Local community members and partners join with UMB to mark the Office of Community and Civic Engagement’s 10-year anniversary during an event that included Ravens legend Ray Lewis.
Photo: Ray Lewis holds up local youth Blair Pinnacle, re-creating a moment from 2019 when the former Ravens star hoisted then-second-grader Pinnacle at the groundbreaking ceremony for UMB’s Community Engagement Center.
Ten years ago, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) recognized the need to coordinate and focus dozens of outreach and service programs so the anchor institution could have a more significant impact on and commitment to its surrounding community in West Baltimore. Thus, the Office of Community Engagement (OCE) — now the Office of Community and Civic Engagement (OCCE) — was born.
“When I think of these last 10 years, for me, it is what I would call a decade of difference,” Rev. Alvin Hathaway Sr., DMin, PhD, president and CEO of the Beloved Community Services Corporation and former Union Baptist Church pastor, said during an Oct. 16 event at UMB’s Community Engagement Center (CEC) celebrating the office’s anniversary
(See a photo gallery below.)
Hathaway, who has been connected to the University for over 30 years, said the last decade shows just how much UMB is invested in its neighbors.
“A decade of difference means that this [CEC] understands four key ingredients for community engagement,” he said. Those four ingredients, Hathaway explained, show UMB recognizes the humanity of the community; respects the community personality; has built a relationship with the community that is not transactional; and has formed a relationship that has shown results.
“And so, when you see this community center, you see that it has embodied all four of those elements that we see in scripture of that person there, known as the Good Samaritan,” he said.
During the celebration, community members, UMB employees, community partners, and more packed the CEC’s multipurpose room to celebrate the office’s 10th anniversary and look ahead at a future of continued partnership.