FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Greater Remington Improvement Association Board of Directors
info@griaonline.org
Baltimore, MD (10/5/2017) – The Greater Remington Improvement Association (GRIA) is pleased to announce it has received a combined $70,000 in donations from Johns Hopkins University, Price Modern, and Seawall Development. These funds will be used to support our new Housing Health and Safety Committee and hire a full-time staff member to support GRIA’s mission and programming, including improving the Sisson Street Community Park, coordinating community organizing efforts, and advocating for City agencies to promote neighborhood priorities. Using the Community Master Plan as a guide, the staff member will be tasked with conducting regular door-to-door outreach throughout Remington, representing GRIA at city meetings, and engaging residents in volunteer opportunities throughout the community.
GRIA Housing Health and Safety Committee
Founded in 2017, GRIA’s Housing Health and Safety Committee (HHS) raises money and coordinates with contractors and volunteers to address home repairs that are critical to the safety of Remington residents. In addition to matching residents with agencies offering home repair assistance to City residents, the HHS Committee will utilize a portion of the donated funds to provide support when the repairs are not eligible for alternative funding, meeting GIRA’s mission to directly support our neighbors in need through housing services.
GRIA Full Time Staff Member
We are pleased to be bringing Shannon Conway on board as GRIA’s first full-time staff member! Shannon was raised in Remington/Hampden and served Remington residents as a staff member in the 12th District City Council office for the last three years. Shannon will provide administrative support for the organization and volunteer board, while strengthening GRIA’s connection to and communication with Remington residents and stakeholders.
Board president Molly McCullagh notes how this funding will promote GRIA’s organizational goals as well as provide direct support to Remington residents. “GRIA has recently adopted an explicit goal of preserving Remington as a diverse and vibrant neighborhood where opportunity is accessible to all. This goal is ambitious and requires ongoing deliberate action, beyond what volunteers can do alone. We enormously appreciate the support of our neighborhood partners, enabling us to deepen our ongoing community engagement efforts to involve neighbors in the activities and decisions that affect Remington.”
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The Greater Remington Improvement Association’s mission is to provide an inclusive forum for discussion of Remington community issues, facilitate resident-led initiatives, connect residents to local resources, conduct advocacy on neighborhood issues, directly supports our neighbors in need through housing services, and organize neighborhood cleaning and greening initiatives. For more information visit www.griaonline.org
GRIA is an independent, resident led 501c(3) organization with a proven track record of grant seeking, project development and implementation, and responsible financial stewardship. Over the last five years, GRIA has managed over $200,000 in funding that directly supported neighborhood projects and activities. This includes a 2013 PNC Transformative Art Project Grant, Spruce Up Grants in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017, support for playground improvements from the Abell Foundation, France Merrick and neighborhood businesses, event grants from MECU, Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts mural funding in 2017, and Baltimore Regional Neighborhood Initiative funding in 2017 for commercial façade improvements.