Baltimore Community Fellowships
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Baltimore, Maryland
2005
Najib Jammal came from California to Baltimore to take part in the Teach for America program. Now in his fourth year in the Baltimore public schools, he and a handful of other teachers have come together to offer additional learning opportunities outside the classroom.
The group has launched a cooperative business program called Youth Organizing Urban Revitalization Systems. Already the YOURS group has installed a handful of urban gardens and established businesses to print t-shirts, do landscaping and make jewelry. Profits from the ventures will eventually be plowed back in to help start other enterprises.
The goal, Jammal says, is to give students confidence and make them appreciate that they are valuable members of a community. "We want to improve the students' talents to improve the community. We want to help them feel that they're part of something, to believe that they can impact the community."
Long-range goals include a coffee shop, a beauty salon and a bike shop. "We're definitely trying to think bigger now," Jammal says.
