8th Annual Good Neighbor Day Returns With Its Largest Volunteer Count

The University of Maryland, the City of College Park and The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) will host the 8th Annual Good Neighbor Day on Saturday, April 13, 2019 at 8:30 a.m. This day of service begins with an opening ceremony held at the College Park Community Center and continues at several service projects that unify Greater College Park to achieve the common goal of beautifying shared community spaces.

“The support we receive for this event is remarkable. Each year we have more and more volunteers interested in participating, which has allowed us to make big impacts in our shared community,” states Sarah D’Alexander, event producer of Good Neighbor Day.

Beginning as a Christmas in April event in 2011, the Good Neighbor Day initiative has developed into a well-known community-wide day of service. Growing from fifty participants in the first year, the 8th Annual Good Neighbor Day anticipates 900 volunteers, the largest number in the event’s history. In addition to UMD students, staff, faculty, and alumni, volunteers will include elected officials, city residents, and community youth uniting to complete over 20 service projects throughout the Greater College Park community.

Since 2012, Good Neighbor Day has gathered more than 2,100 volunteers to complete 50 service projects. The annual food drive has collected approximately 10,000 pounds of food to benefit the UMD Campus Pantry and the College Park Community Food Bank.

“It is great to see families taking part in caring for the environment and teaching their children the value in doing good and being engaged in the community,” says Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, Director of the Office of Community Engagement.

This year, projects will include community cleanups, tree planting at Lake Artemesia, meal packing with Terps Against Hunger, free translation services to community organizations through Terps Translate, landscape enhancement at Paint Branch Elementary, invasive species removal at Sentinel Swamp Sanctuary, and more.

For more information and to register for Good Neighbor Day, visit goodneighborday.umd.edu.