MEET JAYLA DIAMOND
A week before Christmas day, The Salvation Army of Central Maryland (CMAC) received a call from Ms.Tynisa Williams, a teacher from Digital Harbor High School’s Port Virtual Learning Program. Normally, The Salvation Army receives calls for social service help, furniture donations, or for volunteering opportunities. However, this call was special and had a story behind it.
“Our Community Service Club at Port VLP selected The Salvation Army of Central Maryland as the best organization to donate 90 canned foods and 25 toys from our 2021 Winter Drive Assignment,” said Williams, who is also a co-chair of the Community Service Organization (CSO).
The COVID-19 Pandemic has forced the public school system to implement online/hybrid learning as a safer means to educate its students. More than 1,000 students attend Port VLP, where students are selected because they have excelled in online learning via the curriculum utilized by The Baltimore City Public School system.
Unsurprisingly, Port VLP students have a knack for conducting due diligence and research alike. As part of the school’s Winter Drive assignment, students from CSO were tasked with uncovering the best organization to donate to within the Baltimore area based on their own personal research. Williams said Jayla Diamond, a member of CSO, performed most of the exhaustive research, and chose The Salvation Army of Central Maryland for multiple reasons. Her research gleaned that the Salvation Army operates with lower overhead costs in comparison to other charitable organizations in the Baltimore area. Based on her research, she concluded that The Salvation Army can utilize the most money, thus, helping the most people.
She selected the Salvation Army as the best charity because she wanted to "be sure that she was directly helping people.”
“I chose the Salvation Army of Central Maryland because I noticed how diverse they were with their donations. When I was looking for an organization to donate to, I was looking for a non-profit that was really going to help people and make families happy during the holidays,” said Diamond. “When I came across the Salvation Army of Central Maryland, I noticed what services they offered, for example, disaster services, emergency shelters, community recreation programs, etc. The one service that really stood out to me was food pantry assistance. This non-profit stood out to me because a lot of people are able to keep food on their tables with food pantry assistance6.”
It’s not every day The Salvation Army of Central Maryland gets canned food donations from high school students, let alone students who know of the organization, so we wanted to learn more about Jayla Diamond.
Diamond joined CSO because she “loves to help others.” As she matured and grew older, she began to notice how fortunate she is in comparison to others in Baltimore. “It’s very sad to see how people are mistreated and are put in tough situations,” said Diamond. “I visit parts of Baltimore where there is a lot of poverty and homelessness. There are many problems in general within Baltimore city.”
Diamond’s awareness spurred her into a path of service for others. “It’s hard to see people in predicaments that they don’t want to be in,” said Diamond. “If you see a homeless person, give them something like money, a blanket, water, food. Not leftovers you just ate. Buy them food. At the end of the day, the homeless are human beings. Also, if you see a Go Fund Me Page or anything else related, that can be a resource to help someone. There are so many people who are in tough situations. I believe in helping others is because you might not know what someone is going through.”
One student inspired more students, staff, and faculty to collect enough cans to further help ensure families in need in Baltimore City will not go hungry. The 90 cans Diamond raised from her Winter Drive, helped The Salvation Army feed families in need including Afghan Refugees in the region.
“My goal for the community service club is to help people that live in Baltimore. I'm going to start small and work my way to help others around the world. I want to branch outside of the community service club, in order to create something bigger. I know there is so much more that I’m capable of doing. Mark my words “I Am Going To Help Make A Difference In This World.” I want to make people feel loved, welcomed, and accepted. I want people to know that they have a special place on this earth.”
The Salvation Army of Central Maryland is thankful for students like Jayla Diamond, who are “doing the most good.”