Grantee spotlight

Witness the power of one multiplied by many.

Harvest Resources in Anne Arundel County

Harvest Resources works every day to alleviate food insecurity. They partner with families and individuals working toward self-sufficiency and addiction recovery by providing essential food and resources. Their $25,000 AAWGT grant helped provide their clients with personal hygiene essentials.

Path to Hope

Path to Hope is a nonprofit immigration law office in Annapolis that provides legal advice and representation to immigrants in Anne Arundel County and throughout Maryland. Path to Hope has a case approval rate of over 98% and charges legal fees that are 20 to 30% of those charged by private immigration attorneys in the area. Its mission is to make the highest-quality immigration legal services available to low-income families, especially women and children.

Immigrant women and children are disproportionately unable to access immigration legal services, even from low-cost providers, compared with immigrant men due to cost. AAWGT's grant helps address this injustice by providing $25,000 to reduce legal fees for immigrant women and children by 80%. This makes it more affordable for them to access immigration statuses that are critical to quality of life in the county, including those that provide access to employment, banking, driver's licenses, and higher education. Every immigrant mother who gains lawful status may also be able to pass that status to her minor children, creating a generational impact that helps break cycles of unemployment and poverty.

A member of the Path to Hope team recently attended the U.S. citizenship ceremony for one of the organization's immigrant mothers, Widlyne. A single mother from Haiti, Widlyne waited more than 15 years to gain her green card through her U.S. citizen brother. She currently works 12-hour shifts, five days a week, to support her three children, ages 17, 7, and 5.

Widlyne first consulted with Path to Hope in March 2024 for assistance in gaining U.S. citizenship. Path to Hope worked alongside her over the next two years to file her citizenship application, ultimately securing approval after multiple challenges and delays. Widlyne and her Path to Hope advocate exchanged a huge hug and happy sighs of relief when she signed her U.S. citizenship certificate on August 6.

Using AAWGT funding, Path to Hope is now filing for Certificates of U.S. Citizenship for Widlyne's children, who derived their U.S. citizenship from hers. As a result, her 17-year-old son can now access financial aid for college and look forward to a promising future.

Widlyne's success is one of many Path to Hope has experienced in the past year, with many more hoped for in the future. Path to Hope is immensely grateful for the opportunity to do this work and knows it would not be possible without the support of AAWGT and other like-minded organizations and individuals who value and support immigrants in the United States.

Path to Hope now has two attorneys, two Accredited Legal Representatives, and two paralegals who work tirelessly to advocate for their clients. AAWGT's support means the world to Path to Hope and the immigrant families it serves.

Rebuilding Together Anne Arundel County

Rebuilding Together Anne Arundel County says that the $25,000 AAWGT grant gave it a new lease on life. The grant enabled them to search for and hire a new executive director. That fall, they re-engaged fully with their clients and began repairing their homes.

Start the Adventure in Reading

With a $25,000 grant from AAWGT, Start the Adventure in Reading (STAIR-Annapolis) provides one-on-one tutoring to second-grade children reading below grade level.

Students are eager and energetic, and tutors have enjoyed using creative strategies to keep them engaged and having fun.

We Care and Friends

With a $25,000 grant from AAWGT, We Care and Friends supports the building blocks that create strong families and communities in areas affected by drugs, poverty, and crime in Maryland. Founded over 30 years ago, it provides food, clothing, and assistance to those in need. They also sponsor speaker forums where communities can voice their needs.