- October 27, 2025
- By Antonya da Silva
On a bright and clear Saturday, hundreds of Good Neighbor Day volunteers pruned and planted trees, crocheted blankets for women fighting breast cancer, and distributed hot meals across College Park and nearby communities.
Volunteers on this 14th annual day of service completed nearly two dozen projects organized by the University of Maryland, city of College Park and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Department of Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County.
At the College Park Airport hangar, Kendra McAbee ‘21, communications coordinator for the College Park City-University Partnership, directed dozens of Terps and residents in sorting and packing thousands of canned food donations collected by Maryland student-athletes along with local faith and community-based organizations. City volunteers then dropped them off at the College Park Community Food Bank and UMD’s Campus Pantry.
“Today really embodies what the Partnership stands for,” McAbee said. “It shows how residents, the city and the university can work side by side to create a stronger, more connected College Park for everyone.”
Nearby, volunteers brought energy and excitement to the task of removing invasive plants outside of the Pregnancy Aid Center, restoring the space into a welcoming garden for expectant mothers, Students from College Park Scholars’ Civic Engagement for Social Good program worked with the local nonprofit ImpactHumanity to paint panels for a Little Free Library to be installed on the grounds.
“Good Neighbor Day is truly a reflection of its name—all of us working together as neighbors to do good in our community,” said UMD Associate Provost for Community Engagement Tania Mitchell. “It reminds us that community is built through showing up for one another.”
Read on to see the impact Terps and local residents made together.
Students volunteering at Virtual X Kitchen in College Park prepared over 500 meals of butter chicken and chana masala for delivery to local seniors. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Robert Tudor ‘26 scooped chana masala while next to him, his brother, Dennis Tudor ‘27, and Aarushi Kariveda ‘28 prepared to pack to-go meals for seniors. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Amber Grayson ‘26 crocheted a square during Good Neighbor Day’s “Crochet for Warmth” volunteer activity. Once completed, the squares will be joined together to form blankets that will then be donated to local homeless shelters, women’s centers and hospitals for distribution to those in need. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Lilly Phillips ‘28 (left) and Madison Ellis ‘27 worked together to crochet a blanket square during “Crochet for Warmth.” (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Liahna Rebello ‘28 painted the University of Maryland “M” on a panel that will form part of a new Little Free Library outside College Park’s Pregnancy Aid Center. Other volunteers assembled it and sorted through donated books to choose which to include in the public bookcase. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Lucy Greer ‘29 (left) planted a native shrub along Paint Branch Drive during Good Neighbor Day. Other beautification projects included planting and mulching at Cesar Chavez Dual Spanish Immersion School, cleaning litter along Campus Drive and Langley Park Creek and removing invasive plants at Lake Artemesia. (Photo by Lauren Epstein ‘29)
Terps Do Good
The University of Maryland is the nation's first Do Good campus, committed to inspiring Terps to make a positive impact now through research, public service and education. See more stories about Terps doing good at today.umd.edu/topic/do-good.
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