Is our sense of urgency showing?
Deborah B. Ramsey, Executive Director and Founder
Students received two hot, healthy meals daily, take- home activity bags, and lots of love. Our 2020 hybrid programs served forty K–12 students, Monday to Friday, July 6 to August 14, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Our state’s “shelter in place” policy threatened one of our most sought after summer programs: the Creative Writing Initiative for High School Students. Collective efforts between UE and our Goucher College partner yielded a pathway, virtual workshops. The Journey Inside published by Goucher College showcases UE students' written works, which appear in this issue with permission from Goucher College. In comparison to our 2019 class, this year’s writing initiative enrollment doubled, with a 93% attendance record. The support from our youth, families, volunteers, funders, community partners (Stony Run and Homewood Friends/Quaker Meetings), as well as goodwill wishers, helps to sustain our programs. UE is “leveled–up” and poised to provide a new out of school time center, which will supplement traditional educational spaces. UE invites you to join us in this vital project. Yes, we have an unapologetic sense of urgency!
The Unified Efforts, Inc., Out of School Time Program humbly serves the youth of Baltimore. Since 2015 UE has been an academic-support anchor institution in West Baltimore’s Penn-North community. UE’s success is predicated upon our students, as well as their families’ belief in us to be that extra educational support unit when students are out of school for planned and/or unplanned periods. Our system of providing students with opportunities to be successful develops confidence. Our work is a service of love we enthusiastically and freely give. Each year UE earns the students’ confidence. They know we will be there—no matter what the challenge. Well, “the no matter what” came to us in the form of a global pandemic. Nonetheless, UE rose to the challenges. We were able to galvanize our parents, community leaders, and especially the President of the Penn-North Community Association, Annie J. Hall. Together we developed a plan that put safety first, enploying effective protocols and hiring fromwithin the community. When we realized our students were remote-learning on the only tools they had— cellphones, we were able to provide them with new computer laptops. Additionally, Ms. Hall ensured her neighborhood received adequate broadband signals.
Unified Efforts, Inc., a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization
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I BelongMagazine.com , Autumn 2020. All rights reserved. Published by Unified Efforts, Inc., Baltimore, MD, https://unifiedefforts.org
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