Are you like Van?
Do you want to amplify the voices of Baltimore youth and empower them to achieve success? Young people are the future of our city, and ensuring they have access to resources and support systems is key to making that future sustainable. Baltimore Office of Sustainability and our network of partner organizations offer a wide range of resources and programs to help you get involved. Know of another organization that should be on the list? Let us know at sustainability@baltimorecity.gov.
See how the Baltimore Sustainability Plan empowers community voices and the progress we’ve made as a city in our annual sustainability plan reports.
Mentoring + Education
Thread works with underperforming students to tackle the barriers they face to their success. The program connects struggling high schoolers with resources and groups of supportive volunteers.
Community Law in Action (CLIA) develops young people to be leaders by connecting them to opportunities to amplify their voices, cultivate their skills, and actively participate in the process of positive community change.
The Village Learning Place shows how a library can also be a community center. They offer educational services and enrichment opportunities in Charles Village and throughout Baltimore, including after-school programs and summer camps through the LINK (Let’s Invest in Neighborhood Kids) initiative.
Team Triumphant helps keep middle and high school kids engaged at school through their after-school programs.
Elev8 Baltimore offers out-of-school-time opportunities, school-based health services, and outreach to ensure success for children in grades 5-8.
Living Classrooms Foundation strengthens communities and inspires young people to achieve their potential through hands-on education and job training, using urban, natural, and maritime resources as “living classrooms” in Baltimore and D.C.
Great Kids Farm engages Baltimore City Schools students at all grade levels to support classroom learning, participate in every aspect of food preparation, and prepare students for success in 21st century colleges and careers.
Baltimore Inspiring Connections Outdoors provides underserved Baltimore City youth with educational, enjoyable, and safe outdoor experiences at no cost to them.
Baltimore/Chesapeake Bay Outward Bound School uses experiential education techniques in a supportive yet challenging environment to teach students that they are capable of more than they ever thought possible.
Maryland 4-H provides community-focused, research-based experiential educational programs.
Advocacy + Engagement
New Lens is a youth-driven social justice organization that amplifies young voices to respond to issues like justice, health, and education.
The Inner Harbor Project identifies teens who are natural leaders among their peers and equips them with skills and resources to tackle the tough issues dividing society.
The Intersection works with Baltimore high school students from underserved areas to transform them into leaders with the skills to go to and through college, to engage in civic action, and to articulate and solve challenges facing themselves and their communities.
Free Your Voice is a student-led group based in South Baltimore working for greater participation and equity for youth, families, and communities, especially regarding clear air.
Youth as Resources is a youth-led grant-making, community organizing, and leadership development organization based in Baltimore.
Baltimore Algebra Project is a youth-run organization promoting math literacy and youth employment in a knowledge-based economy, as well as fighting locally and nationally to challenge and change the education system.
Baltimore Beyond Plastic is a youth-led, action-oriented organization dedicated to merging public health, environmental advocacy, and legislation to change the world, starting in Baltimore.
Young Women
The girls’ mentoring program from Enterprise Women’s Network works with 35-40 children per year at William Pinderhughes Elementary/Middle School, focusing on providing dependable relationships for girls who face instability in school or in the home.
Sisters Circle offers one-to-one long-term mentoring and after-school programs to empower girls to define their own vision for success and achieve self-sufficiency.
Young Men
Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood works to build resilience and prepare boys to thrive in a society that too often allows them to slip through the cracks.
Special Needs
Brown On the Spectrum offers resources and support to families and advocates of brown children on the Autism spectrum.
Refugee Youth
The Baltimore City Community College Refugee Youth Project provides after-school and summer programs, as well as mentoring programs, for over 300 students from 17 countries.
Liberty’s Promise supports young immigrants need while encouraging them to be active and conscientious American citizens.
International Rescue Committee provides opportunities for refugees, asylees, victims of human trafficking, survivors of torture, and other immigrants to thrive in America.
LGBTQ
Casa of Baltimore provide an LGBTQ+ Youth Resource Guide offering information on support services, advocacy, wellness, and other resources for identifying as LGBTQ.
Arts + Media
Baltimore Youth Arts is an after-school program offering artistic training, entrepreneurial opportunities, leadership skills, and career preparation to Baltimore youth, ages 12-22.
Creative Alliance offers after-school, enrichment, and summer programs to shape young minds through self-expression. Their education programs reach over 2,000 youth per year.
Wide Angle Youth Media empowers Baltimore youth to tell their own story and their community’s stories through the media arts.
Jubilee Arts Baltimore provides art classes to residents of Sandtown-Winchester, Upton, and surrounding neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. Their Youth in Business program is an entrepreneurial experience for high schoolers, who work together to create and sell a product, splitting the revenue between them.
Art with a Heart hosts interactive visual arts classes for Baltimore’s vulnerable communities, helping to facilitate creativity and develop paths to success.
Writers in Baltimore Schools fosters a nurturing environment for low-income middle schoolers to express themselves through writing. They offer in-school, after-school, and summer creative writing workshops taught by Baltimore college students.
New Lens is a youth-driven social justice organization that empowers the perspectives of young people through art and media so as to inspire change.
Literacy
Reading Partners places community volunteers in underserved schools to boost kids’ reading schools.
Coding
Code in the Schools works to ensure that every Baltimore City student can learn computer science. They offer both in-school and out-of-school programs, as well as their job training Prodigy Program, which places high school students in internships.
Digital Harbor Foundation fosters learning, creativity, productivity, and community through education via their Tech Center in South Baltimore and other programs and projects.
Health + Wellness
Holistic Life Foundation. The Holistic Life Foundation is a Baltimore-based 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. Through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care HLF demonstrates deep commitment to learning, community, and stewardship of the environment. HLF is also committed to developing high-quality evidence based programs and curriculum to improve community well-being.
Project Pneuma is a holistic program that teaches struggling boys mindfulness, wellness and self-discipline. Activities include meditation, breathing exercises, physical exercise, and trips outside of the city to broaden cultural experiences.