THE ANNIE E. Casey Foundation has a long tradition of hands-on involvement in efforts to solve social problems. Even so, the locally headquartered foundation's decision to become a godfather to the planned East Baltimore biotech park is unusual.

For one thing, Casey has added $5 million of its money to supplement city relocation compensation to hundreds of residents whose houses will be razed. With the Johns Hopkins University matching that amount, the goal is to make a difference in the lives of people residing in one of the city's most depressed areas.

But that's not all. Seven Casey staff members are working full-time to get the biotech effort off the ground, and the foundation has bankrolled a nationwide search to find an expert to head the private development corporation.

Casey has even undertaken to erase the historic distrust between Hopkins and the surrounding neighborhoods.

"Independent of the biotech park, Hopkins is a powerful potential engine for good," says foundation president Douglas W. Nelson. But while Hopkins has long had a complicated relationship with the surrounding community, Casey does not have the same baggage of history.

This intervention is a godsend. For far too long, Hopkins has believed its sole mission is to provide first-rate medical care and research. In truth, though, the costly medical institutions in East Baltimore have no long-term future if the area keeps deteriorating and Hopkins does not bring economic benefits to its neighbors.

Hopkins is starting to recognize this. Next month, its president, William R. Brody, and Mr. Nelson are scheduled to attend a Cleveland conference on how universities can transform impoverished areas that surround them. Next spring, Casey is planning to organize such a conference in Baltimore to showcase the development efforts of UCLA in California, the University of Pennsylvania, Georgia Tech and the University of Richmond.

Even this does not cover Casey's full involvement in East Baltimore. As one of the 17 funders of Living Cities - whose other financiers run the gamut from Bank of America and Deutsche Bank to the Rockefeller Foundation - it has helped designate the biotech park as one of the national community development initiative's lead projects.

The biotech park would be a difficult project in any city. In a town as skeptical as Baltimore, Casey's behind-the-scenes role gives the ambitious undertaking a badly needed extra dose of credibility. Lucky for us all.