What if technology helped us connect, not just scroll? Thread is looking for three young people to join a brand-new Service Year cohort dedicated to Relational Technology — using AI tools to design and build simple apps that strengthen relationships and meet real needs in Baltimore communities. This is a hands-on, learning-by-doing role: no coding background required.
Over 9-10 months, Fellows will learn how to spot a real community problem, build a working app to address it using AI-powered and no-code tools, gather honest feedback from the people it's meant to serve, and use that feedback to make it better. Fellows will move through a structured Development Cycle: 1) get into the community and collect ideas, 2) build, 3) reflect, and 4) share out. Fellows will begin by practicing within Thread, then applying the cycle directly with a community partner. No technical experience is required. What matters most is curiosity, follow-through, and a genuine interest in your community.
- Authentically engage in relationships with colleagues, community members, and mentors, modeling and practicing the Thread Core Competencies: (a) Show all the way up; (b) Fail forward; (c) Treat relationships as wealth; and (d) Learn from all voices.
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Share your own journey of personal and professional growth with the young people, volunteers, and staff you work alongside.
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Demonstrate the willingness and resilience to engage in an agile and flexible way as projects and priorities shift.
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Acknowledge that each person and community you work with brings a unique vantage point, and approach every conversation as a chance to learn.
- Learn and practice the Development Cycle: get into the community and collect ideas, build the ideas, reflect on the process, and share out to collect feedback.
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Identify a specific, observable, local community problem — something concrete enough that a simple app could make a measurable difference.
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Learn to write clear, effective prompts as the foundation for building high-quality apps with AI and no-code tools.
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Practice structured reflection throughout the process, capturing thoughts, ideas, and concerns as you go.
- Bring early app ideas into Thread spaces to share work-in-progress and collect real input from young people, volunteers, and staff.
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Start with guidance and support from Thread staff, gradually taking more ownership of the process as skills and confidence grow.
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Share in-progress apps with real community members and gather specific, actionable feedback.
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Revise and improve your app based on that feedback, helping the community see their input reflected in a real product.
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Once comfortable with the Development Cycle, partner with a community organization aligned with your interests to understand their needs firsthand.
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Apply the Development Cycle to build a tool that supports that partner's real community work — meeting people where they live and work.
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Participate in an intensive development week working alongside Thread's Data Team and the Relational Technology Project (RTP) team, stress-testing the Development Cycle by attempting to replicate a core feature of the Thread app in a week-long hackathon.
- Document your work throughout the term and produce a final portfolio: the problem you solved, how you approached it, and what you learned about using AI as a tool.
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Present your portfolio, potentially alongside other cohorts exploring how AI can foster relationships and build community.
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No prior coding or software development experience required — you'll learn AI-powered and no-code tools on the job.
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Genuine curiosity about AI tools and a willingness to learn new platforms.
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Comfort, or a willingness to build comfort, talking with community members to understand their needs.
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Strong communication and active-listening skills.
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Comfort with ambiguity and iteration — willing to define your own problems to solve.
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A genuine interest in community-building, youth development, or civic technology.
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Maryland resident, age 18+, and meets MC/SYO eligibility requirements (Service Year Option track: ages 18-24 with a high school diploma or equivalent; Maryland Corps track: any eligible adult 18+, no education requirement).
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Able to commit to full-time service (30-40 hrs/week, generally Monday-Friday during business hours) for the full 9-10 month term, along with required MC/SYO professional development training.
