ODA Blog - Perspective

When news broke on March 13th that Maryland was going into full shutdown mode, you could feel the air go out of our ex-offender demonstration project funded by the Governor of Maryland.  Seriously?  Really?  After a year of planning and hard work, it was all going to go up in smoke because of a pandemic?  No way!  We persevered!  (The Governor will be very proud.)

Partnerships can be hard but in the end they almost always prove their worth.  Such is the case for Open Door America and a series of interwoven jobs partnerships that began in 2011 in embattled East Baltimore.  As Jacques Kelly's story in the August 12, 2026 Baltimore Sun shows, the best partnerships take time, heart, and determination.  We first got involved in East Baltimore over nine years ago feeding and clothing needy people.  We continue our work today through skills training and job placement partnerships with outstanding organizations like Your Baltimore Community Development (YBCD).  When you support the excellent work of YBCD, you help further the mission of Open Door America.  Partnerships get it done!        

Word that Washington is making plans to slash the funding of a critical pro-manufacturing and pro-worker public-private partnership at a time when the nation is spending $1 trillion a year on public assistance, has 47 million people living in poverty, and leads the world in incarceration makes no sense whatsoever.  We are calling on the friends and supporters of Open Door America to speak up and make a difference.  Now is the time to contact your Senator and Representative in support of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP).  If you live and vote in Maryland, contact Governor Larry Hogan and encourage him to use his influence to protect this vital pro-Maryland program.  We thank you!