where families can thrive.   Read the Baltimore Sun's article.
 

Last night DBFA was presented with an award by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore during a reception held at the Joseph A. Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Executive Director Heidi Vorrasi accepted the award on behalf of DBFA, which was given for DBFA’s work to make downtown Baltimore more viable for families. The event drew the region’s most influential business, government, and community leaders for an evening of networking and a thought-provoking presentation by Harvard professor and author of Triumph of the City, Edward Glaeser. Glaeser expounded on the importance of many of the initiatives that DBFA puts forth, namely improving urban schools, creating viable housing options and being environmentally conscious. 

Get married. Have kids. Move to the suburbs? Not so fast, say an increasing number of young parents. Read about DBFA in the new issue of Baltimore's Child! Click Here

See Judy O'Brien's letter to the editor that was published on BaltimoreSun.com:  Your article on "walking school buses" noted that many Baltimore children walk to school each day, yet many feel it is not safe to do so ("'Walking school bus' can build healthy activity into local children's daily routine," Oct. 5).

Anne Arundel isn’t the only Maryland locale getting serious about pedestrian safety. 

The lounge at the Waterfront Hotel was the setting for an intimate discussion with our panelists on the reality of raising their school-aged kids in Southeast Baltimore.

Read about DBFA President Judy O'Brien's take on local public schools in this month's Baltimore's Child magazine and join us at the 4th Annual School and Children's Programming Fair on November 5 to learn what she means by "...families are surprised when we expose them to the really great schools downtown.”

 Writer Ronnie Polaneczky writes about her family’s decision to raise their daughter Addie in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia. She discusses the ups and downs of urban living and describes the reasons that raising children in the city is on the rise.

 DBFA's Executive Director, Heidi Vorrasi, was interviewed today for a segment about school safety and DBFA's walking school bus initiative.  See the clip here: http://www.wbaltv.com/video/28979324/detail.html.

 On August 10, DBFA board and staff members met with CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools Dr. Andrés Alonso; Chief Academic Officer Dr. Sonja Santelises, and Executive Director of Partnerships, Communications, and Community Engagement Michael Sarbanes. Topics discussed at dinner included middle schools, recreation centers, and walkability for students. 

We asked, you answered, we listened!

In our recent Life in Baltimore Survey, more than 67% of respondents listed walkablity as a primary reason for choosing to live downtown. Families desire safe walkable streets for their children to get to school, the park, or even the local ice cream shop. Kicking off right now and during the next year, the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance will be focusing heavily on improving the pedestrian culture in Baltimore City.

The Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance (DBFA), a nonprofit organization committed to fostering and promoting family life in Baltimore’s city center, today announced a contest to determine the top downtown intersections that require changes in order to make them more pedestrian friendly (http://dbfam.org/advocacy/Walkability.aspx)

Please see the note below, sent from Dr. Alonso, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools, regarding the recent press release about cheating on the Maryland State Assessment and what BCPS is doing to prevent it in the future.

DBFA Family Programming Chair Patrick Gutierrez attended a meeting last night to discuss extending hours at the public pool at Patterson Park. After the discussion, the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks agreed to open the wading pool to parents and children at 10 a.m. while the main pool is used by summer camps. The city also agreed to an earlier start time of 9 a.m. if the Learn to Swim program, slotted for 9 a.m. in the main pool, is full. 

DBFA, along with several other community organizations in Southeast Baltimore, is working with the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks to offer an after-hours access pass to the Patterson Park pool. This is a pilot program only being offered at the Patterson Park pool at this time. The Department of Recreation and Parks has proposed that one or several community groups purchase a seasonal rental agreement that would allow for access to the pool during extended hours.

A hearty congratulations goes out to George Washington Elementary School for being the first city school to meet their dollar-for-dollar match for the Goldseker Foundation's Matching Grant program.
 

It was a windy and drizzly evening, but the view from the Sky Lounge at Silo Point was breathtaking--and what was happening inside was even better. Ten panelists came together to give over 50 parents a glimpse of what the future looks like when raising children in Baltimore.

At the end of the 2011 legislative session, Baltimore City Public Schools received about $4 million more than they did last year.

Due to thunderstorms, DBFA's Egg Hunt, held in Patterson Park is CANCELED for today, April 23, 2011.  We hope to see you next year!

On March 17, 2011, DBFA submitted a recommendation to CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools Dr. Andrés Alonso for improving middle-grade options for children on the South Baltimore Peninsula. Area parents have long been concerned that public education for younger students is improving more quickly than what’s available to students in grades 6-8, and that local schools need to provide stronger academic, emotional, and social structures for adolescents.

The Maryland legislative session closed Monday night with excellent news for our city schools. Baltimore City Public Schools were faced with significant cuts initially proposed in the governor’s budget, but thanks to our work with the Baltimore Education Coalition and other groups advocating for education funding, City Schools will end the legislative session with a slight funding increase.

On Tuesday, March 15, more than 100 parents joined us at Bright Horizons at Tide Point for an informative discussion and question-and answer session with Kim West, author of The Sleep Lady's Good Night, Sleep Tight: Gentle Proven Solutions to Help Your Child Sleep Well and Wake Up Happy.

It rained. Hard. And they rallied anyway. Approximately 1,600 teachers, administrators, students, parents, and community members travelled from Baltimore to Lawyers’ Mall in Annapolis on March 10 to support the call for full funding of Baltimore City Public Schools. They braved cold rain showers to join the Baltimore Education Coalition in making their support for City Schools known.

Pierce's Park, a new green space and family play area planned for Baltimore's Inner Harbor, is well into the planning and development stages and hopes are high for an April groundbreaking. This innovative family-friendly area is being designed as a sustainable space using indigenous trees and native plantings, as well as features to collect and reuse rain water.

Pierce's Park will be located on Pier V in the Inner Harbor and is championed by the family of Pierce John Flanigan III, a local businessman and civic leader who passed away suddenly in 2008. Remembered as a vibrant optimistic man, the park being developed in his honor is meant to evoke his love of his family, the environment, and the Chesapeake Bay.

The Rally and Action for Full Funding of City Schools was rescheduled to March 10 due to extreme weather conditions. This delay has not in the least slowed the Baltimore Education Coalition's campaign to obtain full funding for Baltimore City Public Schools and prevent the permanent cut to the per-pupil funding formula established in 2002.

On February 19, about 200 of our members braved the gusty winds to ice skate at the Dominic “Mimi” DiPietro Family Skating Center in Patterson Park. In addition to skating, children were able to create penguin finger puppets or snowy handprint trees while enjoying a snack or a cup of hot chocolate.

In light of the $15 million reduction in Baltimore City Public Schools’ funding under the governor’s proposed budget, many DBFA members and downtown parents have joined in the Baltimore Education Coalition’s fight to protect full funding. Each of us is aware that no school in the city can afford to tighten already strained budgets; a fact highlighted by CEO of City Schools Dr. Andrés Alonso’s recently issued e-blast outlining the real and lasting effects of this permanent reduction. As invested residents we need to protect the progress City Schools has made and push for the funding that will permit this progress to continue.

The Baltimore Education Coalition held six simultaneous meetings on Tuesday, February 1, covering each legislative district in Baltimore City. DBFA was present at the 46th district meeting held at Gallery Church in Harbor East, where about 50 concerned citizens--including parents, students, teachers, and business and community leaders--turned out to learn more about the devastating funding cuts facing Baltimore City Public Schools and to make plans to take action to call on our legislators to restore full funding.

The Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance believes that excellent public schools are absolutely critical to our city community. Without a viable public school system, Baltimore faces enormous obstacles in attracting and retaining young working families. Thriving families are a necessary component of a thriving Baltimore.

Under the governor’s proposed budget, Baltimore City Public Schools would receive nearly $200 less per student--a reduction that is equivalent to at least one to three teachers and staff members per school. These budget cuts threaten the hard-earned progress being made by City Schools and each committed teacher, parent, and student.

It was a full house last night at the 3rd Annual Guys’ Night Out poker tournament held at Nick’s Fish House. DBFA member Clay Pixler led the men (and one woman) through two rounds of intense Texas hold ‘em, but there could only be one grand prize winner. Jim Gunsiorowski walked away with the grand prize package worth $560. A special thank you to the staff of Nick’s Fish House and to Jen Royle, MASN and 105.7 The Fan reporter, for coming out and supporting DBFA.

For the past three years, the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance has coordinated the Adopt-A-Family program, which gives Baltimorians the opportunity to purchase gifts for less fortunate families from local elementary schools.

The DBFA Family Resource Guide has recently been updated to include up-to-date information on churches, synagogues, and mosques in the downtown area. The postings include information about children’s services or programming during or outside of adult services.

http://www.dbfam.org/Resources.aspx (Scroll down to Places of Worship.)

As a part of DBFA’s mission to promote strong public schools, we are a proud member of the Baltimore Education Coalition. The BEC is comprised of nearly 30 member organizations committed to advocating for adequate funding of our schools and effective education reform policies.

If you are a DBFA member interested in education advocacy, there are several upcoming opportunities.

On a beautiful October morning, over 2,000 people came to West Shore Park to enjoy a day in the country right here in downtown Baltimore. DBFA and Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore hosted the 3rd Annual Harbor Harvest this past Sunday, October 17, 2010. With the Baltimore skyline behind them, children enjoyed free activities like pumpkin decorating, face painting, building and launching rockets, climbing on and in the hay maze, and picking out pumpkins in the pumpkin patch courtesy of Spring Meadow Farms.

Pierce's Park, one of DBFA's advocacy efforts, recently received $25,000 from the Meyerhoff Family of Funds. The money, which will be given over a two-year period, brings the park much closer to reaching its funding goals. Pierce's Park is set to open in the fall of 2011 and will be an outdoor oasis in the city for children of all ages. To donate or learn more about Pierce's Park, please visit www.piercespark.org.

On Tuesday night, DBFA's executive director and several board members met with Democratic candidates for the Maryland state legislature to discuss potential collaboration on DBFA priorities. Topics included property taxes, walkability, education, and children's programming. The meeting was only the beginning in a series of discussions that DBFA will have with our legislators to help further advance our advocacy goals. 

Harbor Harvest, co-sponsored by the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance and the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, will be featured this Sunday morning, October 10th at 6 a.m. on Mix 106.5. This year's Harbor Harvest will be the third annual fall festival. It will feature petting zoo, pumpkin patch, straw maze, hayrides, pie eating contest, crafts with The Walter's Art Museum and Port Discovery, live music, and more!

Harbor Harvest
Sunday, October 17, 2010, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Westshore Park, located between the Maryland Science Center and The Baltimore Visitor Center

DBFA President Judy O'Brien met this week with the Mayor's Chief of Staff Sophie Deganais and Special Assistant to the Mayor for Education and Youth Sabrina Sutton. The meeting allowed DBFA to reiterate with this mayoral administration DBFA's advocacy goals, including improving schools, revitalizing recreation centers, increasing green space, improving walkability, increasing retail, and lowering property taxes.

Last week, DBFA President Judy O'Brien met with City Council President Jack Young. The meeting, arranged by Healthy Neighborhoods, focused on creating a partnership between the Council President's Office, the Department of Recreation and Parks, and Healthy Neighborhoods.

Last Thursday evening, DBFA and parent leaders met with Dr. Andrès Alonso, Baltimore City Public School Superintendent. The meeting, arranged by DBFA, discussed items including curriculum, charter schools, assessment, recess, school facilities, gifted and talented program funding, and a plan for South Baltimore schools. DBFA President Judy O’Brien says, “Dr. Alonso was very receptive to DBFA’s ideas and feedback. He looks to DBFA as the only organization in the city advancing education for middle-class families to lead the effort for our members.” DBFA will be looking for volunteers in the coming months to work on committees to help continue to improve our children’s education in Baltimore City Public Schools.

DBFA, with the help of community activists, was able to successfully bring back partial “family swim” morning hours at the Patterson Park and Riverside Park pools. DBFA President Judy O’Brien wrote a letter to various city officials reminding them of the importance of the pool to downtown families and of keeping families in the city.

Pierce's Park, an advocacy effort of DBFA, featured in the Baltimore Sun.

DBFA's summer fundraiser, Wine by the Water, will be held on June 19, 2010 from 2-6 p.m.  Get your tickets before they are gone! http://dbfam.org/link/wine

Last Sunday night, over 70 downtown moms paraded their pumps, sipped cosmos, and attended opening weekend of "Sex and the City 2."

DBFA reached out to survey residents in the downtown Baltimore area to quantify current involvement in Children's Programming, as well as further solidify our understanding of our constituents' programming needs. Please see the full results of our survey below. 

DBFA board members travel to Philadelphia to learn more about parents’ success in impacting local schools and neighborhoods

On Tuesday, May 11, DBFA Board President Judy O’Brien and Board Member Erin Karpewicz spent the day in Philadelphia touring the General George A. McCall School, a successful downtown neighborhood K–8 school. The afternoon was spent meeting representatives of the William Penn Foundation and the Center City District and Central Philadelphia Development Corporation.

Thanks and congratulations to all who responded in the face of continuing threats to the state education budget as it winds its way through the legislature. Your phone calls and other advocacy resulted in no cuts to our City Schools budget!

Find out more about the final budget here.

STOP CUTS TO SCHOOL BUDGET!
Rally in Annapolis on March 1st

Please join concerned parents, teachers, administrators, and community leaders as we send a message to our lawmakers: NO CUTS TO THE SCHOOL BUDGET! The Governor has proposed a no-cuts budget for education, but legislators may chip away at it. Lost dollars mean fewer teachers, more crowded classrooms, and weaker schools. We can’t let this happen.

Nearly 200 DBFA members trudged through the snow on Saturday to celebrate Valentine's Day at the DiPietro Family Skating Center in Patterson Park for a morning of music, Valentine’s Day crafts, hot chocolate, and of course, ice skating! Non-skaters created Valentines and crafts with the JCC while older kids (and adults) glided over special pink ice. Complimentary coffee and hot chocolate from Donna's and goodies from Whole Foods were served. Check out pictures of some of our favorite kids and parents on DBFA's Flickr page.