TD AMERITRADE DONATES $10,000 TO HUMANIM
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
REBUILDING TOGETHER HOWARD COUNTY

Columbia, MD (March 24, 2010) – On Saturday, April 24, 2010, volunteers from TD AMERITRADE’s Baltimore office, located in Columbia, MD, dedicated their time and expertise to improve the facilities at one of  Humanim’s Howard County locations.  The repairs are being funded through a $10,000 donation from TD AMERITRADE.

TD AMERITRADE provided a team of approximately 50 people to refurbish a Humanim facility providing vocational services for adults with developmental disabilities.  Improvements to the facility include painting, and ceiling work.  In addition,TD AMERITRADE renovated the kitchen and bathroom facilities and extensive landscaping for individuals who receive daily services at this location. 

“We recognize the value that charitable organizations bring to our communities, and we are thrilled to be able to support Rebuilding Together Howard County,” said Ellen Koplow, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, TD AMERITRADE. “A spirit of service is the driving force behind our corporate mission, and we are proud to see such eagerness to lend a helping hand among our associates.”

“We are overwhelmed with the generosity and spirit of giving that seems simply second nature for TD Ameritrade.    What they have done for Humanim and the individuals served is just remarkable.  Their investment in our infrastructure impacts greatly our ability to develop programs that truly improve our community and the lives of those served” states Henry Posko, President and CEO of Humanim.

 “To be a part of the community means you roll up your sleeves and work with neighbors to help make the lives of others better,” said John Startt, Board President, Rebuilding Together Howard County. “By working with Rebuilding Together Howard County to improve this facility, TD AMERITRADE and RTHC will be making a difference for the 80 clients who pass through these doors each day.  Repairs are what we do – it is nice that we can lend our expertise to a fellow nonprofit organization – enabling them to conserve their resources to provide the vocational services they do so well.”

About TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation:

TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD), through its brokerage subsidiaries,(1) combines innovative trading technology, easy-to-use and understand trading tools, investment services, investor education and superior client service to create a market-leading financial services experience. Now home to the award-winning thinkorswim brokerage and dynamic trading platform(2) and the Investools investor education program, TD AMERITRADE provides millions of retail investors, traders and independent registered investment advisors with the tools, service and support they need to help build confidence in today’s rapidly-changing market environment. For more information and resources for journalists, please visit the TD AMERITRADE newsroom at www.amtd.com.

(1)TD AMERITRADE, Inc., member FINRA (www.FINRA.org) /SIPC (www.SIPC.org), TD AMERITRADE Clearing, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC, and thinkorswim, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC/NFA (www.nfa.futures.org).

(2)thinkorswim was rated #1 overall online broker, “best for options traders” and one of the “best for frequent traders” in Barron’s ranking of online brokers, 3/15/2010. The firms were evaluated versus others in eight total categories, including trade experience, trading technology, usability, range of offerings, research amenities, portfolio analysis & reporting, customer service & education and costs. thinkorswim topped the list in 2010 with the highest weighted-average score. Barron’s is a registered trademark of Dow Jones & Company ©2010

About Humanim: Humanim is a non-profit, human service organization founded in 1971 to provide uncompromising workforce development and clinical support services to Maryland residents who are in the greatest need.  Over the past 39 years Humanim has embraced its mission through the identification of five core services areas which are mental health, vocational, developmental disabilities, neuro-rehabilitation, and Deaf service.  Through these programs, Humanim strives to encourage growth, foster independence, and enrich the lives of the individual they serve.  In 2009, Humanim completed work on renovations to the American Brewery Building in East Baltimore.  From this location, Humanim will work together with a community committed to change and revitalization by focusing on workforce and community development.    

About Rebuilding Together: Rebuilding Together is the nation's largest nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing free home repair and modification services to those in need. With the help of everyday citizen volunteers, skilled trades people, the support of local business and major corporate partners, Rebuilding Together affiliates in America’s largest cities and smallest towns make life considerably better for thousands of low-income homeowners.  In addition to its core home repair work, Rebuilding Together also rehabilitates community centers and conducts home modification and repair programs that focus on aging in place. Rebuilding Together has programs dedicated to energy efficiency, veteran’s housing, and disaster recovery and reconstruction. Rebuilding Together is currently celebrating 20 years as a national organization and the completion of over 100,000 homes thanks to the efforts of more than 200 affiliates nationwide. For more information, visit www.RebuildingTogether.org.

Rebuilding Together® Howard County is a nonprofit volunteer organization dedicated to helping elderly and/or disabled low-income homeowners, and families with children through home renovation and repair. Our goal is to keep people living in warmth, safety, and independence, while helping to build better communities in Howard County. To find out more about Rebuilding Together Howard County and its programs, or how you can help, please call Rebuilding Together Howard County at 410-381-3338 or visit www.rebuildingtogetherhc.org.

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Humanim is proud to be a part of the restoration of The American Brewery Building and congratulates the many partners that have won awards for their participation!

2010

American Brewery Project

Struever Brothers Eccles and Rouse won an Excellence Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors.

2009

AIA (American Institue of Architects) Awards Cho Benn Holback and Team for the American Brewery: Public Building of the Year (Mid Atlantic Region)

Trostell Award for Preservation

Good Design = Good Business

Humanim was also finalist for the coveted Timmy Award from the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association for the Most Innovative Adaptive Reuse.

Cindy Plavier-Truitt and Henry Posko won Innovator of the Year in 2009 from the Maryland Daily Record for the American Brewery Project.

Cindy Plavier-Truitt and Henry Posko won the Waver Maker Award from the Urban Land institue for the the development of the American Brewery

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Congratulations to Cindy Plavier-Truitt!

Humanim congratulates Cindy Plavier-Trutt for being recognized by the Daily Record as a member of Maryland’s 2009 Top 100 Women.  This is the second time Cindy has received this honor, the first time coming in 2006.   

Cindy’s leadership as Humanim’s Chief Development Officer has led to significant growth for the agency and expanded services and opportunities for people in our communities.  During the past two years, her primary focus has been on the redevelopment of the American Brewery Building in East Baltimore.  Now, nearly complete, this project will provide another demonstration of how her efforts continue to benefit our agency, the community, and most importantly, our clients.

Again, congratulations to Cindy!

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Opening Employment Opportunities
Johns Hopkins Hospital receives coveted EEOC award.

Kirk Swann, 22, a Start on Success graduate, says the opportunity the program gave him to get a job at Hopkins Hospital is "great."

When Hopkins Hospital's human resources department first considered hiring students with disabilities through a local program that transitions them from school to work, there were concerns that the students—all of whom had received special education services through the Baltimore City Public School System—might actually impede productivity on the job.

But once the students showed up, "eager to work and conscientious about their performance," according to a report on the Hopkins program, any wariness subsided. "I'm really struck by their desire to come to work and do a good job," says Deborah Knight-Kerr, head of the Office of Community and Education Projects. "That's why the program has been received so well, because they make very good workers."

The program, called Start on Success, is one of four employee initiatives for which the Hopkins Hospital and Health System Corporation just received the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Freedom to Compete Award. Hospital and Health System President Ron Peterson was one of only a handful of CEOs to accept the honor at the EEOC's headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26. The award, which was initiated five years ago, showcases "specific practices and concrete activities that produce results and reflect an abiding commitment to access and inclusion in the workplace."

In addition to Start on Success, the other initiatives for which Hopkins was recognized include Project REACH, which used U.S. Department of Labor funds to train more than 400 Health System employees in lower-skilled positions for better-paying Hopkins careers; the Skills Enhancement Program, in which about 500 employees a year receive free skills assessments, academic counseling and tutorial instruction; and a mediation program for settling discrimination complaints confidentially and fairly.

The newest of these initiatives, Start on Success has accepted 41 special education students for 16-week internships since its inception in 2003 and boasts a 90 percent completion rate. Of those, 35 percent of students have gotten full-time jobs at Hopkins, including Kirk Swann, a food services worker.

"It's great," Swann says. "I get along with people and we work together as a team." On an 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. shift—or coming in as early as 6 a.m., if needed—he shelves dry goods, such as cups and plastic cutlery, or food items, such as bread and sodas.

"The key," says Swann, "is to have confidence and self-esteem, be loyal to yourself and your job, keep your head up, and don't let anybody take your joy away from you."

Start on Success is one of the programs created by WorkFirst, a division of Humanim, a nonprofit human services organization based in Columbia, Md. "There are so many wonderful employees of Hopkins Hospital who graciously volunteer their time, year after year, to serve as mentors for our students," says WorkFirst's director, Marsha Legg. "In addition to the actual skills and work experience that the students acquire, they also gain absolutely invaluable life skills, guidance and support from the relationships that they build with their mentors."

Meanwhile, the program has proven to be a win-win for Hopkins. "This is an opportunity for these kids that they wouldn't otherwise have to get a job at a major institution," says Knight-Kerr. "The program gives the supervisors a chance to observe their work performance and behavior and determine that they would make very good employees."

       —Neil A. Grauer

This article courtesy of DOME, a publication for the Johns Hopkins Medicine family.  Volume 58, Number 8, October 2007