Volunteers from Johns Hopkins Share Stories About Giving Back

Launched in March 2010, Johns Hopkins Takes Time for Schools set out to inspire everyone in Baltimore to volunteer in City Schools. Johns Hopkins set the precedent by offering its employees two days of paid leave to volunteer in schools. A volunteer matching system was set up on the City Schools web site, and employees could browse options and find the right match.

Below, two employees from Johns Hopkins talk about their experience at an equestrian program for students at Claremont School. Find out how volunteering affected them personally, and read about their adventures helping students prepare for a competition.

By Eryka Wentz
Research Assistant, Women's Interagency HIV Study
Bloomberg School of Public Health

Johns Hopkins University

I was a social worker before coming to Johns Hopkins, and I loved working with teenagers. Thanks to the Johns Hopkins Takes Time for Schools program, I was able to volunteer two full days with the Special Olympics team at Claremont School. This amazing group of teenagers was training for the equestrian portion of the competition at the Freedom Hills Therapeutic Riding Program in Port Deposit, Maryland. I missed working directly with people, and this program gave me that opportunity back. It was one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences I have ever had. Read more ...

By Marguerite I. Jones
Senior Director of Alumni Services

Office of Alumni Relations
Johns Hopkins University

It began for me in June 2008, when the Division of Development and Alumni Relations at Johns Hopkins University, where I work, had a retreat. Andrés Alonso, the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools), and Michael Sarbanes, the executive director of Partnerships, Communications and Community Engagement, spoke at the retreat about giving back to the city, and we were inspired—and ended up volunteering as a group in City Schools.

Then in the winter of 2010, I received an e-mail from Ron Daniels, the president of Johns Hopkins, asking the Johns Hopkins staff to use up to two paid work days to volunteer in City Schools. President Daniel’s e-mail linked to a huge alphabetical list of volunteer opportunities in the district’s many schools, ranging from cafeteria monitor and bus helper to tutor and teacher’s helper. As I scanned the list, I got to E, saw the equestrian program and went no further. I signed up to go to the Freedom Hills Therapeutic Riding Farm and help students at Claremont School with their riding lessons in preparation for the Equestrian Special Olympics. It was an easy 45-minute trip to Port Deposit and a beautiful drive to the farm. Read more ...