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Director of Civic Works’ YouthBuild program constructs connection between young people and service

Serving low-income, 16-to-24-year-old Baltimore City residents, YouthBuild helps young people to finish their high school education and earn certificates in fields, such as construction and nursing.

Based in Northeast Baltimore’s Belair-Edison, the YouthBuild program mostly serves African American men from the city, including the Coldstream Montebello Homestead and Belair-Edison neighborhoods.

Candice Blackwell has been director of YouthBuild, part of the nonprofit community service organization Civic Works, since 2018. The program, like so many others, went virtual last March and has been hybrid for the last year.

“I aim to stay busy,” said Blackwell, 37. “I aim to stay innovative — I understand that changes are constant. I have to be ready to try new things, fail at things and get up and try new things.”

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