2019 CIIP Program Book CIIP Booklet 2019 | Page 28

Community Partner: Impact Hub
Intern: Sarah Y. Kim
Site Supervisor: Michelle Geiss
What is Impact Hub?
Impact Hub aims to cultivate,
support and connect a commu-
nity of Baltimore changemakers
by providing an inclusive work-
space and innovative program-
ming to scale and sustain their
social impact. We are committed
to building an innovative local
economy that advances equity
and addresses the city’s complex
challenges.
Impact Hub encapsulates everything I love about Baltimore. No day is the same — it’s a diverse,
constantly shifting community of people with so many different talents and ideas who do share one
thing: a real love and commitment to the community and the people in this city. The physical space
is a shrine to everything local. Paintings by local artists cover the walls, bags of Thread Coffee line
the kitchen shelves. The furniture — tables, rugs, chairs — are by local makers, and the long island
in the communal kitchen is made from demolished rowhomes.
There’s a welcome informality to Impact Hub. Strangers bump into one another — by the kitchen, at
Skillshares, in one of the open spaces — and form pivotal connections. Members are open, warm,
eager to know about you and how you are doing. Young poets huddle in an office room, reciting,
stomping and clapping in unison; kids eat their lunch from a pot and ride dollies across the open
spaces; people lie on the floor of a conference room, meditating. At the beginning of each team
meeting we talk about how we’re feeling, sitting around a scented candle. Sometimes we close our
eyes, turn the lights off and we do a little breather.
For me, the last couple of weeks at Impact Hub have been the busiest and the most fulfilling. I’ve
had the privilege of meeting face-to-face with members from so many different walks of life and
who have given so much to the community. In these last weeks I’ve interviewed a poet, a roofing
contractor, a birth worker, a teachers organizer, a dirt biker. The list goes on. I’ve re-experienced the
sense of fulfillment I’ve gotten out of doing student journalism in Baltimore: reaching out to peo-
ple from completely different walks of life, learning more about them and the city and the complex
relationships between communities and institutions, feeling grateful when people entrust me with
their stories.
These eight weeks have really flown by, and in that time, my love for Baltimore has only grown. I’m
thankful to have had a front seat in watching Impact Hub’s growth, and I can’t wait to see what the
future holds for Impact Hub and its members.
• Conducted interviews of Impact Hub members for online blogs and upcom-
ing impact report
• Created new storytelling formats for the website, writing in-depth features on
different members, their initiatives, and how Impact Hub supported them
• Assisted with a grant application to the Abell Foundation, writing member
bios and a comparative analysis on member survey data from 2017 to 2018
• Compiled and solicited information and photographs for nearly 200 members
to create a public community directory for Impact Hub’s website
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