Volunteer Maryland Begins 2022-2023 Service Year at Patapsco Valley State Park to Celebrate 30 Years of Service to Maryland

New AmeriCorps Members Deployed to Serve as Volunteer Coordinators for Program Partner Sites Statewide

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Volunteer Maryland this weekend officially began their 2022-2023 service year at Patapsco Valley State Park to celebrate 30 years of service to the state of Maryland. Following the event, the program’s new AmeriCorps members deployed as Volunteer Coordinators for 18 partner sites statewide.

“For 30 years, Volunteer Maryland has brought out the best in our citizens and has served communities across the state during their time of need,” said Governor’s Office of Community Initiatives Executive Director Steven J. McAdams. “We thank all of our new AmeriCorps members and all of this year’s partner sites and we wish them the best as they begin their service journey together to continue to empower communities.”

This year’s cohort of 18 Volunteer Maryland AmeriCorps Volunteer Coordinators officially began their 11-month service year during an event to promote clean public spaces at Patapsco Valley State Park. The event is the culmination of an intensive two-week training period, where the new coordinators learned about volunteer management best practices and developed strong communications skills to use out inthe field.

Volunteer Maryland partners with nonprofits, government agencies, and schools to help address critical community needs in education, economic opportunity, and environmental stewardship. The coordinators will each be assigned to one of Volunteer Maryland’s partner sites, where they will work closely with staff to help improve volunteer program capacity through a needs assessment and by creating training sessions, initiating recruitment drives, developing community partnerships, conducting volunteer recognition events, and training staff and volunteers in volunteer management skills. 

This year’s Volunteer Maryland partner sites include:

• Anne Arundel Forestry Board
• Anne Arundel County Public Schools – Arlington Echo
  Baltimore City Recreation and Parks
  Boys and Girls Clubs of Metropolitan Baltimore
  Clay Hill Public Charter School
  Conflict Resolution Center of Montgomery County
  Fair Hill Nature Center
  Interfaith Partners of the Chesapeake
  Justice Jobs of Maryland
  Literacy Council of Montgomery County
  Little Portion Farm
  Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office
  Network for Developing Conscious Communities
  So What Else?
  Stella Girls
  The Community Ecology Institute
  Touchstones Discussion Project
  University of Maryland Baltimore CURE Scholars Program

“Volunteer Maryland builds stronger, healthier communities through our invaluable partnerships,” said Volunteer Maryland Director Sharon Lewis. “Together, we strengthen our capacity to serve and our ability to make meaningful impact where we need it most.”

Since Volunteer Maryland’s inception in 1992, more than 750 individuals have served as AmeriCorps members in Maryland, successfully recruiting more than 130,000 volunteers who served more than 2 million hours at more than 350 organizations across Maryland.

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