My supervisor is the only full-time employee at the center. This means that my days are an
always unpredictable combination of just about every task imaginable. Filing papers and
applications, answering the phone with a cheery “How can I help you?,” mediating dis-
putes between the various camps taking place in the building, and unlocking door upon
door for a seemingly endless stream of children. The center is a bustling hub in the commu-
nity, with summer days filled with four different camps occupying the center’s indoor space
and the playground outside, nights filled with programming like dance classes, Alcoholics
Anonymous meetings, martial arts programs, community association meetings, and even a
marching band!
Working to organize three events this summer has helped me immensely in immersing my-
self into the Ba ltimore community. The first week of my internship, I found myself grabbing
a bottle of water and a stack of flyers for an event on Baltimore City Public Schools and
knocking on doors in the Harwood and Abell neighborhoods. I was thrown headfirst into
conversations with members of the community about how they felt about Baltimore City
Public Schools. During the weeks that followed, I knocked on hundreds more doors and
had just as many meaningful conversations with people up and down Greenmount Avenue
and in Waverly and Better Waverly while promoting the Health Fair and the IAMPEACE
event.
Community Partner:
The 29th Street Community Center
Intern: Bentley Addison
Site Supervisor: Minju Zukowski
What is the 29th Street Community
Center?
The mission of the 29th Street Community Center is to
offer a space for meaningful community building and
high quality enrichment programming that adds value
and vibrancy to surrounding neighborhoods and the
Barclay Elementary/Middle School.
This summer, I worked really closely with eight YouthWorkers, all high school students from
Baltimore, who’ve grown up here and had really intimate experiences with many of the
ills we see referred to in conversations about Baltimore. While I was the one in a technical
leadership or mentorship position over them, they taught me at least as much as I taught
them. While I taught them about how to behave in a job interview and apply for college,
they taught me about the issues they face every day in their community, about the hard
work that they’re doing to better their and their community’s future, and what it means to
work together in a team with individuals of diverse perspectives. Their main project this
summer was working on an anti-violence rally called “IAMPEACE,” of which every single
aspect – sponsorships, outreach, logistics – was spearheaded by the team of YouthWorkers.
My biggest project this summer was working on a Health Fair and Summer Celebration
with Christina, the intern from Charm City Care Connection. We planned for over a month,
obtained scholarships from various local businesses, and did countless hours of outreach.
On the day of the event, many community members received potentially life-saving Nalox-
one training, over sixty children received drawstring backpacks stuffed with school supplies,
and over a hundred community members received food and information about health
resources – all this in a torrential rainstorm!
After the fair, when the rain outside was pouring hard as ever, one of the girls who’d gotten
a school supply kit curled up on a couch in the center’s Green Room. “I’m gonna write a
story,” she said, and in that moment, I felt like I’d made some small impact.
•
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Lead organizer for successful Community Health Fair
and Summer Celebration, which provided school sup-
plies, health resources, and food to over 100 commu-
nity members
Mentored and guided YouthWorkers in the planning
and execution of an antiviolence rally, “IAMPEACE”
Supported staff of the community center with pro-
gramming, summer camps, and other day-to-day
operations
Organized job readiness and professional develop-
ment workshops and chaperoned college tours for
YouthWorkers
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