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On Thursday, June 4, 2020 at 5:30 PM on ZOOM, Advocates for Children and Youth is hosting a Virtual Wine and Cheese Happy Hour.  We invite you to grab your favorite cold beverage and recline in your favorite chair as we offer some insightful observations about the current and future impact of COVID-19 on Maryland's children and youth.  As we know, no happy hour is complete without entertainment.  So we will have jazz guitarist Marcus Austin and the spoken word artists Obsidian and Keyma from DewMore Baltimore.

This event is also your opportunity to become a monthly subscriber as advocacy is now more important than ever.  Donations start at $35.  Once you have registered, we will send you the ZOOM details TWO DAYS before the event.    See you there!

Featured:

Musicians, Spoken Word Artists and Speakers 

Event Moderator
Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, as executive director at Advocates for Children and Youth, Jennifer focuses on economic sufficiency issues such as sick and safe leave, earned income tax credit, lead poisoning exposure and elimination, social safety net programs such as SNAP, hunger insecurities, affordable prescription drugs and the 2020 Census.

Our Musician
Marcus Austin, a Maryland native, has been playing music since the age of 8. He started with the alto saxophone and at the age of 15 he started playing  the guitar. He was a member of the Howard Community College Jazz Ensemble where he learned from his mentors Dr.Kyle Coughlin (Jazz Director) and Michael Raitzyk (Jazz guitar teacher). Marcus  has performed for several fundraisers such as the Women's Legislature Foundation and The Carlessia Hussein Minority Scholarship Fund.  He has also performed at the following venues: Turf Valley Resort, The Governor Calvert House, Four Seasons Resort, Season's 52, the Catonsville Farmers Market and Union Jacks,. He has played alongside various professional musicians such as Dr. Kyle Coughlin, Michael Raitzyk, Cedric Givens, and  Drew Davidson.  Marcus' appreciation for the jazz art form grew as he learned more about harmony, rhythm, and technique.

Our Spoken Word Artists 

Keyma Flight is a 19-year-old slam poet and activist. She enriched her life through helping others and exploring spirituality in depth. She became the Hyperbole Champion of 2019 and, along with her team, the winner of Brave New Voices 2018. She now hosts a youth open mic SaltPepperKetchup! and is reaching out in the poetry community. Keyma is an earth poet, adding substance and strength not only to her words, but to the world around her as well. 

Deleicea Greene also known as Obsidian, is an inspiring youth poet  as her performance name. She has been writing poetry for over 7 years and has been Slamming for 5 years. She has been published in anthologies from MICA and other poetry books. Deleicea is Baltimore’s 2019/2020 Youth Poet Laureate. She has won Brave New Voices and is an international youth grand slam champion and was on the Baltimore City Youth Poetry Team for 3 years. In her high school career,  she and her poetry club R.A.P (Real Authentic Poets) consecutively won Baltimore’s Louder Than A Bomb youth poetry competition four years in a row. She also taught poetry to elementary and high school students. She loves writing and performing and sharing her story with as many people as possible. 

Our Speakers

Ashley DeVaughn, as youth justice policy director, Ashley is focused on the following topics  Crime and violence prevention, community alternatives, youth engagement, community development, family and community engagement, policing, school- to-prison pipeline, alternatives to school discipline, restorative justice/ restorative practices,  alternatives to arrest and incarceration, reentry and the juvenile justice system.

Shamoyia Gardiner, as the education policy director, Shamoyia covers the following issues Racial Equity, Kirwan Commission (policy recommendations, funding formula), School Climate, Student Discipline, Restorative Practices & Approaches, Trauma-Informed and Responsive Care, Adultification, Federal Minimum Wage, Arts Education and Single-Gender Schooling.

Melissa Rock, as birth to three strategic initiatives director, Melissa covers the following topics eliminating racial disparities in birth outcomes for black women, eliminating barriers for families to access infant and early childhood behavioral health services, increasing access for families to programs that strengthen attachment between parents and their young children.

Rachel White, as the child welfare policy director, Rachel covers the following issues: Racial Equity, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Youth Homelessness, College Access for Youth in Foster Care and Youth Experiencing Homelessness, Maryland Tuition Waiver, Family First Prevention Services Act, Funding of the Ending Youth Homelessness Act, Educational Stability for Youth in Foster Care and Youth Experiencing Homelessness,  LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, Transition-Aged Youth and Foster Youth Engagement. 

You can become a sponsor!

Sponsorship Levels (Purchase Sponsorships at Checkout)

Corporate Giving Levels

$5,000 Lead Corporate Sponsor

• Feature story in Advocates for Children and Youth’s newsletter that reaches more than 9,000 supporters and a promotional video posted on our social media channels
• Company name & logo on all printed materials and acknowledgement on Advocates for Children and Youth’s website and social media channels
• Promoted as official event sponsor

$2,500 Corporate Sponsor

• Feature story in Advocates for Children and Youth's newsletter that reaches more than 9,000 supporters  
• Company name & logo on all printed materials and acknowledgement on Advocates for Children and Youth’s website and social media channels
• Promoted as underwriter for policy briefings

$1,000 Benefactor     

• Company name & logo on all printed materials and acknowledgement on Advocates for Children and Youth’s website and social media channels
• Promoted as the underwriter for the jazz musical interludes

Community Giving Levels 

$500 Community Partner

• Company name & logo on  all printed materials and acknowledgement on Advocates for Children and Youth’s website
• Promoted as the underwriter for the Spoken Word presentation

$250 Community Patron   

• Company name on program and acknowledgement on Advocates for Children and Youth’s website