EASTON, Md. - $1 million of federal funding will go towards a new facility for the Building African American Minds (BAAM) organization.
The children's center, adjacent to BAAM's current facility, will be torn down. BAAM's new facility will then build from the ground up in the old centers place. The three-story facility will feed young minds and bodies alike.
"We will have a library, a media center, a computer lab, a music room, and a cafeteria. We'll make sure that they get healthy meals provided to our students and to our families everyday," says BAAM executive director Dina Daly.
For 17 years, BAAM has held events and sessions in their current facility. It has one community room and a gymnasium. However, Daly says the $10 million facility would open new doors to local kids, young adults and parents.
"We're also bringing in partners like Chesapeake College, the local library, and other partners to provide workshops that our families are interested in. Programs like budgeting, financial literacy, and parenting classes will make us a better community," says Daly. "It will be our way of wrapping around our families. We have this motto we say 'if you join BAAM for one day, you're a BAAM for life.' That means that you're going to be here and we're going to be here for the community as they need it."
For those who regularly work with the kids, like James Bell, the new building will breath new life to the organization.
"The sky is the limit at that point. We actually have to turn some away that want to come and use the facility because obviously you can only do so much. With that new facility we'll be able to accommodate a lot more requests and have a lot more programs," says Bell.
BAAM says the new facility would be built by sometime in 2024.
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