Thread engages underperforming high school students confronting significant barriers outside of the classroom by providing each one with a family of committed volunteers and increased access to community resources. We foster students’ academic advancement and personal growth into self-motivated, resilient, and responsible citizens.

Weaving together:

Students and Alumni

0 +

Volunteers

0 +

Collaborators

doing whatever it takes to help students realize their potential.

87%

of students who have been in Thread for 6 years have graduated high school

84%

of students who have been in Thread for 5 years have been accepted to college

83%

of student alumni have completed a 4 or 2 year degree or certificate program

What We Do

Three Ways We Achieve and Measure Our Success

frontpage_icons-35

Compelling Student Success

Thread engages students in the bottom 25% of their freshman class and radically and permanently reconfigures their social support structure. Each student is matched with a group of volunteers and provided individualized support for ten years while working toward realizing his or her potential.

frontpage_icons-36

Cultivating Volunteers as Agents of Change

The benefits of our student/volunteer relationships flow both ways and are designed to leave lasting imprints not only on our students, but also on our volunteers.

frontpage_icons-37

Creatively Linking Community

Thread creatively links students and university- and community-based volunteers to collaborators and resources in the larger Baltimore community, creating a broader, more inclusive social fabric – a “neighborhood” no longer defined by a map.

My [Thread] Family [was] always there and no matter what – no matter how hard the situation was – they always had faith that I would be successful. This past year, I made the Dean’s list and earned my college degree. [Now,] I want to be there for [my family and friends] when they are alone, and I have devoted my life to serving people suffering from mental illness. I want to give them the extended family that [Thread] has given me.”

– Thread Student Alumnus