News from Promise Heights
Celebrating Our Community:
Sunrises, Sunsets, and Heroes
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2021 is shining bright as we look back at all we lost and gained |
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When the new year began in January 2020, few of us had any idea what the future was destined to bring. The same is true now that 2021 is here. How prescient that the seventh day of Kwanza coincided with January 1, leading us to focus on Imani and the essential nature of maintaining faith. Good news: we're introducing a series of virtual discussions! Please keep an eye out for our From the Heights schedule!
January also brings the conclusion of the Baltimore City Public Schools’ second quarter, a noteworthy transition for its entire senior class—as they’re the first to experience a full academic year of mixed remote and in-school study. We reached out to learn more from one soon-to-be-graduate of Renaissance Academy High School who offered significant insights, revealing why our work in Promise Heights continues well after students move to their next phase of adulthood.
Finally—and sadly—we lost a treasured partner who made a world of difference in early childhood caregiving. Crystal Hardy-Flowers was among Baltimore’s first front-line workers to gain approval to open her childcare center to the youngest students this past spring. She lost her life on December 31 to COVID-19 associated complications. We mourn her and the immense loss that her passing represents for our community. Yet we also celebrate what she promoted throughout her entire career—that social work’s trauma-informed care will become a core policy in Baltimore.
Each of these advances and transitions give us a firm sense of the work that lies ahead during the coming new year. We welcome your engagement with all that we’re preparing to do and share in 2021.
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Click here to preview our upcoming events
a series of virtual programs in 2021
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Win-Win & Sweet Success: Atwater's Holiday Yum |
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Thanks for helping support our Winter 2021 front-line work in West Baltimore! |
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Left: Bronwyn Mayden, Promise Heights Executive Director with her grandchildren; Right: What's better than a plate full of
hand-decorated cookies left out for Santa? How about some of our fans sharing their creative efforts?
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As he said from the start, “I'm proud to help support the ongoing front-line work of the entire Promise Heights Team.”
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Last month, Ned Atwater generously donated a portion of the proceeds from Atwater's Cookie Kit sales to help our continued work in Upton/Druid Heights, and now, having exceeded his sales expectations, we're savoring the sweet taste of success.
We're so pleased to have helped build new traditions with our devoted supporters during the many weeks they were sequestered at home throughout the holidays and December's blizzard!
Regardless of whether you enjoyed the scrumptiousness of Atwater's gingerbread, snickerdoodle, and sugar cookies last month--or not--please keep an eye out later in 2021, as we're hoping to make this an annual "From the Heights" family tradition.
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Renaissance Academy's First 2021 Graduate
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Raquan Tanner, a soon-to-graduate senior at Renaissance Academy High School |
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“We will definitely be reaching out to Raquan and have him come back and sit on panels. He’ll be a leader for those sophomores and freshmen coming up. It’s good to see someone like Raquan who sat in the same seats and who wanted to do more, and who is going to do more. It’s always important to have someone like Raquan come back and be an example...to speak to them. He doesn’t know that until now, but we’ll be reaching out to him!”
Derris Hawkins-Smith, College & Career Counselor, Renaissance Academy High School
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Raquan Tanner has maintained such intent focus on his studies at Renaissance Academy High School that he has accumulated enough credits to graduate in the coming weeks. Raquan is not your typical young man in his teens: he's articulate, expressive, engaging, communicative, self-motivated, and family/community minded. He credits his supportive Promise Heights team for helping build self-confidence, saying they have always been his cheerleaders.
Like many in our community schools, Raquan has suffered the pain of losing family and good friends to violence. He has committed himself to build ambitious future successes. Recently he shared, “I know I have something to live for…for the rest of my family members...” Click here to learn more about Raquan's story.
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Losing Baltimore's Premiere Early Childhood Trauma-Based Caregiver |
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Ms. Crystal Hardy-Flowers, June 6, 1965 – December 31, 2020
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"I met Crystal years ago and we started talking when she was at the Baltimore Child Abuse Center. She was so thoughtful and caring. She thought of the needs of the children during one of the scariest moments in their life...and was considerate about how to help young children heal.”
Dr. Kyla Liggett-Creel, PhD, MSW, former Director of Research and Evaluation at Promise Heights
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This loss will long be felt throughout Sandtown and so many other Baltimore neighborhoods, by several generations of children who experienced her nurturing and trauma-informed care, the Furman L. Templeton Preparatory Academy community, and by her loved ones who will miss her dearly. Learn more about Ms. Hardy-Flowers' life and career and the many ways that she supported our Community School families.
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Every day we engage various conversations with our social media friends, and we were moved by this stirring letter of January 6. Read more
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We're still seeking the right person to be our new
Social Worker, Senior Social Worker, or Lead Social Worker
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Please stay up to date with our news and join our lively social media conversations: |
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