29^th Street Community Center 7^th Birthday Appeal

After the 29^th Street Community Center was slated to close, Strong City Baltimore restored and reopened in The Center in July of 2013. Since then, we have offered over 100 unique and diverse programs, community strengthening events, and essential public services to thousands of community residents of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds. Although 2020 has come with many challenges, we choose to celebrate The Center’s 7^th birthday and our recent accomplishments!

During the COVID-19 stay at home order, our staff quickly pivoted to offer services over the phone to the children enrolled in our After-School Program and their families: 

• Our After-School Coordinators provided 160 check-in and tutoring sessions that provided educational resources, virtual tutoring, referrals to community resources, and reminded families to fill out their Census.
• Partnered with the Abell/Charles Village Mutual Aid Group to serve as a central location to distribute meals and other donated supplies in the community.
• Shared COVID-19 relief resources and virtual programming such as DIY reusable face masks, Adobe Photoshop tutorial, scavenger hunt and many more to a collective following of 28,000 people on our Facebook page and e-newsletter.
• Presented our first ever virtual offering of the Gertrude S. William Speaker Series on May 28, “Know Your Ballot 101”, featuring Baltimore Votes.

On July 13, The Center reopened to the public with procedures in place to keep everyone safe in accordance with the CDC’s guidelines:

• Our Summer Session kicked off with 19 children in K-8^th grades. The Center will also continue to serve as a grab-n-go meal site for Baltimore City youth ages 18 and under. 
• The Center also continues the tradition of serving as an employer for YouthWorkers during this summer. 10 YouthWorkers worked remotely to create a promotional video for The Center.

As we celebrate our birthday and look towards the future, we commit to continuing to incorporate community member’s input into our programming, serving as an employment pipeline for youth in our neighborhood, providing a safe space for youth, and presenting more events in the Gertrude S. William Speaker Series. These services are provided at no cost to the community thanks to Baltimore City, foundations, and the generosity of individual donors.

Help us celebrate our 7^th birthday by making a contribution to The 29^th Street Community Center. Our goal is to raise $7,000 to continue to serve as a neighborhood resource during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. You can make a difference through a donation to The Center, where community members to learn, connect, receive support, and gather.

With gratitude,
Minju Zukowski | GeeGee Burnside