BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Every February, FOX45 News honors Black History Month by highlighting local role models who carry on the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Nonprofit Eastside Uplift is dedicated to supporting Baltimore residents by providing families with essential needs, including utilities, groceries, and rent assistance from donations.
“Say less and do more, that’s us. That’s east side uplift,” said Shelton. “We are a community-based organization. We help individuals. We empower them to overcome their barriers, overcome systemic Generational curses, barriers, all of those good things, and then ideally we help them to become Sufficient and be able to be economically stable after they receive our programming and services.”
The nonprofit officially began helping people in 2024, initially focusing on East Baltimore where it’s residents can be challenged with poverty, and crime. Founder of Eastside Uplift, Arnetta Shelton is an East Baltimore native, and has also experienced poverty and homelessness.
This fuels her passion for breaking cycles of failure, building bridges across neighborhoods and generations, and empowering families. Her mission is to serve and transform lives. Eastside Uplift has since expanded to the entire City bringing hope back to families that need help.
“When we founded it, it was only supposed to be East Baltimore because that’s where I was born and raised,” said Shelton. “My mom was a single mom at the time. We struggled a lot. We experienced homelessness. I wanted to give back to my community…… the folks that invested, the folks that allowed me to dream, the teachers, the neighbors, the folks that helped my mom and picked her up in her time of distress. I know what it looked like and feels like to be in the dark, to be cold, to think, wondering where the next meal is going to come from.”
Every month, the non-profit visits two households to provide families with urgent needs.
Eastside Uplift also hosts community events and workshops, and helps connect families with services to continue the support they need.
Shelton says the goal is to create economic stability, healthy homes, and thriving neighborhoods.
Shelton’s hope for Eastside Uplift is to stretch farther than just Baltimore.
READ MORE | How ‘Eastside Uplift’ is ‘Giving a Lift’ to the East Baltimore community
“Over these last two years, it has truly been catalytic; it continues to grow. And so many people ask and need services and support. And so we expanded it to all of Baltimore City,” said Shelton. “Our hope is that we’re able to impact not just Baltimore City, we’re able to impact all of Maryland……Dr. King says, you know, there’s no limits or and we can’t set the ceiling, so there’s no ceiling. There are no limits. And so that makes me that inspires me to want to keep going and doing absolutely so much more for Baltimore and just for our families and our youth.”
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