PRO BOWLER HELPS TACKLE POVERTY
With assistance of Ravens’ Judon, Columbia church partners with nonprofit Bridge of Hope to aid homeless in Baltimore community
As the sixth of 10 kids raised by a single mother in a Detroit suburb, Matthew Judon of the Baltimore Ravens knows what that situation can mean for a family.
After deciding to donate to a nonprofit tackling poverty and homelessness, the Pro Bowl outside linebacker reached out to Bridge of Hope, a national organization based in Pennsylvania, to offer $13,000 to start a site in the Baltimore area.
Thanks to Judon’s generosity, Greater Baltimore Region Bridge of Hope is well on its way to becoming a reality with the assistance of Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church in Columbia.
The seed money — which the local board of directors is racing to match by Dec. 31 — will go toward hiring a caseworker and setting up office space somewhere in the region, said Sue Ashman, a member of Christ Memorial, who will chair the newly formed board of directors.
Organizers are aiming to make the new affiliate official in the first quarter of 2020. They expect to begin accepting referrals of homeless families in Howard and Baltimore counties and the city of Baltimore in the second or third quarter of the new year, Ashman said.
This mission is personal for Judon, 27, who joined the Ravens in 2016.
While he never experienced homelessness as a child, he knows firsthand See POVERTY, page 4
After deciding to donate to a nonprofit tackling poverty and homelessness, the Pro Bowl outside linebacker reached out to Bridge of Hope, a national organization based in Pennsylvania, to offer $13,000 to start a site in the Baltimore area.
Thanks to Judon’s generosity, Greater Baltimore Region Bridge of Hope is well on its way to becoming a reality with the assistance of Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church in Columbia.
The seed money — which the local board of directors is racing to match by Dec. 31 — will go toward hiring a caseworker and setting up office space somewhere in the region, said Sue Ashman, a member of Christ Memorial, who will chair the newly formed board of directors.
Organizers are aiming to make the new affiliate official in the first quarter of 2020. They expect to begin accepting referrals of homeless families in Howard and Baltimore counties and the city of Baltimore in the second or third quarter of the new year, Ashman said.
This mission is personal for Judon, 27, who joined the Ravens in 2016.
While he never experienced homelessness as a child, he knows firsthand See POVERTY, page 4
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