I BelongMagazine.com Youth Violence Prevention Publication
Fall/Winter 2016–17 Our youth provide their peaceable solutions
Inside • Meet West
Baltimore Teens: A Positive Picture
• What are you thankful for? • Free Summer Programs Provided by
supporters of Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center.org Financial Teen Literacy: A Must!
Complimentary Issue
Unified Efforts 443-800-0566 www.unifiedefforts.org
On the Cover MEET THE NEW BALTIMORE! I Belong Magazine.com TeenTeam
Our Publication’s Writers, Content Providers, Ad Reps, and Researchers Dominik, Bo, Angel, Keshauna, Justin, and Quiron Our Greatest of All Times (G.O.A.T.) Magazine Producers
Our writers are area students ensuring that their voices are being heard, and I BelongMagazine.com gives them the forum to do so.
I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
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I Belong Magazine.com fall winter 2016–17 Editor: Jennie Sherwin Staff Writers: Keshauna Benton
Angel Chaffin Justin Brooks Dominik Aye
Contributing Writers:
Research Assistants:
David Gervin Dennis (Trey) Wright, III
Quiron Green Rayelle Cato
Research Coordinator: Bo Brand Photographer: Debbie Ramsey Publisher/President Unified Efforts: Debbie Ramsey To place your display advertisement, to submit articles, or to request to be an authorized distribution site, please contact: 443-800-0566 unifiedefforts@comcast.net Unified Efforts provides no warranty and accepts no responsibility regarding the services and products of our advertisers either in print or on-line in I BelongMagazine.com . Also, the views and/or opinions expressed in the advertisements and articles are not the views and/or opinions of I Belong Magazine.com/Unified Efforts. Original content may not be reproduced without written prior consent/permission from Unified Effort s.
Official logo for Unified Efforts
I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
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What ’ s Inside? I BelongMagazine.com
Letter from the Publisher Page 6
My 2016 Summer YouthWorks Experience Justin Brooks: Pages 14–15 Poetry: Keshauna Benton Page 16 Photo Gallery : UNIFIED EFFORTS OUT OF SCHOOL TIME CENTER Pages 17–25 Volunteers Matter! Page 22 Stay Focused Dennis Wright, III Page 27 WHO IS OUR 2016 NORTH STAR ? Mystery Person Revealed on Page 10
FINANCIAL LITERACY FOR KIDS
Their Future Begins Here: Page 7 BOOKS THAT BRIDGE: Bullying Prevention Pages 8–9 The Friendly Church on the Corner Page 11 SUMMER OF 2016: My National Aquarium Visit Ange l Chaffin Pages 12–13 Page 4 I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
What are you grateful for? Fill in the blanks: Page 28 Black Lives Matter Page 29 Humble’s Reminder Page 30
Saturday’s Child Crafts • Kids’ Workshops • Family Fun Every Month on Saturdays Full calendar at www.LewisMuseum.org
REGINALD F. LEWIS MUSEUM of Maryland African American History & Culture 830 E. Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21202 (443) 263-1800
LewisMuseum.org
Money was allocated, new slogans emerged, and politicians declared that a “new day” for West Baltimore would be paramount, and so on and so forth. What’s to pity? It is the people that make up any community. This community has a long and rich history of thriving and surviving all forms of adversities. Unified Efforts did not provide its free summer program out of pity but out of love for people that needed a void to be filled, a void occasioned by the closings of a nearby elementary school and a recreational center. Last summer twenty area students ranging from six to seventeen years of age benefited from Unified Efforts’ five weeks of structured out of school time program. Our success was not so much from what we brought to the table, but from what we received—a lot of optimism from the community’s greatest resource, their youth. The next time you hear or read about how Baltimore’s Penn-North and surrounding West Baltimore communities should be pitied and feared, we say, “Don’t believe the hype.” An African proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child.” My belief is that a single child can raise up an entire community. Deborah B. Ramsey Debbie was named a 2016 Fellow by Open Society Institute , a network of partners, projects and foundations in more than 100 countries. The Baltimore field office focuses on the root causes of intertwined problems in our city and state. Visit OSI-Baltimore. I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
I BELONG MAGAZINE.COM Letter from the Publisher
Deborah B. Ramsey – Open Society Institute 2016 Fellow
Belie When Baltimore’s Penn-North community was ablaze in the spring of 2015, local, national and international coverage on all the 24/7 cable news channels did not miss a moment of Baltimore’s “uprising.” Shame, disbelief and negative labels were mainly directed at our young people. Words like “thugs” and “criminals” were uttered, not just from the media but also from Baltimore’s public officials. Once the smoke cleared, Mayor Rawlings- Blake called off the week-long curfew, and Governor Hogan removed the National Guard, the order of the day was to “pity” Baltimore’s historic community. Page 6
Student Kamal reached a milestone by opening his first savings account. Our mission is to enhance the quality of our kids’ lives. Unified Efforts is a program of Fusion Partnerships, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Your support ensures that our programs remain without cost to parents/guardians. Thank you! UNIFIED EFFORTS OUT OF SCHOOL TIME CENTER.ORG 443-800-0566
THEIR FUTURE STARTS HERE Unified Efforts Summer Program: We understand how early financial education can help students achieve their academic goals. Our friends at PNC Bank provided our summer program participants with financial literacy education. It is never too soon to begin making smart financial decisions!
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BOOKS THAT BRIDGE Selected by Dominik Aye
. BULLY Selection: “Time to Take a Stand”
The novel Bully by Lee Hirsch and Cynthia Lowen is an empowering companion to the film Bully . The book is an action plan for teachers, parents, and communities to combat the bullying crisis plaguing American schools. I chose this book for bullying prevention month because it shows us ways to help the bullying problem. After reading segments of the book I found information that I felt was important to share. Not only is this epidemic threatening the lives of those being bullied, it can also drive victims to suicide. Bullying can lead to school shootings and hate crimes. Social networking has become more invasive in people’s lives, and mainly
because of the social network, victims are found and bullied anonymously. An essential part of any campaign to prevent bullying and increase empathy is to take positive action by giving the person being bullied some valuable information on how to prevent getting brutally harassed by others. There have been several unsuccessful attempts to reduce bullying— punishing the bully, telling the victims to ignore the bullying or to just stand up for yourself! The best way to survive getting bullied is by carrying yourself in a certain manner and finding ways to stay focused on yourself instead of others. You can also create an anti-bullying policy with the help of your peers and school faculty.
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BULLYING PREVENTION 1. Establish Rules: Set up clear guidelines for technology use at your institution, update policies accordingly. Hand out posters or distribute fliers to make youth aware of the consequences. 2. Educate youth: Engage youth in activities and discussions about ethical standards for online activities. 3. Promote online safety: Increase awareness of internet safety strategies among youth and their families. Did you know over 50 percent of students above the age of 15 with undiagnosed mental illness drop out of high school? (The highest dropout rate of any disability) Bullying can become a life-and-death issue that we cannot ignore. SIGNS TO SHOW THAT A KID IS GETTING BULLIED: 1. A lack of interest in school or refusal to go. 2. Fear of riding the school bus, or taking new and unusual routes to school. 3. Having physical marks, cuts, or bruises. Bullied? Tell someone you trust.
Problem-Solving and Conflict-Resolution Skills: Stop and calm down/count to 10 Take turns listening and tell each other the problem A list of alternatives will help you Narrow your choices Decide on your choices Help each other U turns (avoid problems) Make good choices Be nice Lift their spirits Elaborate and tell trusted adult how you feel * * Bully by Lee Hirsch and Cynthia Lowen
Dominik plans to intern at Maryland Legal Aid in Baltimore, MD. Page 9 I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
Ashley Fails is a Baltimore Northstar! Director of Communications atMaryland Legal Aid Baltimore, MD
Last summer Director Ashley Fails was instrumental in providing a tour of the Maryland Legal Aid offices to a group of West Baltimore teens that participated in Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center.
Recognition for outstanding community service. Ashley, you are a Northstar! Page 10 I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
Fulton Baptist Church 1630 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD 21217
“The Friendly Church on the Corner”
David Gervin Contributing Writer
Fulton Baptist Church, also known as the “Friendly Church on the Corner,” was established in the early 1900s by a small group of Christian believers, starting off in a house, then growing and building the congregation and other ministries in the church. On June 20, 1948, the congregation marched from Division Street to their newly acquired building at 1630 West North Avenue. They continued their growth, but some sadness fell upon them in March 1987. The church was destroyed in a fire. Although the building fell, the members stood tall, worshipping in a nearby church, and then moving on to worship for five years at nearby Coppin State University. In September 1992, Fulton Baptist Church members marched back to 1630 West North Avenue. In 2009 after the retirement of their pastor the church was without a leader. But with prayer and patience in 2011 members elected Pastor Julian Rivera. Fast forward five years later: With the great vision and leadership of Pastor Julian Rivera, the congregation has grown from 75 to well
over 300 members. Today there are new ministries, such as the Praise Team Chorale, Men's Choir, Mime Ministry, Thanksgiving dinners, provision of household items and a food pantry. In the spring of 2015 Fulton Baptist Church was spared a potential second fire—this time, FBC helped West Baltimore communities in a time of need. Recently, Pastor Julian Rivera celebrated his fifth year at Fulton Baptist Church: His family, friends, congregation and others helped to celebrate this heartfelt occasion. I encourage you to visit. For more information and upcoming events visit www .friendlyfulton.com.
Fulton Baptist Church is a free community food pantry site. To donate call 410-669-2082
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My National Aquarium Visit Angel Chaffin
A Dolphin Discovery the Aquarium: Often, my favorite part was the Dolphin Discovery exhibit. Today we are learning that the dolphins will be phased out and no longer kept in captivity. Most dolphins
T he National Aquarium is a popular attraction in Baltimore, Maryland. It is in what is locally known as “The Inner Harbor.” When I was younger I visited
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live to reach fifty or sixty years of age. The youngest one at the National Aquarium is eight years of age. Practically a kid, it will not be sent back into the ocean for fear of its knowing how to survive only in a controlled environment and not in open waters. I can remember when my mother would take me to the dolphin exhibit in the aquarium, where she used to work! The Dolphin Discovery exhibit is the largest exhibit in the Aquarium. It opened in 1990. The exhibit had a colony of eight bottlenose dolphins. When my mom worked there, she came in every morning to feed and play with the dolphins. During the dolphin shows she would lead the dolphins to do tricks and would take people to pet them. However, the dolphin shows were stopped a few years ago. Visitors can now see the dolphins only in captivity. Visitors can come in and get a glimpse into the life of a dolphin. There are six female dolphins and two male dolphins. The oldest dolphin was born in the wild in 1972. The dolphins can form relationships with each other. Now there are thirteen marine mammal specialists who take care of the dolphins.
While the current dolphin exhibit is entertaining for us, it is not good for the dolphins. Years of research have proved this, and protests from activists about keeping dolphins in captivity continue. The dolphins in the National Aquarium will be moved to an oceanside sanctuary. The transition is expected to be done by the end of 2020. This will be the first dolphin sanctuary in North America. Scientists say dolphins need their own habitat to express themselves and to form social groups essential for their wellbeing. Sites for the dolphins are being evaluated in Florida and the Caribbean. This change is a victory for animal welfare activists. Who wants to be in captivity anyway? I BelongMagazine.com provides a forum for young people to have their voices heard. When you support our publication and its advertisers, you are helping our students earn income and gain professional public relations skills. Thank you!
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My 2016 Summer YouthWorks Experience
Justin M. B rooks, Contributor them as much. The program is for high school students, like me, to experience what a job feels like. It gave me knowledge I can bring into the real world. That is why I think we should be working in the summer and not just staying home playing video games and hanging outside all night long. I was rewarded for my hard work. The program provided me with an income for the summer. I need these opportunities so that I can continue to flourish and be successful in life. YouthWorks matched me up to an employer close to my neighborhood, which handpicked me to work at a special place: Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center located at Penn-North in West Baltimore. Now I am a contributor and writer for this publication. If there is anybody out there
My name is Justin. Last summer I worked at Baltimore’s YouthWorks. This program gives young adults an opportunity for real work experience. It is also a way for us to stay out of trouble. Working with this program helps to open doors for the future. It has been great for me! It was my starter job until I am ready to work on a regular basis. I was awarded a great opportunity at YouthWorks . The City of Baltimore, MD, gave me a job for the summer so my mindset could expand. I believe that giving the youth something to do over the break is beyond great because it helps high school students to stay out of trouble. Keeping students out of danger is great for the parents as well. If the parents know their kids are safe they won’t have to worry about
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struggling to get a job, my recommendation is to sign up early for Baltimore’s YouthWorks . A YouthWorks job provides experience that you can put on your resume. I strongly encourage students to get a summer job. It gets you ready for the real world.
Left to right —Dominik, Quiron and Justin I BelongMagazine’s summer research team at Enoch Pratt Library—1531 West North Avenue Baltimore, MD Justin plans to attend Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD. CHOOSE PEACEABLE SOLUTIONS
Justin, and Unified Efforts’ students at BG&E Training Center Whitemarsh, MD Below: Tour of Maryland Legal Aid—Baltimore
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Keshauna Benton
Keshauna Benton
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I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016 – 17
What we did last summer at Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center
NOtOt f
STAFFERS: PHYLLIS ALI and LaVERN HERBERT
WEST BALTIMORE'S PENN-NORTH
MUSIC AND ART
The children received their choice of musical instruments.
Creativity is the language of the young.
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I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
Aviation/Aerospace for Girls: Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center Program
SKYDIVING: GIRLS KNOW HOW TO LAND ON THEIR FEET
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I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
Career Opportunities for our youth
Safety first! Students take tour of training facility.
Baltimore City Fire Department, BG&E, Kennedy Krieger, Design Collective, and Maryland Legal Aid Center show career paths to our Summer Program students.
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Uni
Irvine Nature Center 2016 visit - Garrison, MD
Science is fun ! Learning about aquatic life
Exploring our world Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center Free Programs for K-12
students Page 20
443-800-0566
I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
d
Healthy smiles and healthy children go hand in hand.
Last summer, our students received free dental screenings from Colgate’ s Brite Smiles accompanied by our violence prevention mascot, “Humble the Bee” and Brite Smiles’ Dental Hygienist, Chanagra Massey- Smallwood. Page 21
IBelongMagazine.com Fall/Winer 2016–17
We love our volunteers!
Nicos Ledakis with his certificate for outstanding community service from Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center. Volunteerism Matters! We do understand that our organization is only as good as the people that give to us the gift of their time. Thank you all.
Merton Shatzkin Alumni of Julliard School of Music/Volunteer
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Art and Music
2016 summer student Kamari with volunteers Nicos Ledakis and Anna Fedder Page 23
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Unified Efforts ’ Summer Program student Keshauna with volunteer Bo. Thank you, Bo!
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Ave. Baltimore, Md. 21201
WE ARE PLEASED TO ACCEPT DIRECT DONATIONS
Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center: Conceptual drawing by The Neighborhood Design Center and Design Collective a
am of Fusion Partnerships, Inc. a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit – donations to which are tax deductible and afforded all benefits allowed by law. Our current financial statement
U
For more information about our Out of School Program, please email us at: unifiedefforts@comcast.net Or call: 443-800-0566
Mail Donations to: UNIFIED EFFORTS Mailing Address: 200 Cross Keys Road #42 Baltimore, MD 21210
up Concept on req water uest. color illustration by Stewart White (Design Collective) Help is needed to build Unified Efforts Out of School Time Center
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Contributing Writer DennisWright, III
wasn’t up there I would’ve been mad. So I told one of my friends to go and look for me. When he came back he told me I made it with the second fastest time. I was relieved and proud of myself. That day after school we had practice. We worked on our chemistry as a team by practicing passing the baton. I ran first since I could get a fast start. We only had a couple of days of practice until the day of the race. This was my third time running at the Penn Relays. I’ve been running since sixth grade. So remembering that, I wasn’t that nervous. There were hundreds of people there making a lot of noise. Before the race my team and I did stretches to get our legs loose. My team came in second place because one of the team members dropped the baton. Participating in this race allowed me to learn how to stay focused in the moment and not let other things distract me. I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17 Page 27
Before participating in a sporting event, I watch motivational videos. I also listen to music. It helps me stay focused. For example, when I was in the eighth grade I ran in the Penn Relays for my school. To be able to run this race, I had to qualify for the school team. I also needed good grades to run or even be on the track team. It was like a competition to me. I had to try hard to get on the team because there were a lot of fast and smart kids who were also going for the spots. There were at least fifteen kids going for one of the four spots to run in the relays. First, we ran to see who had the fastest time. Then after that, we went home. The next day we got the results showing the four people that made the team. That morning I was scared to know if I made the team or not because I knew what I was going against. But I stayed focused. We got the results at lunch. The time leading up to lunch I was very nervous. The names were on a piece of paper on the wall. I didn’t even want to look because if my name
WHAT GAVE YOU JOY IN 2016?
WHAT ARE YOU THANKFUL FOR? ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ Page 28
____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ Optimisms for 2017 ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________
I BelongMagazine.com Fall/Winter 2016–17
BLACK LIVES MATTER In my hometown of Baltimore, MD, the murder rate continually rises. A local rapper, Lor Scoota, popular with Baltimore’s youth and known for a very popular song called “Bird Flu,” was recently killed. His musical impact meant a lot to those who appreciated his musical style. Another black life ended unnecessarily. Another talent silenced. Too many parents have already lost their children to the streets. Parents are afraid that they will continue to lose more, so they hope this will stop. Clearly, there needs to be a way to stop the violence. My solution is for the whole city to gather up, come together, pray and protest peacefully. A question comes to mind, “Is it worse for a white police officer to kill a black man or for a black man to kill another black man?” Either way it is wrong. Black lives do matter. The black lives movement is an internationally positive movement that originated in the African-American community. We are all humans; nobody should hurt anybody. Unfortunately, that is just the way things are these days. Today’s troubled youth are in this predicament. Maybe, it is because of the things going on at home, or maybe because they never had someone to stand by them and show them right from wrong. (This work was composed by the writer in response to the social issues occurring during the summer of 2016; the killing of black men by both law enforcement officers and people from within the African-American communities themselves.)
Voices to be Heard
DOMINIK AYE Jr. STAFF WRITER I Belong Magazine.com provides a forum for our youth to have their voices heard, and to speak their truth without judgment, with the hope of finding peaceable solutions together . Page 29
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Following the Northstar heading our youth in the right direction!
Unified Efforts, Inc. is a nonprofit charitable organization.
www.unifiedefforts.org Visit our website and click "Donate" button. Thank you!
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Design Collective is proud to support Unified Efforts in making the Penn North Youth Center a reality.
archi tecture planning inter iors landscape archi tecture graphi cs
601 east pratt street , su i te 300 balt imore , maryland 21 202 tel 41 0 . 685 . 6655 fax 410 . 539 . 6242
www. des i gncollect i ve . com
Maryland Legal Aid proudly supports Unified Efforts and the students who produce I Belong Magazine .
Maryland Legal Aid is a non-profit, private law firm that provides high-quality legal services to Maryland’s poor through a mix of services. Maryland Legal Aid also assists with criminal record expungements to remove barriers to obtaining housing and employment.
Learn more at www.mdlab.org
500 E. Lexington Street, Baltimore, MD 21202 (410) 951-7777 | www.mdlab.org
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