Timara Crawley-Pratt
Kassidy McVey has made a tremendous impact in the community by working hands-on and believing in Baltimore Safe Haven. What is this organization? We are Baltimore’s only trans-led drop-in wellness center. They are fighting to make a difference and provide a haven for the TLGBQ community.
McVey successfully abstained from her position as the branch manager before recently stepping into her new role in business banking while being a grad student and balancing her personal life. “Do what you need to succeed and be the best in the current role, and that will lead to the next role”- McVey.
Iya Dammons, executive director and founder of the Baltimore Safe Haven non-profit, shared her dream and vision: to start a non-profit organization with no idea how to make this dream a reality. She knew she needed a bank account, so she walked into M&T Bank at the Fells Point location. “She was showing me things I could do as long as I did them right; she taught me how to sustain the non-profit, grow the non-profit, and be able to water the seed, which is why I am so grateful for her,” said Dammons.
Through the hard work and support McVey has put in, she has been able to help this non-profit reach new heights. “She is the reason I got an accounting; she is the reason I got a bookkeeper, so not only for the front end of the work for a first-time business starter or a first-time person who owns a company, she was the education, she was the tool I needed”- Dammons.
Kassidy has led monthly financial literacy workshops with herself and members of M&T. “A plan to ensure we were for the community regardless of how busy the world got, she always got the necessary information and materials together and prepped us as a group to ensure we had the right knowledge to give and tech,” said Jackson.
The workshop covers credit management, account opening, homeownership, ways to build wealth, retirement plans, and protecting what’s important. “Those things were able to transform the organization into the $3.1 million-dollar company we are today,” Dammons said.
What is the next step for McVey? She wants to enjoy her new role in business banking and see what path it takes her on. She still works with Baltimore Safe Haven to make a difference in the community.