BALTIMORE — A community leader is building a blueprint to create a brighter future in Baltimore City.
My Father’s Plan.
Dawod Thomas opened a business in Pen Lucy and wanted to see the neighborhood cleaned up.
It started with a few kids and quickly spread all over the area.
Now kids make $12.50 an hour for about 5 hours a week to clean up their neighborhood.
“The community cleanup that happens probably 3-4 days a week,” Thomas said. “Now on Saturdays we meet as a group. We clean the whole Pen Lucy which is maybe 20 blocks. On the weekdays we do touch ups.”
The city took notice of their, and Recreation and Parks built a new court.
“We haven’t had a new court in 49 years,” said Thomas. “That’s the last time we had a court so it’s a big deal.”
16-year-old Gerord Johnson was one of the first kids in the program.
He sets an example for younger kids.
“I basically show them because actions speak louder than words,” Johnson said. “They see me doing it they won’t want to go out and sell drugs and stuff like that.”
Now Thomas is building a center for kids to learn skills while they do jobs around the city.
“It’s a blueprint for other communities to model,” Thomas said. “I’ve noticed other people around the city starting to do it.”
On Sunday, they have a community event centered around the court.
At 11 a.m. there is a skills training followed by a youth basketball game.
“At 1 o’clock it’s the showtime it’s the Old York Rd Legends myself and my friends against all the young guys,” said Thomas. “We got this new court we gotta hand it to them. We going to literally hand it to them right. We going to give that nice L. It’s a community builder. We get to invite all the people from the past to meet all these young people and that’s bridging the gap.”
My Father’s Plan is a nonprofit and they are taking donations to help build their center.
All are welcome to the event on Sunday and it’s located at 4017 Old York Rd. You can click here for more information.
