A ‘Good’ Day for Neighbors Helping Neighbors

From fighting food insecurity to beautifying the area with native plants, hundreds of Terps and local residents seized opportunities to do good in College Park and surrounding communities on Saturday for the 13th annual Good Neighbor Day.

The volunteers’ efforts resulted in 30 completed service projects in three and a half hours during the day of service, organized in partnership with the city of College Park and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Department of Parks and Recreation of Prince George’s County.

At the Langley Park Community Center, Maryland Secretary of Service and Civic Innovation Paul Monteiro ’02 joined UMD Associate Provost for Community Engagement Tania D. Mitchell and more than 100 volunteers to pack meals for food banks and shelters with Terps Against Hunger, a UMD student organization.

“It’s great to see the university becoming more intentional in reaching out to often-overlooked communities, especially here in Langley Park,” said Monteiro. “This is part of a larger initiative to ensure this world-class university is engaged with its neighbors.”

In nearby Hyattsville, UMD horticulturists and landscaping experts collaborated with PGCPS staff and families from César Chávez Dual Spanish Immersion School, to transform the grounds with resilient native plants and pollinators.

Lilian Garcia, a César Chávez parent engagement assistant, nominated the project for consideration, knowing it could benefit from Terps with expertise pitching in alongside the school’s families.

“Good Neighbor Day partnerships highlight what’s possible when people unite for a common good, and thanks to UMD’s Landscaping Services, the staff at César Chávez were overjoyed," Mitchell said.

Read on to see the impact Terps and local residents made together.

Nicholas Greenberg ’27 picks up trash along the Northwest Branch Trail. He was among volunteers who joined the Langley Park Civic Association to help beautify the area and conduct water testing.

Deborah Omotoso M.P.H. ’25 cleans up the landscaping around the Pregnancy Aid Center in College Park. Mary Jelacic, its executive director, said: “Words cannot express our gratitude for the efforts of UMD staff and volunteers. The garden is a more welcoming and beautiful place and will be enjoyed by our families for a long time to come.”