901 Arts

Better Waverly’s 901 Arts is a volunteer-driven program which serves local youth within a roughly 10 X 10-block neighborhood catchment zone (approximately 1000 homes).  80 total youth participants range in age from 6-17 years old.  Opportunities for youth include urban gardening (5 local sites run in partnership with Baltimore Green Space), music (on-site music lessons in instruments ranging from guitar, bass, piano, violin and glockenspiel), and art (on site instruction in writing and fine arts).  The program runs as an afterschool component during the school year and a 6-week summer program in the summer.  To engage high school students, there is a teen discussion group, job assistance, and SAT/homework help. The mission states a goal of “improving the life quality of youth through greening and education support.” 

One-time:

• Urban gardening at one or multiple locations
• Mural work

Ongoing:

• Internships:   Health, behavior and society-focused interns can assist in neighborhoods needs assessment, which can help 901 Arts create a statistical foundation for grant opportunities as well as add a formal qualitative element to the stories they capture from their youth.  This can be either a structural development or execution opportunity or both
• Garden work, afterschool homework assistance, art project assistance, music instruction, curriculum design and implementation, data entry.
• Community Consultants: Development of a structural framework for neighborhood needs assessment.

Other:

• Opportunities for students to engage as Greening Committee representatives