Thread (non-profit organization)

Last updated
Thread
Imp camp wall.jpg
Address
PO Box 1584

,
MD, 21203
Information
MottoMentors and students develop teamwork and problem-solving skills on a Challenging Outdoor Physical Experience (COPE) course
Website thread.org

Thread (formerly known as Incentive Mentoring Program or IMP) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded by Sarah and Ryan Hemminger as a partnership between students at Johns Hopkins University and two Baltimore City High Schools: Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Baltimore, Maryland) and the Academy for College and Career Exploration . The goal of Thread is to transform teenagers who are failing high school into Baltimore City's most valuable role models. Thread extends a school-based tutoring program to the home, providing both academic and social support to youth struggling with poverty, drugs, and violence. Mentoring teams, called "Thread Families" not only support teenagers in overcoming their own adversity, but also encourage them to help others do the same. The first group of Thread students achieved a 100% graduation [1] and 100% college enrollment rate. [2]

Contents

Target participants

Thread's philosophy is that its mentors should learn just as much from the high-school students as these teenagers learn from them.

Teenagers

High School freshman who have failed at least 50% of their courses and face one of the following psychosocial challenges are selected to join Thread and receive support through college graduation.

Health professionals in training

Thread's mentors are medical, public health, and nursing students who personally witness the challenges teenagers face. These future health professionals develop experience with urban health issues and promoting behavior change.

Mentoring model

Thread has a "family style" mentoring, in which a team of 5-6 mentors is matched with each child and is responsible for adapting to his/her unique needs. Thread Families coach life skills through activities based on 3 elements: academic assistance, community service, and team-building. As needed, these teams connect students and their families with rehabilitation and other social services. This model was designed to meet the comprehensive needs of the students without overburdening volunteers. [3]

Academic assistance

Mentors serve as tutors, advocates, and counselors for students. Johns Hopkins graduate students hold 1-on-1 after-school tutoring sessions twice weekly. Volunteers also coach organizational skills, seek regular feedback from teachers, and navigate the college application and financial aid processes.

Community service

At first, the primary concern of many Thread students is self-preservation. Their perspectives shift when they are put in the position of giving to others. Thread Alumni say that participating in service projects gave them a sense of purpose and hope for the future. [2]

Team-building

Thread encourages students to rely on each other as well as their network of mentors. Field trips such as camping and high-ropes courses are designed to develop trust, communication skills, and problem solving ability.

Community service awards

Thread has received service awards from both local and national organizations.

Community service partnerships

Thread mentors and students participate side-by-side in monthly community service projects benefiting organizations throughout Maryland. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johns Hopkins University</span> Private university in Baltimore, Maryland

Johns Hopkins University, often abbreviated as simply Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU, is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins was the first U.S. university based on the European research institution model. It consistently ranks among the most prestigious universities in the United States and the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Maryland, Baltimore County</span> Public university in Maryland

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs and the first university research park in Maryland. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity".

Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) is an academic preparation program for pre-college, community college and university-level students. Established in 1970 in California, the program provides academic support to students from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds throughout the education pathway so they will excel in math and science and ultimately attain four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) fields. The program has successfully been replicated in over a dozen other states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Baltimore, Maryland)</span> Public, magnet school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, is a public high school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.

Garrison Forest School (GFS) is a non-denominational private college preparatory boarding and day school located on a 110 acres (45 ha) campus in Owings Mills, Maryland. GFS offers kindergarten through 12th grade for girls as well as a co-educational program for pre-K. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Association of Independent Maryland Schools.

The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) is the nursing school of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1889, it is one of the nation's oldest schools for nursing education. It is continuously rated as the top nursing program in the US per U.S. News & World Report.

The Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions (HCHDS), a research center within the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, strives to eradicate disparities in health and health care among racial and ethnic groups, socioeconomic groups, and geopolitical categories such as urban, rural, and suburban populations.

Ronald Joel Daniels is a Canadian academic and the current president of the Johns Hopkins University, a position which he assumed on March 2, 2009. Daniels' tenure in this role has been extended twice, and is currently set to run through 2029. Daniels was previously the vice-president and provost at the University of Pennsylvania, and prior to that was dean of the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. Daniels received his B.A. (1982) and J.D. (1986) degrees from the University of Toronto, and his LL.M. (1988) degree from Yale Law School.

Chester "Chet" L. Wickwire was the American chaplain emeritus of the Johns Hopkins University. He was a prominent fighter for civil rights and an international peace activist. Reverend Wickwire was remembered as a "consummate humanist" after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remington, Baltimore</span> Neighborhood of Baltimore in Maryland, United States

Remington is a neighborhood in northern Baltimore bordered to the north by Hampden, Wyman Park, and Johns Hopkins University and to the east by Charles Village. The southernmost boundary is North Avenue and the long southwestern boundary is formed by Falls Road in the I-83 corridor. The neighborhood is split between two Baltimore City Council Districts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership</span>

Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York (CCNY) is a nonpartisan educational, training, and research center named for its founder, General Colin L. Powell, USA (Retired), a graduate of CCNY. The goals of the Powell School are to build leaders for the common good, promote civic engagement, and strengthen connections between the campus and neighboring communities. The current dean is Andrew Rich.

Carroll Lockard "Lock" Conley was a hematologist and founder of the Division of Hematology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

Aris Melissaratos is a Romanian-born Greek-American engineer, industrialist, aerospace executive, investor, philanthropist, university administrator, author and former government official in Maryland. He served as Secretary of Business and Economic Development of Maryland from 2003 to 2007, in the administration of Governor Robert Ehrlich.

Claudia L. Thomas is the first female African-American orthopedic surgeon in the United States. She attended Medical School at Johns Hopkins University. She was the first African-American and woman to be admitted to the Yale Medical Program in orthopedics. She strives to increase the number of minority students in medical school and to help decrease racial bias in the healthcare industry. While in her undergrad at Vassar College she helped form the Students' Afro-American Society (SAS), whose members pushed for the creation of a Black Studies program at the college. She has overcome kidney failure which was exacerbated by a hurricane and is a cancer survivor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts</span> Theater school in Columbia, Maryland, US

Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts (CCTA) is a Greater Washington D.C. Area regional theater school based in Columbia, Maryland. CCTA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is funded, in part, by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the Howard County Arts Council from Howard County, Maryland.

Adele Hagner Stamp (1893–1974) was the first dean of women at the University of Maryland, College Park and later named dean of women emeritus from the University Board of Regents. In 1990 she was inducted into the Maryland Women's Hall of Fame. In 1983, the University of Maryland named the student union building in her honor.

Claremont School, is a public separate middle/high school located in Orangeville, Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The school was founded in 1966 with the purpose of serving the needs of students with intellectual disabilities. The school continues to serve students with disabilities, grades 6-12, offering career & technical training in areas such as food & beverage management.

Youth Opportunity Academy is a public, alternative high school located in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. The school allows students who have dropped out to obtain either high school diplomas or GEDs. The school is located in the Lafayette Square Community Center, in a building that was originally built in 1972 and originally served as a branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Crystal C. Watkins Johansson is an American neuroscientist and psychiatrist and associate professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as well as the director of the Sheppard Pratt Memory Clinic in Neuropsychiatry in Baltimore, Maryland. Johansson was the first Black female Meyerhoff Scholar to obtain an MD/PhD from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. During her MD/PhD she developed a novel treatment for gastrointestinal in patients with diabetes that led to a patent for a pharmacological compound in 2000. Johansson is a practicing neuropsychiatrist with a focus on geriatric psychiatry and she conducts brain imaging research as well as research on cancer in African American women.

References

  1. Grienzi, Greg (11 June 2007). "A Remarkable Partnership Sets High-Schoolers on New Path". The JHU Gazette.
  2. 1 2 "The New Social Fabric". Thread, Inc. Retrieved 2020-03-20.
  3. "Who We Are". Thread, Inc. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  4. "Recognition and Awards". Incentive Mentoring Program, Inc. Retrieved 2008-11-06.
  5. "Fellows & Projects". Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, Inc. Archived from the original on 2007-12-17. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
  6. "Straight from the SOURCE" (PDF). Student OUtreach Resource CEnter. Retrieved 2008-03-20.[ dead link ]
  7. Grienzi, Greg (9 January 2006). "James Early Jones to Lead MLK Tribute". The JHU Gazette.
  8. 1 2 "Partnership Spotlight: Dunbar Mentoring Project" (PDF). Schools Monthly: 21. 1 January 2008.[ permanent dead link ]
  9. "Partners". Incentive Mentoring Program, Inc. Archived from the original on 2008-01-30. Retrieved 2008-03-20.