[rev_slider alias=”Crossroads”]
Yesterday morning, Greater Baltimore CARES teamed up with two volunteers from Nielsen to have a literacy program with 6th Graders at Crossroads Charter School in Baltimore City. With a focus on Black History Month, we split into groups and read to 60 children from the book Fleeing to Freedom on the Underground Railroad. The experience was wonderful and so fulfilling. The children were attentive and full of questions. They had very general/vague knowledge of what the Underground Railroad was and its place in our history and seemed in awe and amazement at the stories we shared of the people, places and events surrounding that period of of time. We talked about slavery, the risks to both the escaped slaves and those “conductors” of the Railroad, the hope of the North and the heroes of the Railroad like Harriet Tubman and Levi Coffin.

In addition, Greater Baltimore CARES donated over 30 books to the class to help kick off the student’s love for literacy. The books were geared toward their age group and covered a variety of genres. Books included the Harry Potter Series, Black Boy, Esperanza Rising, Brown Girl Dreaming, etc.

It was a great experience for the volunteers, the teacher and the students. Though the time was short, we believe an impact on the students was made on knowing their history, the importance of literacy and reaching beyond their present situation to find their own true “North”. I am attaching a few pictures for you from our time with the students. It includes a picture with the two Nielsen volunteers, Andrea Stokley and Robin Spackman along side the teacher from Crossroads, Bonnie Halloran.   We also had Christi Turner join in with the Nielsen volunteers in the mentoring sessions with the students.