General Updates

On January 12 we kicked off our winter session with 28 after-school programs.  This year our programs will be focusing on integrating on-site service for our youth along with the skills-based class they’re taking throughout the semester.

We have 5 programs running in Baltimore this semester, up from the 2 we had last fall.  Students will be doing two on-site service projects highlighting civic responsibility and giving back per semester. We are happy to continue strengthening our relationship with Eutaw-Marshburn Elementary School and are thrilled to announce the week-long summer camp that will be held there this year.

The So What Else staff attended its first of four Maryland Out-of-School-Time Youth Development Conferences. We had a successful week of training and would like to welcome Abu, Horiol, Talia, and Jonathan to the So What Else youth development team! We look forward to our next conference on April 5-11th, which will focus on environmental conservation, sustainability, and service.

We have been invited to submit a proposal for the $150,000 Team Up Grant from the Trawick Foundation. The Trawick Foundation is very supportive of our mission and we look forward to developing innovative new programming with our teammates.

New Collaborations

We are thrilled to officially announce the collaboration between So What Else and Nourish Now.  Feed the Mind will allow us to deliver diverse programming and nutritious food in one setting for our youth constituents and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with Nourish Now.

We are excited to welcome David and Nicole Holly to the team as pilots for So What Else: Southern Maryland! Our goals are to bring the So What Else mission to Waldorf, La Plata, and neighboring southern Maryland communities. Our preliminary calendar and official affiliation begins on February 1, 2015 with an Earthopia event from 1:00-4:00pm at 2560 Mill Hill Road, Waldorf MD. We will have a “Farm Day” from 9:00am-5:00pm on April 25, doing hands-on learning through hiking, gardening, and learning about plants. We look forward to further engaging with the southern Maryland community in community service events in the near future.

We are excited to welcome Davey Rogner and Jane Matt to a new collaboration with us here at So What Else. This partnership with The Harvest Collective will allow us to delve further into sustainability, healthy fresh foods, and environmental and STEM education.  We are currently building a garden at Springbrook High School and teaching classes at Clemente Middle School, and on April 5-11th we will be hosting a weeklong environmental workshop at 11405 Guerlac Court, North Potomac MD 20878

Thanks for reading!