About

Van Brooks

A native of West Baltimore City, Van was a three-sport athlete at Loyola Blakefield high school in Towson, Maryland. In 2004, Van suffered a life altering spinal cord injury at the age of sixteen. Despite that he earned a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Towson University, and founded SAFE Alternative Foundation for Education nonprofit and the SAFE Center youth facility in West Baltimore City. His work there has led to him receiving many local and national accolades including the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Van’s work has also led him to being appointed by Governor Larry Hogan in 2017 where he served as the Director of the Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism. Today, Van has returned to SAFE fulltime and is also doing speaking engagements and consulting work.

Safe Alternative Foundation for Education

I believe that students should have access to quality education and the resources and opportunities necessary for achieving their goals. I founded SAFE in 2012 with a mission to inform the youth about the importance of obtaining an education as well as having an alternate career plan in anticipation of life’s deviations. SAFE assist students in achieving academic success through educational programming and vocational exposure with real world application. To further this mission, I opened the SAFE Center, youth facility in 2015, to provide students with a variety of after school, weekend, and summer learning opportunities to explore the world outside of their communities that will ultimately aid the youth in realizing and unlocking their full potential. More about why I founded SAFE will be revealed later in one of my blog post. In the meantime, to learn more about SAFE and how you can support our youth click here Safe Alternative Foundation for Education

Van Brooks

FOUNDER OF SAFE ALTERNATIVE FOUNDATION FOR EDUCATION, PHILANTHROPIST, INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER, DAILY RECORDS VERY IMPORTANT PROFESSIONAL SUCCESSFUL BY 40, PRESIDENT'S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD RECIPIENT, CHAMPION OF COURAGE AWARD RECIPIENT, LIVING LEGEND AWARD RECIPIENT