Maryland Service Year program concludes first year, accepting applications for year two

This week, Washington County resident Chris Keane attended his commencement . Not for high school, he’s already done that. Not for college, he’s yet to cross that milestone. But for something more novel, Maryland’s Service Year Option program, which started last year .

The Herald-Mail covered the launch event for the program enacted in 2023 for recent high school graduates last October, recording the remarks of Keane, an inaugural year program participant, as he spoke about his early days serving at Horizon Goodwill in Hagerstown to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who backed legislation during his first year in office to create the program.

At that time, Keane, once a Boy Scout, told the governor about handing out food to people in his new role. In an interview this week, the graduate who grew up in Washington County shared his experiences in the program — from his work at Horizon Goodwill, to a program trip to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, to a program visit to learn about the state’s history on the Eastern Shore.

“We have people from all different parts of the state coming together in a unified thing to build our communities better and stronger,” said Keane, who participated in the program’s leadership council.

The community building was quite practical for the recent high school graduate who worked at Horizon Goodwill, aiding young people, ages 15 to 24, who were experiencing homelessness.

“It taught me about where we fall short,” said Keane, of his home community. His role entailed helping others find opportunities for housing, employment, and connections to social services.

RECAP: 'Maryland is leading the nation':Call to serve gets 500 applications for upcoming program

Loading up his minivan with baby formula

On at least one occasion, Keane, himself, was the connection.

After a nationwide baby formula shortage in the past year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had excess formula that needed to be distributed. Keane’s service year host, Horizon Goodwill, with its climate-controlled warehouse, accepted 19 pallets worth of formula.

“From there, we got it out to our local community,” Keane recalls. There was just one issue. “There wasn’t enough people in Hagerstown area, the Western region to get rid of it.”

Not wanting the stage two formula for babies to go to waste, Keane loaded up his Honda Odyssey minivan.

“I was driving in my minivan before (the service year option program’s) regional trainings, loading it up where (the van) was hitting the ground like a low rider,” he said.

At a community event in the central part of the state, Keane said he was able to hand out some formula for free to thankful individuals. With the help of other program participants, he said about 5,000 cans were distributed to people in need. Others noticed his actions.

“He’s an exemplary example of what this what this this program is all about,” said Chip Brown, communications director for the state agency, the Department of Service and Civic Innovation, which oversees the service program and its adjacent program for older adults, Maryland Corps.

Brown said Keane will be one of less than two dozen individuals to participate in a year two program to mentor the next cohort of program members, who are scheduled to start in September.

The next deadline for applications to be part of the Service Year Option is July 22. Those who are interested can learn more and apply at serve.maryland.gov .

More: Maryland Conservation Corps paves the way on state park trails and more

Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues. He can be reached at dweingarten@gannett.com or on Twitter at @DwightWeingart2.

This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Maryland Service Year program concludes first year, accepting applications for year two