Skip to Content List

  • Skip to primary content
  • Skip to footer content

Site Navigation Lists

  • Fellowship Application
  • Grantmaking Process
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • About
    • Mission and Vision
    • Staff
    • Board
    • Leadership Council
    • Impact Reports
    • Impact Photo Series
  • Programs and Impact
    • Our Programs and Impact
    • Education and Youth Development
    • Criminal and Juvenile Justice
    • Addiction and Health Equity
    • Community Fellowships
  • Grantees and Fellows
    • Grantee Database
    • Grantmaking Process
    • Community Fellows
    • How to Apply
  • News and Reports
    • Baltimore Justice Report
    • Newsletters
    • Reports
    • Impact Reports
    • Blueprint for Baltimore
    • OSI in the News
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • 20th Anniversary Speaker Series
    • Talking About Race Series
    • Talking About Addiction Series
  • Privacy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Community Guidelines
  • Terms & Conditions
Open Society Institute – Baltimore

Open Society Institute – Baltimore

Open Society Institute (OSI) – Baltimore : Audacious Thinking For Lasting Change

  • Fellowship Application
  • Grantmaking Process
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • EN
    • EN
    • ES
  • About
    • Mission and Vision
    • Staff
    • Board
    • Leadership Council
    • Impact Reports
    • Impact Photo Series
  • Programs and Impact
    • Our Programs and Impact
    • Education and Youth Development
    • Criminal and Juvenile Justice
    • Addiction and Health Equity
    • Community Fellowships
  • Grantees and Fellows
    • Grantee Database
    • Grantmaking Process
    • Community Fellows
    • How to Apply
  • News and Reports
    • Baltimore Justice Report
    • Newsletters
    • Reports
    • Impact Reports
    • Blueprint for Baltimore
    • OSI in the News
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • 20th Anniversary Speaker Series
    • Talking About Race Series
    • Talking About Addiction Series
OSI Community Fellow

Meshelle Foreman Shields

GoalDIGGERS: The Sankofa Project
2010 Baltimore Community Fellow

For 2010 OSI-Baltimore fellow Meshelle Foreman Shields, typical approaches to getting inner-city girls engaged seemed outdated, and changing times meant she had to think outside the box to find a way to help the young women in the Baltimore City neighborhood where she was born.

“I wanted to do something a little different in nature that still had the components of mentorship and education,” Foreman Shields says. “I wanted to combine leadership development, self-discovery, and academic support to ensure girls that their immediate surroundings don’t influence the rest of their lives.”

Through “GoalDIGGERS: The Sankofa Project,” 18 young women from the city’s Park Heights neighborhood will have the opportunity to explore their identities and heritage through anthropological research and DNA testing. They will also build their leadership and academic skills through developing fundraising events, participating in cross-cultural exchanges and learning how to perform qualitative research. The project which will culminate in a trip to the West African country of Ghana will also be filmed for a full-length documentary.

“Exposure shifts your point of view of yourself and the world,” Foreman Shields says. “We have to keep exposing young women to positive things and support them when they are doing good.”

Foreman Shields hopes to see her project spark change in the city and be a form of empowerment to other young girls.

“The best way to get others excited is to see a success story close to home,” she says. “If you see that the girl who shares the locker next to you has had a life-changing experience, you know that you can as well.”

Related Stories

  • Meshelle Foreman Shields
  • OSI Community Fellow Meshelle named as Baker Artist Award Finalist
  • OSI Community Fellow performs one-woman show in New York City
  • Nominations open for Heart of the School Awards
  • Heart of the School awards recognize outstanding principals
  • 2010 OSI Fellow to headline one-woman show in New York
Some schools saw an increase in violent incidents this year, but not always in the predictable places

About Baltimore Community Fellowshop

The Open Society Institute-Baltimore launched the Community Fellowships network in 1998. It is now a corps of social innovators 180 strong. The program seeks dynamic activists and social entrepreneurs interested in implementing projects that address problems in underserved communities in Baltimore City. Fellowship awards are in the amount of $60,000 for a term of 18 months.

Post navigation

Previous Post Pro lacrosse all-star to expand his North Baltimore youth nonprofit
Next Post Some schools saw an increase in violent incidents this year, but not always in the predictable places
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Youtube

Subscribe to our mailing list

OSI Logo

Open Society Institute-Baltimore
Bold Thinking, Strategic Action, Justice for All.

Quick donate

© 2023 Open Society Institute-Baltimore
  • Privacy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Community Guidelines
  • Terms & Conditions
Skip to top of page