Rosenberg Martin Greenberg LLP announces that the first of its 2013 grants from the Rosenberg Martin Greenberg, LLP Continuing Fund of the Baltimore Community Foundation will be an award of $12,500 to Young Audiences, in memory of the firm’s late colleague Melody Tagliaferri Cronin. Melody loved the arts, having pursued a career in musical theater prior to attending law school. She lost her battle with acute myelocytic leukemia at the age of 35, passing away in February.
This gift to Young Audiences will be used to expand an early childhood education program. Young Audiences will partner with the national leader in early childhood education, Wolf Trap, to bring artist residencies into 31 Baltimore City preschool and kindergarten classrooms that serve children living in poverty. The eight schools that will benefit this year include: Patapsco Elementary Middle, William S. Baer, Heritage Early Learning Center, John Eager Howard Elementary, Cecil Elementary, Arlington Elementary, F.L. Templeton Preparatory Academy, and Commodore John Rogers Elementary Middle. It is anticipated that a total of 620 preschool and kindergarten students and 31 teachers will benefit from this support.
Recommending Young Audiences for this grant is an appropriate choice for RMG. The focus of the organization fits both the firm’s desire to honor Melody’s memory as well as remaining true to the mission of the Continuing Fund. As RMG Managing Partner Barry Greenberg said at the time of the inception of the Continuing Fund, “Those of us who are part of the Baltimore community understand the necessity for improvements to the public education system in Baltimore. The need for educational opportunities of the highest levels for all students in this area is essential to the growth of and vitality of the City and its business prospects in the future. The partners of RMG have been committed to this community for over 25 years and we believe there is no better investment in the future of this community than to support increased educational opportunities in our schools.”
Young Audiences, the nation’s largest arts-in-education provider, began in Baltimore in 1950. As the Maryland affiliate, YA is a nonprofit organization devoted to enriching the lives and education of Maryland’s youth through educational and culturally diverse arts programs. YA partners with 100 professional artists from all disciplines to bring hands‐on arts learning experiences to nearly 200,000 students throughout Maryland each year. YA envisions a Maryland where the arts are valued for their capacity to transform lives, and where every student is immersed in opportunities to imagine, to create, and to realize their full potential through the arts.