Baltimore Community Fellowships

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If Paige Fitz had it all to do over again, she says she would be more open to partnerships and networking opportunities earlier in her fellowship.

"I was a closed-in person and didn't really open up," she says. "But I have learned to take advantage of opportunities when they're offered to you. This fellowship has opened up many doors for me and for GEMS."

One reason for her initial reticence: Fitz didn't know that so many people would be interested in GEMS-Finding Jewels in Youth, an effort she started to help young women ages 13 to 25 who face tough challenges growing up in West Baltimore.

Now that her fellowship is over, Fitz has found that GEMS has many friends and fans.

Young Life, a Christian-based organization for adolescents has agreed to take GEMS on as a new, local program. The Erickson Foundation has put up the money to pay for Fitz's salary as GEMS executive director for another year. Churches, schools and other organizations all have expressed interest in what GEMS does.

"Now I'm overwhelmed with all the things that I've been getting," Fitz says. "But it's definitely great."

What started off as a group of 20 young ladies has now grown to 40 core GEMS members, and with the help of OSI-Baltimore, Fitz also has expanded to include groups in Baltimore city public schools.

"I really appreciate all the ways that they have helped me," she said, about OSI.

Today you can find the Douglass Diamonds, a group of 25 GEMS at Frederick Douglass High School. And Fitz will soon be starting a group at Carver High School. Those young ladies will call themselves the Carver Crystals.

"We eventually want to be in all the Baltimore schools," Fitz says, about helping more at-risk girls. "But we can only do a little at a time."

Already, GEMS has accomplished a great deal.

The young ladies held a fashion show, raising close to $4,000 to support activities. Fitz has taken 28 girls to Young Life camp in Lake Champion, New York, for five days of zip-lining, wall-climbing, hot-tubbing and, most importantly, realizing their self-worth and making commitments to better themselves.

"It was so great," Fitz says.

And this spring, the group staged a play-penned by Fitz-called "Esther in the Hood," about a young girl who is a queen in her Baltimore neighborhood, and has to combat the pessimism she experiences in her community by believing in her own value.

"I wanted to let them know that they are queens," Fitz says. "And even though they are surrounded by negativity, they can be something else other than what society dictates."