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June 12, 2025

Talbot Spy

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Health Health Notes

Choptank Health Brings Health Programs to BAAM

December 6, 2022 by Choptank Community Health

Choptank Community Health System is partnering with Building African American Minds as a participant in BAAM’s ‘Your Wellness Matters’ program to help address students’ physical and mental health needs through monthly educational sessions.

BAAM’s ‘Your Wellness Matters’ program was recently announced by BAAM Director of Instruction, Academic Support and Community Wellness Dr. James Bell. The program is a component of BAAM’s after-school programs and activities for Easton Elementary School students, with the wellness program receiving grant funding through the Talbot County Health Department and Talbot Family Network.

“Each child’s education doesn’t end when the last school bell rings,” said Dr. Bell. “Our after-school programs bring enrichment and education to further each student’s knowledge and understanding of the world. Choptank Health is a great partner to have in our after-school programs, and as well with their School-Based Health Centers throughout the Mid-Shore.”

From left: Choptank Community Health System CEO Sara Rich, BAAM Director of Instruction, Academic Support and Community Wellness Dr. James Bell, and BAAM Executive Director Dina Daly at the BAAM campus in Easton, Md.

As part of the wellness program, Choptank Health’s school-based medical and dental team will be onsite at the BAAM campus to work with students enrolled in BAAM’s after-school programs to cover topics like the importance of nutrition, hygiene, behavioral health, and more.

“Accessibility to healthcare is at the core of Choptank Health’s mission and everything we do,” said Choptank Health CEO Sara Rich. “Our partnership with BAAM furthers that mission by bringing health and wellness education further into our rural communities and meeting people where they are.”

“We are grateful to have Choptank Health as a partner for this program,” says BAAM Executive Director Dina Daly. “This program fortifies our commitment of BAAM participants that we are here for life, and by that, I mean we are here for more than the athletics and academics BAAM offers. We’re here for each participant’s life.”

BAAM helps at-risk children succeed through a network of partnerships with local health and faith-based organizations, educators, parents, and individuals, with more at www.baaminc.org.

Choptank Community Health System provides medical, dental, and school-based health services to more than 30,000 adults and children in Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, and Talbot counties, with a mission to provide access to exceptional, comprehensive, and integrated healthcare for all. In addition to accepting most major insurance plans, Choptank participates in Medicare and Medicaid and offers a sliding fee scale to uninsured patients. More is at www.choptankhealth.org.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Health Notes Tagged With: BAAM, choptank community health, Health, local news

BAAM to hold Wardell Brice, Sr. Memorial Basketball Classic

October 1, 2022 by Spy Desk

Building African American Minds, Inc. (BAAM) will host the first ever Wardell Brice, Sr. Memorial Basketball Classic on Saturday, October 29, 2022. Proceeds from this charity event will benefit BAAM’s scholarship fund and summer youth basketball program.

Spearheaded by BAAM board member and nephew of the late Wardell Brice, Sr., Lance Wilson, this event is being held to honor the memories of Brice, as well as Korzon “Kori” Brooks, both of whom lost their lives to tragic automobile accidents 25 years ago, a month a part.

“Planning this charity basketball game is something that just felt like it needed to happen. With the 25th anniversary, the timing felt right,” said Wilson. “My former coach Richard Guy [of Guy Concrete Construction] has actually been wanting to honor Uncle Wardell for quite a while now. He was a father figure to him. I just did my part to make it happen.”

This event will feature individuals who played AAU basketball for the Eastern Shore Athletic Organization (ESAO) Hoop Stars as middle and high school students. The Hoop Stars were supported by Mr. Brice and Brooks was a member of the team more than 25 years ago.

“Mr. Wardell and Kori symbolized the relationship we as coaches wanted to build with our players; a caring adult and a player with great character on and off the court. Mr. Wardell was one of the first to support the ESAO AAU Basketball Program. His generosity enabled us to create a foundation for the organization that flourished. I also enjoyed talking with him whenever I went to the barbershop for a haircut,” Dr. James Bell, BAAM’s director of instruction, academic support and community wellness and former ESAO coach. “He was a great man who loved the kids in his community. Kori was a great young man with a great personality. I recall seeing him interact in the halls with other students and on the court with other players and everyone loved him. The two of them are still truly missed.”

Sponsors of this event include Dean’s Janitorial Service, JACK Construction, DM Services LLC, Guy Concrete Construction, the Eastern Shore Back Giving Fund, Cardinal Construction, Nixon

Transportation LLC, and Brice Property Maintenance. Uniforms for the event were designed by Not a Phase Clothing.

The charity basketball event will be held at Easton High School on October 29 at 2pm. Doors open at 1:30 pm. Tickets for this family event are $5 each and free for children 12 and under.

About BAAM

Building African American Minds, Inc. was founded in 2005 to provide young African American students with social-emotional and academic support and resources. The mission of BAAM is to assist school aged children in achieving the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to become productive and responsible citizens. This will be accomplished through programs that emphasize academic tutoring as well as social and emotional learning. In 2019 BAAM opened the doors to its 25,000 sq. ft. Academic Center located on Jowite Street in Easton and plans are currently underway to construct an Academic Center to support the organization’s growing community programs and services. For more information about BAAM visit www.baaminc.org.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 5 News Notes Tagged With: BAAM, local news, The Talbot Spy

A Different Kind of Juneteenth: A Chat with BAAM March Organizers Andrew Daly and Alana Yzola

June 17, 2020 by Dave Wheelan

For many witnessing the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement since the George Floyd murder in May, there is a frequent observation that a new generation of Americans, both millennials and generation z, will finally break the back of hatred in the United States.

Feed up with the empty promises of politicians, dismayed by law enforcement agencies, and a nation all too willing to accept the systematic nature of racism within its institutions, there a collective cry of “enough” from large cities to small towns.

But who are these new young leaders?

The Spy met two of them the other day. Andrew Daly and Alana Yzola, both actively involved with Building African-American Minds (BAAM) in Talbot County, are remarkable examples of a new kind of leader. Unwilling to compromise any longer as they see African-Americans fall victim to police brutality, mass incarceration, inadequate health care, and limited access to economic and educational opportunities, they decided it was their time to act.

They also are not  willing to tolerate the symbolic memorialization of those who fought to preserve slavery, such as the Talbot Boys statue’s case on the Talbot County Courthouse lawn.

That’s why Andrew and Alana made the decision to use Juneteenth, a celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States, this coming Friday to organize a march to send a clear message to the Mid-Shore that enough is indeed enough.

The Spy sat down with both of them on the BAAM campus in Easton to understand more how they came to this moment.

This video is approximately eight minutes in length. The BAAM Juneteenth March will start at 4:30PM at BAAM Center, 31 Jowite St, Easton, this Friday. 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: 1 Homepage Slider, 3 Top Story, Spy Chats Tagged With: BAAM, BLM

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