YouthWorks Spotlight (Part II): Willie Hopkins

written by Willie L. Hopkins

All About Me
Hi, my name is Willie L. Hopkins. I’m sixteen years old and I want to be a mechanic. I’m attending W.E.B Dubois high school and going into the tenth grade. I want to go to college to learn the trade of working on vehicles. I will be the second person in my family who’s going to college. My oldest sister is attending college at Towson University. I like to do a lot of things like listen to music, play games, football, and draw when there is nothing around the house to do. I like GHCC because of how working here keeps me busy and gives me something to do. I also chose to work because I need money so I can buy things for myself.

Everyday Life For Me
I’m considered the weirdest child in the house because I show interest in things none of my other siblings show interest in. I’m Goth and like to be different. I chose to be different than others, and this is just one of my ways of being different. I don’t listen to rap because it’s pretty much the same thing with every artist. But with other genres of music you won’t ever hear the same tune being played the same. I don’t really get too many questions asked when I go out in public wearing my Goth clothing, because it’s what’s expected of me. But its pretty much the same thing being asked. Like: do I worship satan, and do I know spells. It’s kind of funny if you ask me, but its only so much I can say to make them understand that you don’t have to know spells and you don’t always have to be depressed. It’s what you make out of it.

Occupations
I like to skateboard and play guitar (electric). I’m getting good at it, though I just started playing it this year so I’m a little rusty. But other than that I like to meet new people and I’m friendly. I like to go out to the movies, go paint balling, laser tagging, and I love to go go-kart riding. I want to try sky diving one day -- it looks fun. I also want to try skiing.

Education
I’m dependable when it comes to work, I’m not a slacker. I work hard and I don’t give up. I get assigned a job and believe me, it will get done. I might not work as fast as others -- I work somewhat slow and focused, but the assignment will get done. I'm going to stay focused in school this year so I can have a good grade point average (GPA). I have no intentions on dropping out because I see how most people live when they don't want education, and when they throw it away. They look sad and most of them are on the corners. But little did they know that when you want a job it won’t be easy to get one, because you don’t have an education. You will need that most importantly. Your education is something you have to take seriously because when you don’t, you will see that it’s not easy living without it. So get your education and make the most out of it. It is something that will help you through life. Going to college is one of my greatest goals. I want to go to ITT TECH. That’s a good trade school and I could learn a lot there. I also want to own my own shop so I can own my dream car, a Shelby GT 500. It's a classic car with a lot of muscle.

YouthWorks Spotlight: Kendra Welborn

For six weeks each summer, GHCC welcomes several young people to our office through the YouthWorks program. This year, our Youth Workers have impressed us with their tireless efforts and, perhaps most importantly, prepared us for our impending office move/reorganization.

Meet Kendra, one of two Youth Workers assigned to perform general duties around the office at GHCC.

Hello everyone. My name is Kendra Welborn and I will be attending Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) in August, for dance, for my freshman year of high school. This will be an exciting journey for me because this is a really wonderful position I have been put in. Before I could even think about going to high school, I attended Leith Walk as my elementary school and Mt. Royal as my middle school. These two schools prepared me in the best way possible for everything.

Looking back on how far I have come, being put in these great positions comes from my attitude. My attitude is one where I won't give up. I'm very determined to achieve anything that I put my mind to. I work very hard and I try to finish the job no matter what. Having a friendly, nice, and caring attitude also contributed. I love going to new places, meeting new people, and experiencing new things, but when I move on to these new people and places, I don't want to forget about the old people and places. This is one thing I could never do.

For the summer this year I am working at Greater Homewood Community Corporation. I had been thinking about whether or not I would receive a summer job this year with the economy and all, but things worked out fine. I'm hoping to become more independent now that I am a high school student-to-be. Here at GHCC, I work on tasks that employees may assign me. These tasks can be filing papers, using the copy machine, or working on the computer. In the future I plan on being a computer engineer, so this is a great place to begin a first job.

I have a lot of things that I like to do in my spare time. I like to dance, listen to music, go to the park, swim, skate, and hang out with my family. The one thing I really like to do is skate. I like to roller skate and I usually go with my cousins. This way I can hang with my family and skate at the same time. I also love to dance. For me, dancing is a way to have fun and, at the same time, learn all about a craft I'm interested in. Dance can also tie in with skating, when you're rolling around the skating rink, dancing can make it so much more fun!

Since I'm an only child I love to spend most of my time with my family wherever I go, especially to the park. Here at the park everyone is happy. My little cousins can run around and play, while my older cousins can talk and mingle with each other. Seeing the family together is what I love the most.

I currently live in the Harwood area. One thing I don't like about my neighborhood is the trash. Sometimes it's a lot of trash, then at other times it isn't. To improve this situation I think the neighbors could pitch in and help a little more. We could also come together as a group and have a block clean-up or add a trash can somewhere close where people could put their trash, and have the "No Littering" sign enforced a little more. We could also utilize the grassy lot that is closest to my neighborhood and make it more welcoming by adding some flowers or something to make it more attractive.

One thing that I do like is the convenience to the stores and bus lines. Not too far away from where I live, there is a bus line and a shopping center. My family also lives close to where I live. There are many pros and cons about where I live, but those are the main ones I think about. If I'm close to family and can find a couple of good things about my neighborhood, I'm okay.

Healthy Neighborhoods: a Great Investment!

Did you know Baltimore's Healthy Neighborhoods provides prospective homeowners with grants and low-interest mortgage loans to purchase, rehab, or refinance properties in Baltimore City? Healthy Neighborhoods targets up-and-coming blocks and neighborhoods where real estate is currently undervalued, granting residents the capital to invest in real estate and strengthen their neighborhood while creating their dream home.

If you'd like to find out how you can take advantage of Healthy Neighborhoods Incentive programs, contact Angie Sriram, GHCC's Real Estate Manager, to start the pre-qualification process. Here, April & McSendy Pierre share their recent home renovation experience:

What are you getting yourself into?
Was the common reaction we got from our family and friends when we walked them through our 79-year-old townhouse in Ednor Gardens. I would admit at first glance the house wasn't much to look at, especially compared to the brand new homes being built in the County, but since I wanted a home with a charming historic exterior surrounded by mature trees and my wife wanted a home with a modern kitchen and bathroom, renovating in Ednor Gardens was the perfect compromise.

Twilight Zone
We were first introduced to the opportunities in Baltimore City when in 2002 my college friend, Benjamin, formed the Claros Construction Company and renovated several abandoned and burned out historic brownstones in Reservoir Hill. I was amazed at how the renovations were giving these once stately homes a second chance. They were being completely reborn, refreshed inside and out, just as the designer had envisioned. When you stop and think about the process, it's quite spiritual. To now walk up to these houses brimming with old world charm and class, then seeing the interior decked out in all the new modern conveniences, it was like entering the Twilight Zone.

Information Highway
In the summer of 2008, we started looking for a home. LiveBaltimore was a great source of information. From there we learned about the various Baltimore City neighborhoods, the free home buying seminars, and numerous incentive programs. After going to just a few open houses in Ednor Gardens, we fell in love with the neighborhood and diverse community. When we were ready to purchase a home, Angie Sriram of the Greater Homewood Community Corporation (GHCC) was a great help in walking us through the Healthy Neighborhood Incentive (HNI) program. The HNI program helped us to purchase and rehab a property by giving us an attractive loan product, as well as providing us with an architect to help plan improvements and review our contractor’s proposal. Having heard many horror stories about renovation projects, we are glad to say our project went surprisingly smoothly. Even though, we did a lot of research, it was reassuring to know we had the knowledge and experience of our Contractor, GHCC, and HNI on our project. It was a blessing to watch this once old and dilapidated house be transformed into our beautiful contemporary home in just a few short months.

Here are some pictures from the renovation:

Before:


After:

New (Old) Ways to Read Greater Homewood Voices

Do your eyes glaze over when people start talking about subscribing to RSS feeds and keeping up with their Google Reader? Does the thought of checking in with several different blogs every day make you crazy? It might seem old-fashioned, but some people prefer to receive updates via email. We appreciate that, so we've added a convenient option to receive these blog posts in your email inbox.

Subscribing to email updates for Greater Homewood Voices is easy: simply type your email address into the "subscribe via email" field in the sidebar to your right. Clicking subscribe will prompt you to type a security code (to protect against spam), and then you are done! A confirmation email should arrive in your mailbox shortly, and it will ask for you to click a link to verify your subscription.

Happy reading!

The First Lady's Call to Service and YouTube's VideoVolunteers Launch

Recently, First Lady Michelle Obama issued a call to service to kick off United We Serve, the administration's summer of service for all Americans. She encourages us to volunteer in any capacity we can, regardless of our means or our skills. Projects and opportunities can register on Serve.gov to participate in this effort. Another new website, All for Good, has appeared as well -- it acts like a Craigslist for volunteer projects and opportunities.



If you've ever considered volunteering in your community but thought doing so on your terms was not an option, think again. YouTube has responded to United We Serve with VideoVolunteers, a direct attempt to engage YouTube's millions of users in online volunteering. VideoVolunteers connects tech-savvy folks with interest and skill in video editing to non-profits who need help spreading their message on the internet. In fact, a few popular YouTube personalities have already given their time and talents to get the word out about VideoVolunteers. See below:



If you've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to volunteer for a cause you believe in, wait no longer! The possibilities are limitless, and in many cases you don't even need to leave your home.

From Indiana to Maryland: The Start of my AmeriCorps Experience

Meet Cyndel Taylor, a soon-to-be AmeriCorps VISTA member with GHCC's Adult Literacy & ESOL program. As we prepare for the departure of our current AmeriCorps members and the arrival of 12 new volunteers in August, look for more VISTAs' stories on Greater Homewood Voices.

At the beginning of June, I moved from Indiana to Maryland to begin preparing to take over the Special Literacy Projects VISTA position with Greater Homewood Community Corporation. I came across AmeriCorps during my senior year of college when I decided I wanted to spend some time working in a service-oriented position. I’ve always wanted to spend at least a year doing some sort of service, and I figured that if I waited too long after college, I might never actually do it. AmeriCorps seemed like the perfect fit because they would place me at a non-profit, which is where I would like to be in my future career. Luckily, while I was looking through the various positions, I found that GHCC had an Adult Literacy and ESOL program. I was finishing up my senior internship at a non-profit that specialized in adult education and ESOL (which I happened to love doing), so I immediately applied for the position.

I find working with adults invigorating because they genuinely want to learn. They come to tutoring sessions because they want to make their lives a little better, and I cherish every opportunity I can get to help them achieve their goals. My position for the next year will allow me to take on more responsibility than I had in my internships, which will help me prepare for the next step in my life after AmeriCorps. Plus, I will also be able to strengthen my writing, organizational, communication, and planning skills.

August will definitely be an exciting month for me as I start training in Philadelphia and begin my year with GHCC. I have never been to Philadelphia before, which makes the training even more exciting. Plus, I will be able to get to know the city of Baltimore and meet all the people at GHCC after the training. The one thing I am worried about actually has nothing to do with starting my position—it has to do with finding housing in Baltimore. I would like to find an affordable apartment in a good neighborhood. Hopefully that is possible!

Overall, I am very much looking forward to the coming year!

Block Project Report: Richnor Recycles!

Written by Sam Chalfant

Not only was last Saturday the first official day of summer for Baltimore City Public School Students, it was the Richnor Springs Neighborhood Association’s summer kick-off block party.


This summer’s block party had a special theme: Richnor Recycles! As many Baltimoreans know, the city begins to operate under a One-Plus-One waste pickup system on the 14th of July. Under this new system, garbage will only be picked up once per week instead of two times per week and recycling will be picked up once a week instead of once every two weeks.

Richnor Springs wants to make sure their community is ahead of the game as Baltimore City makes this transition. The neighborhood association utilized grant money provided by the Greater Homewood Community Corporation Block Project Grant and a Cleaner Greener Baltimore Recycle More grant to address the need for increased recycling at this year's block party. At the event, 40 lucky residents were presented with free recycling bins to assure that they are ready for July 14th. In addition to free bins, Tonya Simmons, Recycling Coordinator for the Department of Public Works was on hand to speak about the new One-Plus-One system and field questions from community members. Ms. Simmons' knowledge of the new system proved invaluable as residents were able to learn all about the why, what, where, and when of One-Plus-One.


All the standard fun that accompanies a neighborhood block party was also on display last Saturday. Two barbecue grills pumped out toasty hot dogs for all. The kids (as well as some adults) got sugar overloads from fruity ice pops. Residents of Richnor Springs enjoyed the opportunity to socialize with each other and listen to music and, despite forecasts to the contrary, the seemingly constant rain of the past month was nowhere to be seen on Saturday. Kudos to Richnor Springs for hosting such a fun and informative event!