This week, I’m going off topic. Well, I’m going to desperately grasp at straws to make it a Baltimorean topic, but no promises. It’s really just a humanity thing. That thing is charity. We should all do it. I don’t care what Carlos Slim Helú says. It’s our duty as humans to help fellow humans.
Here’s where it gets Baltimorean: Let’s volunteer in our area. I think it’s one of the greatest mistakes of Johns Hopkins. Y’all stay on campus and the administration does nothing to push you bubbling bubblers out of the bubble. Just to be clear: bubble.
Yes, those rallying Saturdays with Habitat for Humanity are fantastic. Those who do it are doing real good. Here’s the “however” — however, I’m a fan of sustained volunteering: weekly face-to-face contact with people you see repeatedly and frequently. That’s how you can make a real impact, a lasting impression.
Did you know that the Enoch Pratt Free Library . . . hold up. Do you know the Enoch Pratt Free Library? That’s what I thought. Time now for a history lesson. The Enoch Pratt Free Library is one of the oldest public libraries in the country. It was founded by a guy whose name was, you guessed it, Enoch Pratt. It has 20 branches and the Central Library.
Alright, back to volunteering. There is a branch very close to campus (33rd Street and University Parkway) and they are always seeking volunteers, for a variety of projects. You bookworms will feel right at home and you sexy people can really rock the librarian look. Just log on to the website, www.prattlibrary.org/support/volunteer.aspx, to start your volunteering adventure.
Not book peoples, you BME and Chem majors? That’s fine — you can help out kids. Kids are, after all, the future. Perhaps you are artistic and the Krieger School is crushing your artistic drive. Art Brigade is the thing for you. It’s like Salvation Army, but with art and no old Santas at Christmas. The Field Marshals, Major Generals and Troops are, in my opinion, quite impressive. Andrea Nelson is the Field Marshal who knows every kid’s name at Tench Tillman, where the Brigade brings its brand of art. Sarah Bresler and Dona Trnovska are Generals or Field Marshals as well and they keep all things quiet on the western front (or, you know, on campus.) They make things smooth, so I can just color with my buds at Tench.
If you don’t want to go to Tench in East Baltimore (I knew you didn’t know where it was), the Art Brigade operates in the Carmelo Anthony Youth Center in Jonestown (Downtown) and soon they are advancing into City Springs Elementary in the same area. Oh, and if the founders are Field Marshals, then the Center for Social Concern is the Pentagon, with relative funding. You can find out more by emailing jhu.art.afterschool@gmail.com.
Okay, you don’t like art. You are BME and Chem majors, after all. You do, however, like kids. Try talking to Julie Miller (volunteer@stignatius.org) down at St. Ignatius of Loyola Academy on Calvert St. Essentially, you’re going to help middle schoolers with their homework. Very low stress, but still an important volunteering position.
Alright, I get it, you hate kids and don’t read. Most of you aren’t from this “City that Reads” anyway. How about helping teenagers? With the recent rash of suicides by gay teens in the media, perhaps you can get involved with the LGBT community center in Downtown Baltimore. You can visit www.glccb.org to find out more.
If none of the above are right for you, well unfortunately, I have nothing left in my vast reservoirs of Baltimorean knowledge. Perhaps you should make your way to www.jhu.edu/csc and find a group that fits your specific skills and tastes. No matter what you do, though, you’ll be helping to clear Baltimore of its crabby problems.
