---
title: A Decade of Good Deeds
date: 2021-11-15T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/a-decade-of-good-deeds"
section: Articles
---
# A Decade of Good Deeds

*November 15, 2021* — by [Golshan Jalali](/author/golshan-jalali)


> Hundreds Plant, Prune and Pick Up Trash on 10th Annual Good Neighbor Day

*Hero Good Neighbor Day 11132021 JC 1668 1920x1080 — Terps Kaitlyn Kim (left), Adriana Giuliani and Matthew Oliver, all of the CIVICUS living-learning program, were among the hundreds of volunteers who participated in the 10th annual Good Neighbor Day on Saturday, clearing debris from Hollywood Elementary School.*

More than 400 volunteers celebrated the 10-year anniversary of a local service day with trail and park cleanups, schoolyard beautification projects, and invasive plant removals across 14 locations.

Another hundred or so who couldn’t participate in Good Neighbor Day in person on Saturday attended a half-dozen virtual workshops on topics such as financial literacy, gardening and healthy family relationships.

Meanwhile, two food drives—the new Fill-a-Bus event on Friday in front of the Stamp Student Union and outside the College Park IKEA on Saturday—collected at least 32 bins of nonperishable food items to benefit the UMD Campus Pantry and College Park Community Food Bank.

The event—a partnership between the University of Maryland’s Office of Community Engagement (OCE), the city of College Park and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission—has made “huge difference” over the years through the efforts of Terp students, parents, employees and alums, along with community residents, businesses and nonprofits, said Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, OCE director.

“This is indeed a day of the village coming together in support of each other,” she said.

Brooke Westby, senior park ranger in Prince George’s County Department of Parks and Recreation, oversaw 40 volunteers who removed invasive honeysuckle bushes around the meadow at Lake Artemesia.

“It was a great mix of people, and everyone had a great time,” she said. “We are already planning some follow-up projects with some of these folks, and our volunteers made some great connections with each other. That's what Good Neighbor Day is all about.”



*two students unload food from a bus at UMD Campus Pantry*



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*Students sort donations on bus during food drive*



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*President Pines rakes leaves at local high school*



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*Volunteers create a book box to install in front of Hollywood Elementary in College Park*



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*Volunteer demonstrating how to create origami bookmarks*



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*four student volunteers pose outside Hollywood Elementary*



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*Volunteers load bins of donated canned goods into a van to transport them to the College Park Community Food Bank*




**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)



**Units:** [Office of Community Engagement](https://today.umd.edu/topic/office-community-engagement)