From Elijah Cummings Youth Fellows to Philanthropy Tank CHANGEmakers; The Story of Linking For Brilliance
Philanthropy Tank staff recently caught up with Linking for Brilliance! Check out what they had to say about their latest progress.
How did Linking for Brilliance form?
Diane, Adeola, Christian Jackson, Bethany, and Olivia all met through The Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel in 2019.
During this period, Philanthropy Tank Baltimore was just launching and holding application workshops for students.
Diane recollects how Philanthropy Tank staff came by to speak with students about applying with a community impact idea. Her mind started to spiral from the possibilities. She was left inspired and with a desire to create meaningful change in Baltimore City.
Diane reached out to a few of her peers to create Linking for Brilliance after attending The Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel, an elite two-year leadership fellowship for high school students in the 7th District of Maryland.
Linking for Brilliance is a youth-led program designed to mentor and academically support school-aged students in Baltimore City. Diane and her fellow CHANGEmakers focus their efforts on the West side of Baltimore City.
What type of activities does Linking for Brilliance do for children?
According to Diane, the team currently runs bi-weekly workshops that range in the topics covered. As of late 2020, the team has held 10+ workshops during the school year with the Calvin Rodwell Elementary School in Baltimore City.
“We host workshops that range in the subject taught. Our team believes that by mentoring the holistic whole being, we impact the student’s entire life. They’re not just a student at school. They’re also a sibling at home. Our workshops cover a variety of topics that help them build the foundation to strive in every aspect of life.”
The workshops cover topics related to mental health, goal setting, and career outlook.
“We had someone come and speak to the children about Dentistry. We hope to bring in more career-related speakers to talk with the children.”
In honor of Black History Month, the Linking for Brilliance team dedicated their workshops to teaching the children about black history and the current Black Lives Matter movement.
“For Black History Month, we talked with the students about what it means to be black. We want to establish the societal awareness component. It’s important that they understand the social issues as well as the history of being African Americans.”
What plans are in store for Linking for Brilliance?
The future looks bright for this inspiring group of teens!
Since the inception of their program, the Linking for Brilliance team has held its workshops virtually. As of now, they hope to continue doing so to keep everyone safe. Once they feel the pandemic has dwindled, they plan to go to in-person workshops.
A future goal for Diane and the team includes finding successors to lead the program for years to come. The plan is to keep the program student-led. They are welcoming any teens that would love to take part as mentors.
The group is also holding a back-to-school supply drive to fill up their Brilliant Boxes! Brilliant Boxes will have a variety of basic school supplies, including planners, masks, hand sanitizers, folders, bookbags, plus more!
Recently, the Linking for Brilliance team started collaborating with a fellow Philanthropy Tank finalist, NOTFORSALE.
NOTFORSALE, ran by Ania McNair, is a student-led program dedicated to bringing awareness to youth human trafficking in Baltimore City. The two groups are working to put together an after-school program. The goal is to get their programming to as many students as possible within Baltimore City.
Want to support Linking for Brilliance?
Are you interested in helping Linking for Brilliance accomplish its mission, or do you want more information about their program? If so, please get in touch with Nakeia Jones at njones@philanthropytank.org.