Philanthropy : Buzz

On Sunday night, ABC’s premiere of “Secret Millionaire” brought Anne Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne’s Pretzels out of her life as a millionaire in Pennsylvania to downtown Baltimore.

In Baltimore, Beiler searched for charities to support under the show’s premise – a millionaire goes undercover to find ways to help those in need. 

According to TWC Central, Time Warner Cable’s news website, Beiler visited four Baltimore charities: Miracle Garden, Moveable Feast, Casey Cares Foundation and the Rose Street Community Center.

In the show, Beiler learned the stories behind the people the charities benefit, such as that of a woman who Casey Cares helped after she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Now that she is in remission, the woman volunteers with the organization.

After interacting with the volunteers from the charities, Beiler donated money to support all four.

Read more about Beiler’s experiences in Baltimore here.

Sarah Hemminger tells Forbes magazine that when she moved back to Baltimore for grad school in 2004, she and her husband Ryan felt like "something was missing."

That something was being part of a loving, nurturing community. That prompted her to launch the Incentive Mentoring Program, which matches a family of committed volunteers with underperforming high school students.

"We must build a reliable social support network by facilitating dependable, long-term relationships among students and caring adults," Hemminger tells Forbes. 

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is known for his largesse to his alma mater Johns Hopkins University. There is, after all, a public health school named after him.

But the New York Times has tallied up Bloomberg's contribution over the past four decades and says it totals $1.1 billion. 

"That figure, kept quiet even as it transformed every corner of the university, makes Mr. Bloomberg the most generous living donor to any education institution in the United States, according to university officials and philanthropic tallies," the Times writes. 

Though Bloomberg started out as an average student, he rose to prominence by the time he graduated, the article states. 

When Journey guitarist Neal Schon and "Real Housewives of D.C." cast member Michaele Salahi celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, they'll fondly remember Baltimore as the place that set the stage for their nuptials.

Schon proposed to Salahi — one half of the White House wedding crasher team — at a benefit concert at the Lyric Opera House for the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. 

"Salahi accepted the proposal with 'Open Arms,' according to [her manager] Gina Rodriguez," CNN.com writes. 

"Their relationship began under a cloud in September 2011 when the "Real Housewives of D.C." star was reported missing by her then-husband of nearly eight years Tareq Salahi."

You can read the whole story here. 

Baltimore City has proposed a plan to keep the former home of Edgar Allen Poe going under a plan that was approved by the Board of Estimates Oct. 3.

Under the proposal, the B&O Railroad Museum will get $180,000 to help the West Baltimore attraction continue operations, the Baltimore Sun writes. The museum had been in danger of closing. 

"The overriding idea is to turn the Poe House into a draw that will not only see increased attendance, which has fluctuated between 3,000 and 5,000 annually, but also make Baltimore a destination for Poe enthusiasts," the Baltimore Sun writes. "It also envisions an annual operating budget of between $200,000 and $300,000 — substantially more than the $85,000 the city had been spending annually on the Poe House."

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group Inc. has nabbed a spot on a list of 100 socially responsible US companies. 

Corporate Responsibility Magazine placed in the No. 51 on its ranking. The magazine says it chose companies that take steps to address the environment, human rights, philanthropy and diversity. Read more about its methodology. 

Starbucks Corp., 3M Co., Walt Disney Co. and Darden Restaurants Inc. also made the cut. 

Chicago's Exelon Corp. recently acquired Constellation in a $7.9 billion deal. 

Johns Hopkins University dedicated its new $1.1 billion hospital this month and Hopkins alum and major donor New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg was on hand for the ceremony. 

"The 205-room Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center features 10 surgical suites, a 45-bed neonatal intensive care unit," the Wall Street Journal writes.

"Bloomberg, 70 years old, graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1964 with a degree in engineering," the Journal writes. "He is the single-largest donor in the university’s history, giving more than $800 million since 1965 and contributing $120 million to the construction of the hospital."

Bloomberg Philanthropies funded 500 works of art, the paper writes. You can read the rest of the story here. 

Philanthropist William Polk Carey, who donated millions to Maryland universities, died Jan. 2 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Newspapers around the country remembered the investment firm owner who managed an $11.8 billion investment portfolio.
That includes the Wall Street Journal, which ran an Associated Press story remembering the late entrepreneur.

Last year, Carey gave $30 million to the University of Maryland law school and gave $50 million to found the Johns Hopkins University Carey School of Business in 2006.

George Soros' Open Society Foundations has tapped John F. Kennedy School of Government Professor Christopher Stone to take the helm, the New York Time writes.

The foundation works to create vibrant democracies by shaping public policy in more than three dozen cities around the world, including Baltimore.

Stone will succeed Aryeh Neier in July. You can read more about the transition here.

Funding woes persist at Baltimore's Edgar Allan Poe House, as the Washington Post recently reported.

From the source:

For a second year city leaders have chosen not to subsidize a museum in the tiny house where the impoverished Poe lived from around 1833 to 1835, a decision that means it may have to close soon.

Since the city cut off its $85,000 in annual support last year, the house has been operating on reserve funds, which are expected to run out as early as next summer. In the coming months consultants hired by the city will try to come up with a business plan to make the Edgar Allan Poe House financially self-sufficient, possibly by updating its exhibits to draw more visitors.

But the museum sits amid a housing project, far off this city's tourist beaten path, and attracts only 5,000 visitors a year.

Read the full story.

MICA has found itself on the receiving end of a $10 million gift, its largest ever.

From the Sun:

The Maryland Institute College of Art announced Wednesday that it has received a $10 million gift, the largest in its history, which will be used to expand graduate programs and research.

The gift was bestowed by longtime college trustee George L. Bunting Jr. and his wife, Anne Bunting.

"Once again, George and Anne have redefined what true leadership can do to propel the college ahead," said Michael Franco, the college's vice president of advancement. "Not only was Mr. Bunting instrumental in helping MICA see the important role of graduate study in its future, he and his wife also stepped forward with this wonderful gift of endowment to help ensure the college will have the necessary resources to pursue this path."

Read the full story.

Baltimore County's library system is $475k to the positive thanks to a surprise gift from a former librarian.

From the source:

"The foundation received a bequest this week of $475,000 from the estate of Margaret "Peggy" Peterson, a former BCPL librarian, who demonstrated her commitment to libraries in death as she did in life. Peterson, who died in 2006, was a BCPL employee from 1963 until her retirement in 1986, and was known for her love of books."

Read the full story here.

Baltimore Raven and Alabama resident Le'Ron McClain recently came to the aid of tornado victims in his hometown of Tuscaloosa.

From the source:

"That Le'Ron McClain is from Tuscaloosa was more than enough for the former University of Alabama fullback to do whatever he could to aid his hometown's tornado victims.

That the fifth-year NFL Baltimore Raven was not only in Tuscaloosa, but also in the storm path at the time made his mission even more clear.

McClain was at his condominium near Midtown Village on April 27 when the tornado cut a massive swath through the city, huddled in is closet like hundreds of others."

Check out the full story here.

Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation has partnered with the City of Memphis to help troubled youths.

From the source:

"Memphis' success reducing the number of youths in lockup has earned the city a coveted partnership with a multibillion-dollar private foundation.

"Yes, we're coming," Gail D. Mumford, with the Baltimore-based Annie E. Casey Foundation, announced Friday at a luncheon at Shelby County Juvenile Court.

Casey, one of the nation's largest private foundations, has spent more than six decades working to help disadvantaged youths, including 15 years focusing on reforming juvenile justice centers across the country."


Read more at The Commercial Appeal.

The NCAA recently announced a $15,000 donation to the Baltimore City Middle School Lacrosse League.

From the source:

"As part of the Men's Lacrosse Championship weekend, the NCAA has made a $15,000 donation to the Baltimore City Middle School Lacrosse League (BCMSLL), an organization committed to providing additional opportunities for youth through sport. In addition to the donation, the NCAA will hold a free youth clinic with the IMLCA coaches and provided tickets to the Division II and Division III Championship games on Sunday."

Read more here.