The University of Maryland School of Social Work’s Community Outreach Services Program (SWCOS) continues to work in the field of community economic development, placing Neighborhood Fellows in community-based organizations throughout Baltimore City to increase capacity in their efforts to build stronger neighborhoods. This university-community partnership allows for reciprocal learning and understanding: students contribute much-needed capacity to neighborhood revitalization organizations while gaining invaluable hands-on learning in the community development field; in the process, community development organizations receive assistance in furthering their work in target blocks and the overall neighborhood.
We are grateful for the partnership of the Goldseker Foundation, which has been critical to helping SWCOS effectively transform communities across Baltimore. The Foundation’s support over the past 12 years for the Neighborhood Fellows program has provided core funding which we have been able to leverage, both in the private funding sector and to secure community-partner support. The Goldseker Foundation’s support, most recently a $25,000 gift, has spurred and sustained the vision and goals of the Neighborhood Fellows program and, in turn, has achieved added capacity to Baltimore City community-based organizations while training future generations of social workers.