Maryland Business Spotlight x Thread

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is iHeartRadio's Maryland Business Spotlight, presented by Rosedale Bank.
Each week we hear from one local business owner letting
us know where they are in their business journey and
how they got there. I'm here today with Devin Morton,
Managing director of Thread. Welcome Devin, Thank you for being here.
Tell us a little bit about your business. What is Threat?

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Thread is a community impact organization that leverages the power
of relationships to support students through graduation and beyond. We
were founded in two thousand and four here in Baltimore
with two volunteers working with a group of students at
Dunboll High School. We enroll the lowest performing ninth grade

(00:41):
students at the lowest performing schools who face an abundance
of challenges in and out of the classroom. We commit
to them for ten years and we never unenroll a
young person. What's special about Thread is that we connect
young people with small groups of volunteers from diverse backgrounds
aperiences to build relationships and support one another and achieving

(01:04):
their goals. And those goals can include know graduating from
high school, defining a post high school pathway, and becoming
employed or enrolled in a post high school pathway which
allows them to support themselves and their families throughout life.
That's great. We have an extensive network of programs and

(01:24):
partnerships to help our community overcome barriers, creating a layered
system of support. The results are really amazing. Thread students
graduate at a rate ten times that of their peers,
with GPAs less than one point zero. And together we're
creating a more equitable city where everyone can.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Throw out fantastic. So tell me what is the success rate?
Usually for these kids who are a product of their environment.
Sometimes I assume and you guys give them a helping hand.
What's the success rateed threat?

Speaker 2 (02:00):
What started over twenty years ago with two students working
with a dozen or so volunteers at one school has
grown to more than thirteen hundred young people in alumni
like myself and more than thirty five hundred volunteers and collaborators.
We're now at seven high schools in Baltimore City Wow,

(02:23):
and we're focused on enhancing the effectiveness of our model,
expanding the scope and strengthening the outcomes for our community.
And so our aim is to support more than two
thousand young people in alumni across Baltimore, representing approximately seven
percent of all income and ninth graders enrolled in Baltimore
City high schools that meet our selection criteria.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
So, what are some of the specific things you guys
do as an organization as opposed to just kids going
to high school? What do you do to help them
find what it is they need to succeed in life?
Where you know, there again, their surroundings or whatever kind
of history they might have might stop them from doing
that or have challenges.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
So it's crucial and what we do right and building
deep meaningful relationships, right, we build trusts with our young people,
and through that trust, we're able to help them kind
of identify what are some of the goals they have
for themselves beyond high school right, Right? And so in
identifying those goals, right, we understand that because of the

(03:31):
structural barriers that they may be facing, they might need
additional support and resources to be able to navigate gate
through that. And so we have an engagement process right
where we identify kind of what are some of those
barriers they might be facing, and how can we strategically
support them and getting the access to the information that exists.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
Right.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
So, sometimes you know, in Baltimore City, resources are scarce, right,
and they're often changed and updating, and so making sure
that we are a bressed to what those resources are
and able to apply that to our volunteers and young
people so they can work through those barriers and ultimately
reach their goals.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
That's amazing, you know, And you know when you think
about it, and I'm sure you have. I mean, you
and people like you are really saving the future of
some of these underprivileged kids, if that's the proper way
to say it. But this is saving their lives in
the future, and I think that is pretty amazing. I mean,

(04:34):
where would they be without Thread is a question I
would say. So I think what you guys do is
just incredible. Devin, tell me about yourself. How did you
get involved with this organization?

Speaker 2 (04:46):
So, as I mentioned, my involvement started over twenty two
years ago. So I started out and the very first
cohort as a student in Thread and have again been
a part of this community for over twenty two years.
I've been uh wore many hats and so I've also volunteered,

(05:12):
and then I joined staff a little over eight years
ago and have been on staff since and now and
the managing director role, so have multiple different kind of
vantage points. And you know, through my own journey of
coming through Thread, working with my piers as a young person,

(05:35):
but also working with the volunteers that were supporting me
and like intentionally building those relationships, you know, navigating vice,
Thread has kind of been there almost at every step
of my journey and supporting me through some of through
really tough life decisions but also some really exciting life decisions. So,

(05:59):
you know, I remember being in high school and kind
of deciding what my post high school plan would be,
you know, after getting back on track, and like, uh,
I was kind of contemplating that I wanted to just
go right into the workforce.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
Right.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Was college actually the thing for me? Right? And it
was through the bonds that I've built with members of
that first cohort and those volunteers, I got exposure into
different pathways, right. So a lot of the volunteers I
worked with earlier on were PhD students, right, college students

(06:39):
from different backgrounds, different walk of life, and I was
able to go into their labs, you know, see them
doing the work right, and get to know them as
human beings and actually be able to see myself uh
in in in their issues and so, you know, a
lot of that first cohort, we was like, hey, you know,

(07:03):
I think I want to go to college, you know,
and so we started working on a college essays and
doing all of that, and that was a major decision
for me, and I ultimately went to college and graduated,
and then you know, after graduation, came home, were still

(07:23):
trying to figure it out. Yeah, because the pathway into
a career just wasn't as clear and I didn't have
all of the information and resources media. So I again
came back to Thread to kind of figure out what
the next step in that journey was for me. And
so I started volunteering with Thread. And what I found was,

(07:44):
you know, after being in the lum coming through the
program and getting a degree in a totally different field,
through volunteering and doing work with Thread in the community,
I felt that this was more aligned with my purpose, right,
And so opportunities opened up at Thread, I applied, and

(08:08):
now here we are eight years later and now the
managing director overseeing all of our programs, everything from enrolling
young people to supporting them throughout life.

Speaker 1 (08:21):
That's awesome, Yeah, out there, great I mean, and you
went to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. And you
know what, when people go to college, it doesn't matter
what kind of background you have or opportunity. Some people
don't know what to do with their lives even after college.
So it's really cool that you found your own calling
from an organization that helped you more than twenty years ago,

(08:43):
and you've been there with them for so long. I
think that's fantastic.

Speaker 2 (08:46):
Devin.

Speaker 1 (08:46):
Where do you see the future of THREAD going? I
mean some of the new initiatives, what's going on?

Speaker 2 (08:54):
So? Yeah, as I mentioned right, we are folks. It's
on enhancing the effectiveness of our model and expand expanding
the scope sure and the strengthen the outcomes. And so
we're aiming to continue to deepen out impact in Baltimore
and continue to reach young people who are most impacted

(09:20):
by structural barriers, right, And so in doing that, our
hope is to continue to expend and reach approximately seven
percent of all income and ninth graders enrolling in Baltimore City.
And as we do that, we're always looking for volunteers,
college students to retirees right or lifelong residents and even

(09:45):
transplants right who want to build relationships with young people
and help to strengthen the social fabric of Baltimore City.

Speaker 1 (09:53):
Devin, where can people find out more about this incredible
organization called Thread?

Speaker 2 (10:01):
So one volunteering doesn't take a lot of time, right,
but it makes a big impact. And so we say
that if you would do something for your own child, niece, cousin, parent,
or neighbor, that's what we do in Thread. So if
you are looking to find more information, please check out
our website at www dot thread dot org. Again, that's

(10:24):
www dot thread dot org.

Speaker 1 (10:27):
Fantastic, Devin, thank you for an introduction to Thread. I
really appreciate it, especially coming from somebody who has been
through the program and got helped out and found a
home in the organization itself. It's a great story and
you guys are doing wonderful things, So I really appreciate
the information and the time. Thanks Devin, Thank you so much.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
Appreciate you.

Speaker 1 (10:49):
This has been iHeartRadio's Maryland Business Spotlight, presented by Rosedale Bank.