Hannah More Family Shelter is the recipient of a $10,000 donation from Point Breeze Credit Union.
One of 12 programs offered by St. Vincent de Paul Baltimore to fight homelessness, Hannah More Family Shelter is a comprehensive 85-bed shelter in Baltimore County serving families experiencing homelessness. The shelter provides a wide range of supportive services, including meals, youth activities and tutoring, adult education classes, case management, housing placement, and referrals.
“While we are very proud of offering our members an easy, reliable banking experience, Point Breeze Credit Union is first and foremost a member of the community in which we live and work. And as a good neighbor, we take our role to help others – particularly those who find themselves in need of necessary services, such as housing – very seriously. That is why we are so pleased to be able to provide this support to Hannah More,” says Point Breeze President and CEO Bernard McLaughlin.
“A major gift like the donation from Point Breeze will have a substantial impact on our program offerings,” says April Wright-Ferguson, Program Director at Hannah More Family Shelter.
This marks the second major donation Point Breeze has made to Hannah More Family Shelter. Two years ago, the credit union donated $10,000 to launch a youth mentoring program for middle and high school students living at the shelter.
The latest generous Point Breeze donation will advance the organization’s current youth programming, which is in desperate need of support for its mentoring and after-school activities.
“Experiencing homelessness is extra tough on kids,” she explains. “Low self-esteem is common. At school, classmates quickly figure out that these kids are different, and often single them out for bullying because they live in a shelter. That’s why it’s important for them to be able to participate in after-school activities and have access to mentoring services.”
In addition to its support for Hannah More Family Shelter, Point Breeze Credit Union has a long history of providing financial and volunteer support to a wide range of non-profit organizations throughout the Baltimore area. Last year, Point Breeze donated $85,000 to area non-profits such as the Maryland Food Bank, The Arc Northern Chesapeake, and Arts Every Day, and another $22,500 in scholarships to local high school students.
Now celebrating its 85th year in business, Point Breeze recently opened the redesigned lobby at its Hunt Valley office, which has been undergoing extensive renovations over the past several months. The remodeled lobby represents the first phase of an extensive renovation and expansion project which will double the size of Point Breeze’s Hunt Valley facility, adding a new two-story, 20,000-square-foot addition to the existing 20,000-square-foot building in order to better meet the needs of its members and accommodate the credit union’s rapid membership growth.
