By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Baltimore’s Ashburton community gathered at Liberty Grace Church on March 19 for the latest installment of Associated Black Charities (ABC) Community Convos.
As a part of their ongoing series, leaders of ABC gathered businesses, organizations, residents and stakeholders together under their commitment to listen to the communities they serve and to help ensure their work meets the real needs of the community.
Attendees participated in open dialogue, cooperative efforts and problem-solving, sharing their experiences.
The event was held in partnership with the AFRO and GreenLight Fund Baltimore.
“Our community convos are pretty much listening sessions,” said Bernard K. Sims, senior director of Culture and Community at ABC. “What we do in our Community Convos is go into a different neighborhood every month, connect with residents, business leaders and stakeholders from the community, and have an open dialogue about what’s going on in the neighborhood.”
Sims emphasized that these listening sessions are not meant to replace neighborhood associations, but serve as an opportunity to gather insights, connect resources and inform residents and stakeholders.
“It’s really important to have an open dialogue with people who care about their community, are concerned about their community and who want to keep it sustainable and keep it beautiful,” said Sims. “Everybody’s voice and opinion matter.”
The event featured a group poll, where residents shared their vision for Baltimore, which included economic empowerment and asset-building for Black and Brown communities, reduced crime and expanded housing options.
“We’re always proud to partner with anyone who wants to partner with us,” said former Baltimore Mayor and Maryland State Sen. Catherine Pugh, who currently serves as president of the Ashburton Area Association.
Pugh said she found one of ABC’s resources, the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS), particularly notable and useful for the community.
“They provide free legal services,” said Pugh. “You can call them and get information and legal advice for all kinds of things, from housing issues to wills.”
MVLS was on site signing people to get connected with their organization and provide further information on the services they offer.
Pugh also highlighted some of the work already being done in the community to better it.
“We got a $100,000 grant last year that we’re using to work with the city to put additional lighting to make community members feel safe,” said Pugh. “We’ve got a safety patrol in place where we’ve gotten funding so that we can patrol our neighborhoods to make our neighbors feel safe.”
Dr. Nia Fields, executive director of Greenlight Fund, spoke at the event, laying out how the organization approaches investing in community-driven programs that improves economic mobility.
She highlighted initiatives such as ParentChild+, an early childhood literacy program, and First Step Staffing, which connects people to jobs within 72 hours, while providing wraparound support such as childcare and transportation.
Upcoming events from ABC include the Teen Financial Literacy Summit 2026 on April 11, where youth will learn budgeting and investing, entrepreneurship and career skills, AI, tech and wealth-building workshops. The event is free.
Those interested in signing can go to the Eventbrite website and search “Associated Black Charities Teen Financial Literacy Summit.”