The Canton Group, along with other leading IT companies from throughout the Baltimore region and beyond, are stepping up to become an ally in Cherry Hill’s unprecedented, holistic transformation initiative. We join advocates focused on wellness and economic vitality, housing, and education, in a strategy that is working in more than 25 “Purpose Built Communities” across the country.
Beginning with the community’s own vision of transformation, the goal is for every child in Baltimore’s historically underserved community of Cherry Hill to define their individual path to success.
We seek to strengthen the meaning and impact of our own diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments, carrying them beyond our hiring and employment practices into our home city of Baltimore. The Canton Group is excited to support education initiatives centered on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) and the next, more diverse, and inclusive generation of IT professionals.
So, where do we start? Dream BIG.
The Dream BIG Foundation – a nonprofit committed to bringing to life the Cherry Hill’s community vision of a high-quality cradle-to-college-and-careers education model - provides strategy and resources needed for every child in Cherry Hill to access life-changing opportunities. Dream BIG focuses on Early Childhood Education, Family Engagement, and Academic Growth.
Going forward, we fully intend to apply what we do best – Modernizing Legacy IT Systems and Automating Outdated Processes – to “the work” itself. The Canton Group’s team of engineers, programmers, and User Interface (UI) experts are exploring opportunities to accelerate transformational solutions at the community level, where they matter most.
This effort faces numerous challenges. Over 80 years of underinvestment, inequity, and systemic obstacles are not quickly overtaken by even the clearest vision and the strongest resolve. Success will take resources, collaboration, and patience.
"The Canton Group is excited to work with Dream Big and the Cherry Hill community leveraging our technology expertise to improve the lives of multiple generations of Cherry Hill community residents. Having founded The Canton Group in Baltimore City over 20 years ago, giving back to the community and doing work that matters and impacts peoples lives is very important to us."
Ethan Kazi
CEO - The Canton Group
If you share our commitment to equity and our core values – Intellectual Curiosity, Doing Things the Right Way, Collaboration, Delighting Our Customers, and Honesty, Transparency, and Fairness – then partner with us today.
We would like to introduce you and your company to Dream BIG and the work underway in Cherry Hill. Together we can explore what it means to be an ally and what’s the best fit for you and for the young people of Cherry Hill.
What Can You Do To Help?
The true measure of an organization committed to DE&I (Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion) goes beyond training and hiring employees. It starts with demonstrating to employees, clients, and the community that DE&I is a major part of your company DNA and culture. Taking action to address societal issues which contribute to inequality and deny opportunities to populations marginalized due to race, gender, sexual orientation, age, language, religion, and much more.
While we have created great momentum, we still need the support of the private sector. This comes in the form of both donations to implement the high-quality programming and the willingness to engage and create the bridge with the community. Here are other ideas to help engage and create participation in Dream BIG:
- Annual or Holiday company charitable event to raise donations.
- Sponsor a 'Walk to Dream BIG' walk-a-thon to support next years Back-to-School needs.
- Provide company incentive to match donations provided by teams.
- Plan a "Play For A Purpose" golf tournament.
- Start a "Toys-4-Tots Cherry Hill" campaign.
- Providing mentorship, internships and sponsorships for area students.
Please visit the Dream BIG Foundation website for more details and ways to donate - https://www.dreambigbaltimore.org
Cherry Hill: a Proud, Historic Community
Cherry Hill was one of the first planned, segregated, Black communities in America. In the late 1940s, Baltimore leaders sought a segregated solution to the rising demand for housing for participants in The Great Migration and Black GIs returning from World War II.
After hotly contesting alternatives, Baltimore settled on a plan to build 600 new residences in a then-undesirable part of South Baltimore. Housing officials quickly followed with construction of the region’s then-largest public housing project.
Despite historic and chronic underinvestment, the close-knit and resilient people of Cherry Hill created a proud community. They raised children to become prominent and successful leaders, from lawyers and public officials, to faith leaders, artists and industry executives.
Yet today, high levels of poverty persist and academic achievement is among the lowest in the state.
Cherry Hill’s story is unique, though its challenges are shared by countless communities of color across the country.
In recent years, Cherry Hill residents and leaders have come together to develop a detailed vision of transformation. Public officials and City agencies are joined by nonprofit and private commercial partners in a commitment to deliver the resources necessary to bring this vision to life.
