College Park Nonprofits and Charities

The food was greatly appreciated and those serving the commuters were kind and thoughtful. I got the chicken and it was expertly seasoned. It would be great to include a recipe for a capturing item under your banner.

I gave to this charity to help the most marginalized and poverty stricken people who now must face the devastating results of the pandemic with little if any government support.

Before the pandemic, Educarte, Inc. offered the DC-Baltimore community high quality music concerts, enlisting local and international musicians and dancers. Since the pandemic, they have taken on the challenge of re-vamping their offerings without missing a beat or a step (pun intended). Their virtual concerts and discussions have been engaging, informative, and entertaining. They continue to amaze with not only the quality of their shows, but the quantity. Kudos

Dar-us-Salaam is a welcoming space that invites people from all backgrounds to come together to worship Allah. This community is like none other as it promotes unity, strength, support, and beneficial knowledge. It's the members from this community that helped us adjust to the transition of moving here as they showered us with unfaltering support and kindness.

Alumni Throwback to Give Back to the University of Maryland, College Park. <br><br>In 2014, a small group of alumnae wanted to find a way to celebrate their 25 year anniversary as members of their sorority, whose primary mission is to serve the community. The initial plan was to simply have a festive celebration during Homecoming. However, that plan quickly turned into something far more meaningful when they decided to honor the sorority&rsquo;s mission/purpose by sponsoring a scholarship campaign among the University of Maryland's black alumni. <br><br>The campaign theme was entitled 'Throwback &ndash; Give Back.' Its goal was to encourage black alumni to reflect on their own experiences as students (Throwback) -- particularly as it related to the funding of their education -- and to share similar opportunities with current students through the ongoing support of scholarships (Give Back). The campaign reminded alumni that many of them were fortunate to be the recipients of scholarships, to qualify for financial aid, to find well paid employment or to have support from their families to fund their college education. However, at the same time, many others were not as fortunate and struggled to find those resources, resulting in the postponement or abandonment of their dreams. <br><br>The fearless goal in the inaugural year was to simply raise a few thousand dollars during the two weeks that preceded and followed Homecoming. To their delight, the online efforts and Homecoming day activities resulted in contributions totaling $10,201 for six University of Maryland scholarships. Many of the donations came from alumni who had never before considered making a contribution to the University.<br><br>The Throwback-Give Back campaign was designed to be a Homecoming tradition among black alumni at the university. The 2015 campaign began October 17th and will appropriately conclude on December 1, 2015 - Giving Tuesday. The number of participating scholarships has grown from 6 to 11. Each scholarship provides need or merit based financial aid. <br><br>To support the campaign this year, and in the years to come, the committee developed a website, which includes a pictorial of alumni since 1952, a statement of the campaign's purpose and most importantly, impact statements from scholarship recipients.<br><br>www.throwback-giveback.com

In A Negative World, Focus On The Positive & Build Together <br><br>A little over a year ago, I decided I wanted to donate my time and skills to a nonprofit organization. I went on VolunteerMatch.com with an open mind and open heart, and I applied to a few volunteer openings that caught my eye. Not long after, I got a call from a lady named Schinnell Leake, Founder & Executive Director or Extra-Ordinary Birthdays, a nonprofit organization located in the Washington D.C. area. She had a need for a social media volunteer, and based upon my background and my comfort level with Twitter, she thought I'd be perfect. Despite the fact that I live in Houston, Texas, and she lives in College Park, Maryland, and we've never actually met face to face, we've become friends over the last year as we work together to promote Extra-Ordinary Birthdays. It's an organization which provides personalized birthday parties for homeless children in shelters in the DC Area. <br><br>I support this organization with my whole heart, and Schinnell and I have bonded in friendship over the ideals we have in common, rather than those things that might divide us. Every day, we get up and we choose to work together to build upon something beautiful...something that puts good back in the world, rather than negativity and division. No doubt, the two of us come from different racial, cultural, and experiential backgrounds, and may even have some different perspectives on various events that have so sharply divided our nation over this past year we have known one another. But we press on--together. And we create, build, and bring hope and light to our fellow human beings through Extra-Ordinary Birthdays.

From 1987 to 2005, I was a member of AAPT and ISPP. Over those years I attended many meetings of the organizations and was a contributor to the meetings. The organizations increased my personal knowledge of effective methods of teaching physics. I learned how to adapt laboratory experiments and classroom demonstrations to the community college teaching environment. I discovered that no matter how many years of teaching experience you have, you will always learn something new from one of the many colleagues in these organizations. I found that the participants were always generous with their time and experience. I always found the atmosphere of the organizations open and friendly. This was an excellent support system for any physics teacher.