Community Partner:
Greater Homewood
Community Corporation
(GHCC)
Intern: John McLaughlin
Site Supervisor: Ira
Kowler
What is GHCC?
Established in 1969,
Greater Homewood
Community Corporation is
a nonprofit organization
whose mission is to build
and strengthen vibrant
urban communities in
north central Baltimore
City. Our work centers on
the pillars of vibrant
urban living: safe streets,
good and diverse quality
housing stock, quality
schools, and livability.
Much like the
neighborhoods we serve,
our programs are
interconnected and
bolster our holistic
approach to fulfilling our
mission.
For so many years I have been extremely interested in the issues I
faced this summer ‐ I have studied them during my coursework at JHU
over the past year and have completed significant service work, but I
always felt like an outsider looking into something I didn't truly
understand. All of that changed this summer. Thanks to the CIIP
program and the Greater Homewood Community Corporation (soon
to be Strong City Baltimore), in only two months I was able to
immerse myself in five diverse neighborhoods along Baltimore's
Greenmount Avenue and make a large contribution towards an effort
that will likely make Greenmount and its surrounding communities
much more livable for their residents. I have learned an incredible
amount of information about the challenges facing disinvested
neighborhoods in Baltimore City (and much of urban America), the
inner workings of nonprofits, urban planning, and community
organizing. Due to the difficulty of the challenge I was presented with
and the autonomy I was given to complete it, I was forced (in a good
way) to grow into an effective professional, managing my own time as
well as a team of five adults on various outreach campaigns. I was
pushed out of my comfort zone, learning valuable skills in design and
effective communication. Ira, my supervisor, was always there to help
me up if I ever stumbled ‐ GHCC's resources and people provided an
environment in which I couldn't help but grow and succeed.
Ultimately, I can't imagine not doing something similar to the work I
did this summer later in life ‐ educating and organizing others in order
to effect positive change in areas that desperately need it.
‐John
Tasks:
• Led and managed a team of five 19‐45 year‐old Americorps summer VISTA associates on
multiple flyering campaigns through five neighborhoods along Baltimore's Greenmount
Avenue
• Helped organize a series of events involving Baltimore City residents in the Greenmount
Corridor development process,
• Designed two flyers, a survey, and a community input Google map
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