Volunteer

Volunteering in Action

"Coach Marcellus" (in orange) volunteers two hours a month doing what he's good at-- playing basketball. The difference is that he's engaging youth who need him most at the Cheltenham Youth Detention Center! When not serving children in detention on a Saturday morning,

Marcellus is a middle school principal in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Year-round Program: Basketball

Where: Cheltenham Youth Detention Center

Longest Program: Chess

Where: Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center (all boys); Baltimore Evening Reporting Center (co-ed); Prince George's County Evening Reporting Center (co-ed).

Newest Programs

Volleyball Program

Stock Market Game Program

Volleyball Program

Sundays, at 11:00 a.m., volunteers from Howard Community College play volleyball with the all-girls facility.

CA$HFLOW Program

Stock Market Game Program

Volleyball Program

Sundays at 10:00 a.m., a Baltimore volunteer teaches financial literacy to youth at BCJJC and entrepreneurialism with this game.

Stock Market Game Program

With coordination with the Maryland Council for Economic Education, three treatment centers in Western Maryland are participating in the Stock Market Game.

Upcoming Program

Young Fathers Group

Mid-April, 2023, Youth Detention Center

Beyond Rhetoric is partnering with the Youth Detention Center (YDC) to bring a "Young Fathers Group" to YDC. The youth will receive a mentor on how to be a dad and a safe place to talk about fatherhood challenges and joys. Khaalis Hall led this program for the Department fo Juvenile Service before taking it to YDC. When asked, Khaalis shared, "I'm excited to be a listener to learn and engage with these young men to see how I can inspire them." The hope with this program is it not only helps the detained young fathers, but it also, by extension, nurtures the "hidden victims" because "As many as half of all boys whose parents do time will wind up behind bars themselves" (All Alone in the World: Children of the Incarcerated ~ Nell Bernstein)

Mid-April, 2023, Youth Detention Center

The sessions will be bi-weekly and begin in mid-April.

Volunteer today

Do you have a skill to share?

We are looking for skilled, passionate individuals who feel they can commit to being a positive influence in the lives of children.

What kind of experience do you need?

Intimate knowledge of the skill or activity that you will be teaching. Teaching, coaching experience is preferred.

Never worked with at-risk youth before?

No worries! We will work with you to come up with trauma-sensitive lesson plans so we can make sure that your impact is felt.

Don't feel particularly creative, but you want to serve?

No worries! Join us during our existing programs. Whether it's basketball every other Saturday or chess on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays or Sunday Volleyball or the financial literacy game on Sundays (different locations), or the Young Fathers Group every other Saturday (beginning mid-April), we have you covered.

What are the steps to become a volunteer?

When you contact us, we will help walk you through the process so it is stress-free!

You will fill out an application with DJS
You will be fingerprinted for a background check
You will receive a short training and orientation
We will work with you to make sure your classes are prepared

What are the stated needs of the Department of Juvenile Services?

"[W]e are actively recruiting

Non-Faith Based volunteers,
life skills training, job readiness skills,
vocational training,
financial literacy development,
mentoring,
parenting programs and
art/music education."

WHY Volunteer?

"Everybody can be great. . . because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." -Martin Luther King Jr.

Photo Credit: Rachel V. King Lifestyle

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