Open Society gave Baltimore City Public Schools $180,000 to engage in youth-led vaccine outreach and vaccinations

Incidents


In 2021, the Alliance for Open Society International, a part of Open Society Foundations, granted Baltimore City Public Schools $180,000 via the Fund for Educational Excellence for its Baltimore Equitable Vaccination Initiative Project (BEVI). The grant’s purpose was to “enable The Re-Engagement Center to contribute to Baltimore City’s COVID vaccine equity efforts, as described in the submitted proposal (the ‘Project’).”

The project featured collaboration with the John Hopkins School of Public Health, Alliance for Open Society International, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Part of the program was to coordinate youth vaccination outreach and distribute youth-centered vaccination materials using trained youth ambassadors. Also included in the program were incentives such as $8,000 for “giveaways for attending workshops, receiving vaccinations, etc.” and “gift cards, food baskets, clothing, etc.”

The “Grant Roles & Responsibilities” spreadsheet provided for the program administrators includes attending weekly and monthly meetings with the Rockefeller Foundation, tracking data, ramping up outreach to the most vulnerable students, and “collaborate via the Youth Ambassadors meeting (monthly) with the Hopkins School of Public Health to coordinate youth vax outreach to create youth centered website and materials.”

On November 10, 2022, the district received a grant extension for the vaccine outreach program through 2023.