Last week, Shorty was out of town and his grill was parked outside of our friends' home. His grill was stolen while our friends were out for the evening on Friday, April 11 between 6:30pm - midnight, on a chilly and rainy night.

As many of you know, this is more than just a grill - Shorty's Grill is a staple, an institution in Baltimore. Shorty has been grilling in Baltimore since 1997. This is his livelihood - Shorty's paid events fund his activism and community work. Being in business for himself allows him to continue to call truth to power and to hold our elected officials accountable - all of Baltimore knows the power of his "Mic check!"

More than that, his paid catering events fund his work in the community, cooking for free or at deep discounts in neighborhoods, for community groups, and to feed those experiencing homelessness. Shorty's Grill has fed people all over our city - Walther's Gardens, The Corinthian, Liam's Irish Pub in Brooklyn, Out For Justice's All-Night Community Resource Fairs, Bess the Book Bus' events, community days in the 4x4 and Belair-Edison, Runners4Justice's Run for Tyrone West, Baltimore Teachers' Union's annual end-of-year picnic, Gilmor Homes community during the uprising, Art in the Park events, and so much more.

Shorty's Bootleg BBQ has been awarded the Best of Baltimore by the City Paper and Baltimore Magazine; most recently, he won a Weaver Award for his community work with the grill. Even with all of those accolades, Shorty's biggest joy is feeding the homeless in Baltimore, something he's been doing since 2008. He calls it "Bea Gaddy's on wheels" - this is Baltimore's community grill!

Shorty and his grill show up for the community time and time again - now he needs us to show up for him! He has 9 paid events and 5 donated events already booked for the spring and summer season. This is an S.O.S!! Supporters of Shorty and his Grill are needed now to help him buy a new grill and keep his community work going!

Shorty at his grill, serving a neigbor at a community event in Herring Run Park

S.O.S!! Supporters of Shorty

Supporters of Shorty (and his Grill!) needed now!