August 2026

Attending the American Legion Convention

We were honored to celebrate veteran excellence at this year’s American Legion Convention in Ocean City. This annual event welcomes American Legion members and veteran resource groups alike from throughout Maryland to share information and new opportunities to help better the lives of veterans in every corner of our state. We had the great opportunity to host a resource table and address convention attendees to share what resources we have for the community as well as have American Legion members can get involved. 

We heard from other Maryland nonprofits and different departments at the Veterans Administration about new programs and initiatives being started to help veterans, their families, and their caregivers. Executive Director, Kim Callari, took time to highlight the meaningful actions members have taken to support not only our veterans but veterans in every corner. Emphasizing that “Sometimes, changing a life doesn't begin with having all the answers. Sometimes, it begins with simply being present.” 

A huge thank you to The American Legion for their continued support of our mission and our men. Thanks to our collaboration, veterans leave our program with a friend in the community and a group to rely on when times get tough. 

Conscious Heads Barbers Give Back at The Baltimore Station

Thanks to the generosity of one local barbershop, the veterans of The Baltimore Station looked their best all summer long. From shape-ups to fades, our clients were treated to free haircuts from Conscious Heads Barbershop during several visits over the past month. 

On each occasion, a team of barbers spent three hours providing haircuts and beard trims to any clients in need. Together, they provided their expert services to over 20 clients each visit and made sure every vet who wanted a haircut received one. 

“When you look your best, you feel your best,” said one client. “And I feel great today!”

Conscious Heads Barbershop provides free haircuts to underserved populations throughout the city through their community outreach program, known as Healing Cuts Ministries. Jabari Natur leads the outreach efforts and their Barbering Bootcamp apprenticeship program, where he carefully supervises his students as they master their craft. 

“They did a great job. I feel so much cooler now in the heat,” said one client, sporting a freshly shaved head. “I used to always shave my head in the summertime, so this was really nice.”

Through Healing Cuts Ministries, Natur’s apprentices gain valuable experience in their discipline and prepare for a career in the trade, all while providing a vital service to individuals who may not have had a real haircut in years. 

“They’re not just providing haircuts,” said Volunteer Coordinator Pete Crispino. “They’re giving our clients dignity and self-confidence and validating the hard work they’re putting in everyday to turn their lives around.”

Thank you to Jabari and the team from Conscious Heads Barbershop. To support their work, visit their shop at 219 East 25th St. or make an appointment here. 

To volunteer your time or services at The Baltimore Station, contact Pete Crispino at pcrispino@baltimorestation.org or 410-752-4454 x113.

Celebrating National Wellness Month

August marks National Wellness Month as an opportunity to focus on self-care, managing stress, proper hydration, healthy nutrition, and building sustainable daily habits for physical and mental well-being. Here at The Baltimore Station we are working hard to encourage wellness every month. Whether it’s physical wellness, mental wellness, or even financial wellness, our organization is offering the resources for wellness every day to our clients working hard to turn their lives around. Let’s take a look at some of the wellness activities we have had over the past few weeks:

Nutritional Wellness 

The Baltimore Station is expanding our nutritional wellness resources to offer food kits to recent graduates of our program through our Graduate Pantry. This program will offer a starter kit of pantry staples and a gift card to a local grocery store to give new clients some options for their first meal on their own. Our program gives clients three meals a day so transitioning to grocery shopping on your own, budgeting for healthy meals, figuring out what to cook, and getting a meal on the table can be overwhelming. We hope this new program will offer nutritional wellness and a positive start to our newly independent program graduates.  

Planning for a Successful Financial Future 

We welcomed M&T Bank representatives back for their monthly financial literacy class for our clients followed by lunch. This month we learned strategies for retirement planning and best practices for investing in the future. We also enjoyed a delicious Chinese food buffet because everyone deserves a treat for lunch after a deep dive into finances. A huge thank you to the team at M&T Bank for helping our clients work towards financial wellness every month! 

Focusing on Mental Health with Drumming Therapy

Here at The Baltimore Station we also work with other therapeutic providers to offer mental health support opportunities to our clients through daily programming. One of our weekly classes is Drumming Therapy with Jason Armstrong Baker, LP-MT, MT-BC. This weekly class is an opportunity to explore rhythm, build teamwork, and work on mental clarity to the beat of a room full of drums. Jason has been working with our veterans for over 5 years!  

With all we have going on here, it is no question wellness is a significant part of our program here. So how are you focusing on wellness month?

What's Coming Up

Shootout for Soldiers: September 11th-13th

The Baltimore Station has been selected along with Fidos for Freedom to be the charitable recipients for funds raised at this year's Shootout for Soldiers Baltimore. The event is comprised of 24, 1-hour lacrosse games and is open to men’s and women’s teams of all ages. Starting Friday, September 11th and running through Sunday, September 13th, teams will face off all weekend in this fun filled tournament designed to raise awareness about our organization but also raise funds for the veteran community.



For more details or to sign up a team, check out their website!

Catch us at the Locust Point Festival: September 12th

Check out the Locust Point Festival on Saturday, September 12th if you’re looking for great produce, small business goods, community resources, and yummy food!

Be sure to stop by our table to say “hi” and learn about what we have going on here at The Baltimore Station. We will be right next to local supporter Brandon from Unique Bracelets who will be selling merchandise with part of the proceeds donated back to The Baltimore Station and our mission! This year we are also raffling off a signed Ray Lewis Jersey with the drawing on Monday, September 14th, just before the Ravens Home opener against the New Orleans Saints! We hope to see you there.

Monthly Giving Program