Social entrepreneurs establish Baltimore-based New Song Urban

In 1981, Allan Tibbels was a 26-year-old youth director with Metro Maryland Youth for Christ.

His wife, Susan, was at home with their two daughters when she received the news: Allan had broken his neck in a freak accident playing basketball, leaving him a quadriplegic with only limited use of his upper body.

For most young people, such an accident would be emotionally devastating. However, Allan was not going to let this stop him.

I knew either God was in control, or he wasn't, he remembers. If he was in control, then there was a purpose for what happened to me.

Shortly after his accident, Allan and Susan read a book by civil rights activist John Perkins, With Justice for All, in which he strongly argued that churches should be a moving force in their communities. The book touched their hearts, and in 1986, they sold their house in Howard County, and with a young seminarian named Mark Gornik, they moved to Sandtown, one of Baltimore's most troubled areas.

They were deeply affected by what they saw: poverty, crime, drug use and abandonment - of 4,200 houses in the area, more than 1,000 were vacant - yet a neighborhood rich in history and a sense of community.

Allan, Susan and Mark realized they needed to become known and trusted in the community before they could have any impact. So, as Allan tells it, they hung out for a couple of years, living off the proceeds from their house sale and a small amount of support they had raised from friends who believed in their mission.

Jane Johnson was living in the Gilmor Homes in Sandtown, taking care of a quadriplegic husband and two children. She remembers the early days.

People were skeptical, she says, but then they saw they were working with us, and not for us.

Entrepreneurial spirit

Allan, Susan and Mark had a definite entrepreneurial vision, but they knew their neighbors would have to share the vision also.

Allan and Susan and a team of local folks now work together. Corey Barnes is program coordinator for New Song Urban Ministries, the umbrella organization of all the enterprises. Johnson is the assistant director of the New Song Learning Center. There is a staff of more than 100, of whom 75 are Sandtown residents.

The results are incredible. In 1988, they founded New Song Community Church.

In 1989, they formed Sandtown Habitat for Humanity. So far, they have completed 200 homes. Restoration of 50 additional units is under way. Sandtown Habitat for Humanity employs a full-time staff of 20 and hosts thousands of volunteers annually.

In 1991, they established New Song Community Learning Center, which serves the neighborhood children from preschool through high school.

We also run after-school programs and work closely with our parents, explains Susan Tibbels, who directs the learning center's public school, New Song Academy.

Also in 1991, New Song Family Health Services was formed and later joined in partnership with Mercy Medical Center. In 1994, EDEN Jobs was formed to provide job search assistance and placement for unemployed community residents. Tracey Keyser grew up in Baltimore, and is the executive director.

We concentrate on entry-level positions and local jobs that are accessible, said Tracey Keyser, executive director of EDEN Jobs. Since 1994, we have placed over 900 people in productive jobs.

Don Rittler, CEO of Keystone Scent Co. in Highlandtown has worked with EDEN Jobs. We have been very pleased, he says.

In 1995, New Song Arts was established with partners the Peabody Conservatory and the Maryland State Arts Council. The goal is to develop and share community talent by providing neighborhood youth with music instruction and performance opportunities. The children's choir has won many awards and recently produced a CD, Sandtown: Based on a True Story, which is in national release.

Corporate help

The most recent organization is Newborn Holistic Ministries, which was established by neighborhood pastor Elder C. W. Harris. Martha's Place, a six-month residential transitional house for women, actively guides the residents in their complete recovery from drug addiction.

The Tibbels are the best kind of social entrepreneurs, says Bart Harvey, CEO of The Enterprise Foundation. They are incredible.

The creative entrepreneurial spirit of the management team has attracted the attention of the Rouse Co., which for so many years has been an integral part of the rebirth of Baltimore.

Our unique relationship with New Song has been fulfilling for everyone involved, says Margaret Mauro, executive director of the Rouse Co. Foundation. We are pleased that our support has provided the children of New Song opportunities to have important life experiences that they would not had otherwise. We have made friends for a lifetime.

Provident Bank and The Columbia Bank helped greatly, too.

Their dedication to the success of Sandtown shows, says Bob Locke, executive vice president of The Columbia Bank. Community involvement is very important for us, and I cannot think of a better example of a win/win situation.

Tom Kane, global vice president of human resources for Black & Decker Power Tools has been tremendously impressed.

The Sandtown Habitat for Humanity project is a perfect fit for Black & Decker's commitment to community revitalization, he says. Our employees donate their time, and we donate the power tools during the building phases of the homes we sponsor.

Bert Hash Jr., CEO of the Municipal Employees' Credit Union, has worked with the Habitat program for more than a decade.

From the beginning, I was amazed at their ability to bring everything together for the good of the community, he says.

The whole New Song experience is replicating itself. Gornik has left Sandtown for Harlem, N.Y., where he helped establish New Song New York.

The lessons learned in Sandtown are making a big difference on a few blocks of central Harlem, he says.

If there is a secret to New Song's success, he continues, it is the tenacity of the community and creative drive of the leaders who have come forward. Together, they are building on faith.

Hash sums it up when he says, When I need to be uplifted, I go to Sandtown.

Neil R. G. Young is president of Young & Co., a financial planning firm in Lutherville. If you have any comments or questions, you can send him an e-mail at neil@yco.com or call at (410) 494-7766. The Web site is http://www.yco.com.

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