Fusion Partnerships, Inc.

The Baltimore Rhythm Festival is a free event that invites all to celebrate and connect through the power and beauty of rhythm based expression. This year's event will happen Sept. 18 and is especially meaningful as we emerge from our pandemic isolation and remember the simple joy of being with one another in a spirit of peace and fellowship. The festival is made possible by the gifts of all who participate; we need your help now to assure that we have the resources to make the festival all it can be. Please donate as generously as you can to help sustain this event as a free event that brings our communities together like no other.

All funding is used directly to support our artists and the costs of our event. Thanks in advance for your contribution to this cause that means so much to us!!!

This year, we are proud to join Fusion Partnerships as a sponsored program. Fusion is a place that offers resources and support for those who want to make their own change. We hold a space for self-determination in a spirit of community and connection; we want all residents of Baltimore to have the same access to power and decision making as is found in larger institutions and agencies. We are committed to support grassroots leaders that are rooted in and working towards building just and caring communities.

The pandemic created an urgent need to get individuals and families experiencing homelessness off the streets, out of shelters and into homes. Many organizations have been successful in placing these families in apartments; but once there, they have no furniture and end up sleeping and eating on cold bare floors.  These folks are in desperate need of beds, mattresses and other basic furniture and household goods.  

The Baltimore Furniture Bank has been delivering free furniture to those in need since 2017 and is the only furniture bank in the Baltimore Area.  We have a committed team and a warehouse full of gently used furniture but need your generosity so we can rent additional delivery trucks and hire more warehouse crews to meet this increasing demand!
 
We have the people, we have the warehouse, we have the furniture, now WE NEED YOU to help us deliver more furniture to families in need!  No donation is too small!  Please donate today!

The Baltimore Furniture Bank is a project under Fusion Partnerships, LL a 501 (c) 3 non-profit.  Donations are tax deductible.

After a year of visitor restriction policies, doulas are finally allowed back in most birthing locations in the Baltimore area. Pregnant people continue to face added stress and uncertainty due to COVID-19, making doula care more important and valuable than ever. As a small nonprofit, we rely on the generosity of our donors to fund our sliding scale birth doula work. These donations allow us to provide doula services to people regardless of their ability to pay. All of the money raised goes directly to our doulas to pay them for their services. Our doulas come from diverse cultural backgrounds, have a myriad of experiences, speak multiple languages, and are committed to keeping birth doula care accessible, evidence-based, and adaptable to this challenging environment. Please support our work with a donation today!

The Baltimore Doula Project believes that everyone deserves to feel supported, informed, and in control during their birthing and postpartum experience. A doula can play a critical role during labor and early postpartum by providing emotional, physical, and informational support to the pregnant or parenting persons. As birth and postpartum doulas, we prioritize our clients' health, preferences, autonomy, and comfort so that they can have the best possible experience. Unfortunately, for many people, doula care is not accessible because of cost and insurance doesn't cover doula services in Maryland. We believe that all pregnant people should have access to continuous, evidence-based, and non-judgmental support regardless of income level, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, education, or immigration status.

In 2020 we raised over $5,000 from community donations and were able to support 14 birthing people!

This is what our doula services cost*:

$800 covers full birth doula services for one client
$550 covers labor-only doula support
$250 covers doula support throughout pregnancy
$50 covers a two-hour prenatal or postpartum meeting
$25 covers one hour of postpartum doula support

*These were the rates that our doulas were paid in 2020 and are subject to change (hopefully increase) based on the amount of funding we have.

 
Thank you so much for helping make doula care accessible in Baltimore!

October 2019 UPDATE

A year since my shooting and, with your support, we’ve made so much progress!

On Wednesday October 31, 2018, a frustrated, and misguided young man came into the barbershop shooting. He wasn’t aiming for me, but I was shot along with another client. I was lucky...clearly God was telling me that I had a lot more work to do here in Baltimore, and that’s what I’ve been doing with a sense of urgency and your support and the outpouring of love I’ve received across the city of Baltimore. 

I’M SO HAPPY TO SHARE THE GREAT PROGRESS WE’VE MADE. 

A quick step back - for 30 years, I’ve been a barber in Baltimore. My shop - New Beginnings in Hollins Market - is much more than a barbershop. It’s where I share my passion for art with the community, it’s where my son Rashad brings young men together to talk about their dreams and challenges in ShopTalk meetings, and it’s where I join with businesses to bring health screenings and vital services to the community. 

Being a barber is how I make a living, but the community inside and outside the barbershop is my life. My focus over this past year has been working to  share our experiences at New Beginnings with barbers across Baltimore - to significantly scale positive impact.

With the outpouring of support, in December 2019, I launched "More Than A Shop" (MTAS) - a network of barbershops and beauty salons across the city of Baltimore.  Funds have been used to bring shops together and share how to replicate our model to bring much-needed services to their shops and neighborhoods including:

* Health screenings in partnership with Kaiser Permanente
* Expungement support services with Baltimore City’s Job Opportunity Task Force
* Conflict resolution skills with Safe Streets and CeaseFire
* Safe sex awareness with the Baltimore City Health Department

We’re learning how to best broaden the base of shops within Baltimore to prove the MTAS model.  But we’re just at the beginning.

I’m thankful for the companies who have reached out to learn how they can work with and through barber shops in their neighborhoods.

I’ve also been invited to speak about this experience and MTAS since the shooting. I appreciate these opportunities as they let me recognize the outpouring of support from you and the organizations that showed up to support my work over the last year. 

I’m currently applying for fellowships and grants to continue the work. I hope you’ll once again consider helping me to reach more people with my work through my organization, the Luvs Art Project.  Help me reach more young people so they can see their possibilities beyond hopelessness and violence.

Will you help me raise $15,000 to grow our impact with More Than a Shop throughout 2020?  

A bullet did not stop me - it spurred me to action. I’m ready to grow further, to keep pushing for our community, especially for young men like the man who shot me, whose life circumstances lead them to feel they have no option other than violence. I want to reach them and show them that there is another way.  I’m also grateful for the opportunity to pass on my skills and wisdom -  to be teaching the next generation of barbers thru a new program launching soon with city schools.

Thank you for supporting my dream and my vision! 

Troy Staton is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of the Luvs Art Project, fiscally sponsored by Fusion Partnerships, Inc.  Donations are 100% tax deductible.

__________________________________

December 2018 Update

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THE LUVSART PROJECT.  THIS IS THE FIRST GRASSROOTS SUPPORT I'VE GOTTEN FOR MY WORK, AND I'M GRATEFUL! LET'S KEEP IT GOING. MORE SUPPORT MEANS MORE WORK CAN GET DONE, AND WE HAVE A LOT TO DO TO END THE VIOLENCE IN OUR CITY. 

For 30 years, I’ve been a barber in Baltimore. For the last 10 years, I’ve had New Beginnings Barbershop in Hollins Market in Southwest Baltimore. My shop is much more than a barbershop. It’s where I share my passion for art with the community, it’s where my son Rashad brings young men together to talk about their dreams and challenges in ShopTalk meetings, and it’s where I join with businesses to bring health screenings and services to the community. 

Being a barber is how I make a living, but the community inside and outside the barbershop is my life. 

On Wednesday October 31st, a frustrated, and misguided young man came into the barbershop shooting. He wasn’t aiming for me, but I was shot along with another client. I was lucky...clearly God is telling me that I have a lot more work to do here, and that’s what I plan to do.


So many of you have reached out to me asking how you can help or what you can do.

Here’s the answer: help me reach more people with my work through my organization, the Luvs Art Project. Help me reach more young people so they can see their possibilities beyond hopelessness and violence.

When I first launched the LuvsArt Project, our mission was to bring art to the community and the community to the arts.  But, as I gathered people around art, I realized that our ability to bring people together served a deeper purpose, and we expanded our work to community gatherings, health screening, ShopTalks, block parties, and other activities that help us all find the beauty in each other.

Will you help me raise $5,000 for the LuvsArt Project?  With that, the LuvsArt Project will curate an art exhibition and series of community dialogues about violence in our City.  We need to talk -for real - about this issue.

A bullet is not going to stop me. I’m ready to elevate even further, to keep pushing for our community, especially for young men like the man who shot me, whose life circumstances lead them to feel they have no option other than violence. I want to reach them and show them that there is another way. We have to do better as a city.

Will you join me in reaching more people? Thank you for supporting my dream and my vision. 

Luvs Art Project is a 501c3, fiscally sponsored by Fusion Partners. 

Help Joy and Jamesha give back to the school that sparked their interest in writing

Middle school is a time of tremendous exploration and self-discovery. Students are learning to understand themselves and to express that knowledge in powerful new ways. A great mentor can help ignite these processes – offering new perspectives and paths as students search for their own voices.

For the students of Afya Public Charter School in Belair-Edison, you can help Joy and Jamesha make this a reality.

We are thrilled to introduce you to Joy and Jamesha, two amazing young women who were deeply impacted by their own participation in the Writers in Baltimore Schools (WBS) program. Now in college, they want to share this profound experience with middle school students at their alma mater. Their goal is to start a WBS creative writing club at the Afya Public Charter School, and we need to raise $10,000 to make this happen.

With a gift of $50 or more, you will receive a tote bag featuring a quote from a WBS writer, illustrated by award-winning designer and illustrator Lisa Perrin.

We hope Joy and Jamesha’s passion will inspire you to give generously. Here’s how they see it:

Joy: In seventh grade, at Afya Public Charter School, I took a writing class that completely opened my mind to think more creatively. I was introduced to poets and artists that I had never heard before. Most importantly, I had found a voice of my own and took solace in hearing it over and over again. After that year, I did not write consistently until I came to Writers in Baltimore Schools in 11th grade. I began to find my own voice once again. Through WBS, I was able to cultivate my voice by talking to poets, sitting in college classes, and going to poetry festivals. Over the past few years WBS has had a very big role in making me the poet I am today. So, with a stronger voice, I want to go back to the place that first helped me find it. This way I can help students find their own voices and use them.  

Jamesha: Being able to create and develop a writing program at my previous alma mater means the world to me! I would be able to develop both a creative and safe space for the brilliant young minds of Baltimore using the same fundamental lessons and tools that I have been equipped with from the multiple programs offered by WBS. With this, I would especially be able to incorporate a reading and writing curriculum that would actively engage our participants in works that explore themes that reflect the power of youth activism, community engagement and most importantly self-representation! 

About Joy and Jamesha

Jamesha Caldwell and Joy Njoroge joined WBS as high-schoolers in 2016, as part of the Poetry & Social Justice class with the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars Department. Since then, Joy and Jamesha have represented WBS in Baltimore and beyond, whether as delegates to the inaugural International Congress of Youth Voices or performing at the Split This Rock Poetry Festival, CityLit Festival, Baltimore Book Festival, and numerous reading series across Baltimore. After several years as campers at the Baltimore Young Writers' Summer Studio, last summer they returned to serve as counselors. Both women are now sophomores in college, Joy at Morgan State University and Jamesha at Notre Dame of Maryland University.

About the WBS Writing Club

WBS was ecstatic when Joy and Jamesha approached us with the idea of returning to their middle school to start a WBS writing group. Their goal is to launch an after-school creative writing group for 10 students, which will meet once weekly after-school. We are raising $10,000 to support the first year of the group. Joy and Jamesha will encourage their middle school writers to attend our Baltimore Young Writers’ Summer Studio this summer and to eventually attend our high school program at Johns Hopkins University.

About Writers in Baltimore Schools

Since 2009 WBS has sought to empower the voices of Baltimore City students through in-school, after-school, and summer programming that builds skills in literacy and communication while creating a community of support for young writers. Our programs have impacted the lives of thousands of students – students who are today seeking to use their skills to create a direct positive impact on their community. We couldn’t be prouder.

Check us out online: www.writersinbaltimoreschools.org 

Thank you for visiting our #GivingTuesday page. We are so grateful for all your support!