The Voices of the Middle Branch interview series aims to celebrate the communities around the Middle Branch through visual storytelling.
We recently spoke to Dawod , the Founder of My Fathers Plan, for the Voices of the Middle Branch campaign. His passion for the area and the work he is doing with youth to improve green spaces is inspiring. My Father's Plan is a (501c3) non-profit organization dedicated to cultivating change for inner city youth through community activism, financial literacy, and community outreach. They teach youth of all ages skills that will spark personal growth and ultimately enhance their community. In the Reimagine Middle Branch footprint, their waste management program maintains Solo Gibbs Park (Sharp-Leadenhall), Middle Branch Park & Waterview Avenue (Cherry Hill), Florence Cummins Park (Westport), Lakeland Park (Lakeland), Carroll Park (Pigtown), and parts of Federal Hill and Ridgley's Delight.
"I've lived in Union Square for two years and I love that everybody is busy and friendly. One of my strongest memories of the waterfront here on the Middle Branch is the amount of trash that had to be hauled when we first started cleaning the park. I believe that one thing that we can learn from nature is that everything has a term.
We created our organization out of community need. Youth needed opportunities, we created them. It brings me joy to serve my community and make the world a bit of a better place. It was my father’s dream before he passed and it was my calling to see it through and make a way to fulfill my purpose, make a change that impacts youth lives for the better, as well as create an empire for my family to uphold. In the future, we would love to see some murals, a café, or even a pavilion in Middle Branch Park.
Our organization has had a tremendous positive and economic impact on our community and I feel good when I visit the Middle Branch area because I know we play a huge part in keeping it clean."