Community Partner : Greenmount West Community Association Peer Mentor : Riya Gupta Site Supervisor : Michele Ward
What is the Greenmount West Community Association ?
The mission of NGWCA is to improve the standard of living , quality of life and economic status regardless of gender , creed , culture , or class for ALL Greenmount West residents . All community members are welcome to join the work of the New Greenmount West Community Association .
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Managed logistics and coordinated volunteers for neighborhood ’ s COVID-19 food resource response in order to serve over 100 + families fresh produce each week Conducted quantitative and qualitative data collection on mobility and infrastructure issues within neighborhoods in order to write a comparative analysis for city government officials Assisted in writing a grant proposal for the neighborhood , which we received to fund a new project we developed called Light Up Greenmount West Fostered working relationships with community members within Greenmount West as well as other non-profit organizations
Community . I thought I knew what it meant before this summer , but Greenmount West Community Association has given the word community a new meaning . Before , community was the neighborhood I lived in my first 18 years of life , where my family would simply exist to eat and sleep . This summer , I met people who have taught me that community is a place to live -- a place where you know your neighbors , you are invested in their wellbeing , and you want to improve the lives of every community member . Now , I also learned this is no small task . I was consistently amazed and shocked how this all-volunteer organization does what it does . I think if you asked anyone in the organization why they put in the time and effort , their answer would talk about the community they feel in Greenmount West .
In the past two months , I have learned more about Greenmount West and Baltimore City than I learned in the past 3 years at Hopkins . With that knowledge came a lot of emotions , starting with sadness , which led to anger , and then to frustration and , a lot of times , helplessness . I would find myself just stuck on the thought about how things and situations were so unfair . Michele , my supervisor , and a lot of other members of Greenmount West Community Association talked about those feelings , but that is not all they did . They used those emotions as fuel for action and turned those bouts of helplessness into hopefulness , all with grace and love as the foundation .
When I say this summer has changed my worldview , I am not being dramatic . This internship experience restored the faith I had lost , during the COVID-19 pandemic , that there is kindness and good within this world . I cannot even begin to express the gratitude for every single person I got the pleasure to meet this summer , whether it was for a brief moment during produce deliveries or it was multiple moments shared in Milk and Honey ( my new home ). Even though I have only been here for two months , I know that I can and will always find community in Greenmount West .