Community Partner: 29th St. Community Center
Intern: Sarah Abdellah
Site Supervisor: Minju Zukowski
What is the 29th St. Community Center?
We provide resources, free and low-cost programming, and relationship building year-round
for youth and families in our community and Baltimore. We strive to serve as a hub for
community members to be able to grow their programs and businesses while creating
pipelines for the youth in our community to realize their full potential by providing afterschool
and summer programming as well as employment and leadership opportunities.
My official title is “intern”– but I found myself adopting a handful of other roles quite early on; my
supervisor is one of the only people permanently working at the center. Despite the difficulties of
wearing many hats, I am grateful for the various opportunities to listen to community members’
experiences and future hopes for the Center.
As one of the YouthWorks supervisors, I found myself constantly planning tasks and programming
– from engaging with neighbors of the Center during our community walk to college preparation.
Throughout our first week of YouthWorks, I saw first-hand the stark difference between the education
system in Baltimore City compared to my home in Howard County, less than 30 minutes away. The
YouthWorkers expressed the lack of support for applying to and affording college, not to mention
the lack of basic facilities. I quickly adjusted - changing a SAT/ACT information session PowerPoint to
include information about Fee Waivers, compiling free online resources, collecting donated SAT/ACT
books, and printing out a practice exams for the eleven YouthWorkers.
I also became the Program Coordinator of the 4th Annual Health and Wellness Fair held at the Center.
My goal for this year’s Health and Wellness Fair was to connect community members to services and
non-profit organizations that can improve quality of life – from access to affordable health care and
mental health services to food security and nutrition and self-expression through art. After continu-
ously emailing, calling, and meeting with supervisors, several mission-driven organizations chose to
participate at this year’s health fair, including many of my fellow CIIPer’s placements!
In order to make the health fair truly a community event, I sought to speak with the people we are
serving. I was filled with anxiety and excitement; the opportunity to speak one-on-one with residents
neighboring the Center allowed me to fulfill my passion to compose a program that actually address-
es the issues community members voice. My venture received very positive reactions, I found myself
laughing and smiling in every interaction – filling me with determination to continue these conversa-
tions; to bend my privilege in the direction of justice; to amplify the voices of those who are not in the
room.
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• Organized the 4th Annual Health and
Wellness Fair to connect members of
the surrounding Greater Charles Vil-
lage and Waverly communities to ac-
cessible health resource; collaborated
with community members, association
leaders, and local civic organizations
through meetings and door-to-door
canvassing to amplify the voices
of their community’s concerns and
desires to be addressed at this year’s
Health and Wellness Fair
• Recruited local non-profit organiza-
tions to the Health and Wellness Fair
that seek to improve quality-of-life
and reduce health disparities includ-
ing: lack of accessibility and affordabil-
ity of healthy foods in Healthy Food
Priority Areas, HIV/AIDS epidemic,
housing insecurity, and health/dental
care for the uninsured
• Created and facilitated interactive
workshops for 11 Youthworkers,
including: SAT/ACT preparation,
college readiness, financial literacy,
professional development, and col-
lege visits