By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Reshonda Young is a Waterloo, Iowa native and entrepreneur on a mission to open the state’s first Black-owned bank. The Bank of Jabez, which is set to open this year, will be a community development financial institution (CDFI) and will work to prepare and empower people to create […]
Author Archives: Megan Sayles AFRO Staff Writer
Megan Sayles is a business reporter for The Baltimore Afro-American paper. Before this, Sayles interned with Baltimore Magazine, where she wrote feature stories about the city’s residents, nonprofits and initiatives. Her love of music inspired her to be a writer. At a young age she realized it was not the melody that she was so infatuated with, but the lyrics that made up the song and connected with listeners. Sayles grew up in Pasadena, Maryland, and is a 2021 graduate of the University of Maryland, where for her senior capstone project she reported on how the coronavirus and inequality intersected in Baltimore. She also worked as a staff writer and copy editor for campus publications, including Stories Beneath the Shell and The Black Explosion. Sayles teamed up with a partner to report on how the pandemic had put many more responsibilities on the oldest child in families. The Associated Press and other news organizations picked up her story.
Posted inBUSINESS
JPMorgan Chase invests $2 million in redevelopment of Anacostia Arts Center
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com JPMorgan Chase recently committed $2 million to the Washington Area Community Investment Fund (Wacif) in efforts to support the redevelopment of the Anacostia Arts Center, which serves as a hub for small businesses, artists and cultural organizations in Ward 8. The announcement came on the heels of the […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Shoe City files for bankruptcy, closes 39 stores in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Shoe City is closing the doors of its 39 stores across the Maryland, Virginia and D.C. area after more than 70 years in business. The family-owned urban footwear retailer, also known as YCMC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March. The business reports that they currently have $16 […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
A closer look: inside the plan to expand eligibility for early child care subsidies in the District
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Mayor Muriel Bowser announced new investments in her proposed Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Fair Shot Budget to support high-quality, early child care and early childhood education in D.C. on March 27. The District’s Child Care Subsidy Program could expand eligibility to more D.C. families, raising the income cap […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
Meet the organization fighting hunger in the District after termination of emergency SNAP benefits
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com When the COVID-19 pandemic created and increased financial hardship for families across the country, the federal government stepped in to temporarily increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits with emergency allotments. In March, the extra benefits came to an end with the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act. […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Residents raise concern over proposed methadone clinic in Edmondson Village
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer msayles@afro.com Edmondson Village residents are sounding off about plans for the Time Organization, located on Edmondson Avenue, to open a new methadone clinic. This clinic would be just 0.4 miles away from another methadone clinic, Heritage Treatment Centers, which also sparked community concern when it opened in a closely-situated […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Baltimore DPW launches training initiative for diverse, small businesses to compete as prime contractors in city
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Mayor Brandon Scott and Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jason Mitchell recently announced a new initiative to help minority- and women-owned small businesses compete as prime contractors with the city of Baltimore. The two-phase DPW Unbundling Initiative will provide mentoring to local diverse businesses, which tend to […]
Posted inMaryland Government
Maryland becomes first state to reimburse EBT fraud victims with federal SNAP funds
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Maryland became the first state in the nation to start using funds from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to reimburse victims of Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) fraud on March 27, with outreach efforts to affected individuals already underway. Gov. Wes Moore recently announced the Department of Human […]
Posted inBUSINESS
Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service to host free legal clinics for Baltimore homeowners facing tax sale
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Baltimore’s annual tax sale is set for May 15, and the last day to pay overdue bills is April 28. To help at-risk homeowners, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Services (MVLS) in collaboration with the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland and the Stop Oppressive Seizures (SOS) Fund is hosting […]
Posted inNational News
VP Harris announces more than $1 billion investment into economic, social and political inclusion for African women
By Megan Sayles,AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com Vice President Kamala Harris rolled out several investments and initiatives to promote economic, political and social empowerment for women in Africa on March 29, just days after she began her tour of Africa. Together, the initiatives total over $1 billion, and they expand on efforts, like the Digital Transformation […]
Posted inWashington D.C. News
JPMorgan Chase and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement invest in Black women-led nonprofits East of Anacostia River
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com JPMorgan Chase and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement are working together to support Black women-led nonprofits in D.C. The firm, on March 9, awarded the nonprofit organization $350,000 in philanthropic funding to provide $25,000 grants to eight Black women with nonprofits located in Wards 7 and 8. Aside […]
Posted inBaltimore News
Meet the Uber driver eating his way through the country
By Megan Sayles, AFRO Business Writer, msayles@afro.com In 2017, Baltimore native Kreskin J. Torres took a trip to England to stay with a friend and explore London. He ended up staying a month, taking in the food, sights and culture. When it came time to return to the states, Torres, who drove for ride-hailing companies, […]