Fehintola Elizabeth Bright-Awonuga: Coming to UMBC as a freshman last school year I became affiliated with Retriever Essentials through the Shriver Center’s PRAC 096. I have volunteered with Retriever Essentials for two years now and I am now a part of the Student Leadership Board. I have the growth over the past two years and the impact it has had on the lives of fellow faculty, staff, and students. I do not regret my decision of joining this team because I have seen the first-hand the seed this organization has sown. The seed is continuing to sprout, grow, and blossom into something bigger than it once was.

Alex Gwizdala: Volunteering with Retriever Essentials was a great way for me to feel connected to the UMBC community. As a first-semester freshman, I was feeling out of place on campus when the semester started. When I started volunteering, I felt much more involved in the community. Being able to meet so many great people and knowing that my work was having an impact was an amazingly rewarding experience.

Stephen Isabell: Retriever essentials is a necessity. Retriever Essentials is full of love, teamwork, and community. While volunteering for Retriever Essentials, I felt every one of those things I felt so empowered that I am apart of the solution to ending food security. No one should have to go hungry in this world.

Stephanie Koshy: I started volunteering at Retriever Essentials at the beginning of my first semester at UMBC. When starting college, I wanted to find an organization that I could volunteer at that was similar to the volunteer work I did at my high school. Luckily, I was able to find that Retriever Essentials, I have enjoyed working with Retriever Essentials to help other students on campus overcome food insecurity. I learned a lot about food insecurity and how we can combat this worldwide problem through Retriever Essentials at UMBC. I look forward to volunteering in the Spring.

Brian Lynch: Working with Retriever Essentials made me feel fulfilled. Everyone I worked with was part of a larger community helping those in need. I enjoyed sauntering around campus in the crisp fall air to deliver and pick up food bags. Moving shelves to the new pantry was an exciting time as well. Retriever Essentials made me realize the problem of food insecurity on campus and how to address it.

Zara Mahmood: Retriever Essentials has been a great group to work with in my first year as a UMBC student. Working with them has made me feel integrated in the school. Being a part of such an amazing group that impacts so many lives has been a wonderful experience. Everyone in Retriever Essentials is very welcoming which makes it better.

Dera Osuigwe: Have you ever felt the love of a community? Have you ever seen people from different works of life come together to tackle a problem? Have you ever seen people so passionate about what they do? Well, let me tell you, I HAVE!! Retriever Essentials is a place where people give their time and joy. It is a place where students come from a community to help the community. Retriever Essentials is a program that shows unity, love, and gratitude.

Sabtain Saroya: Retriever Essential is a community of like-minded individuals influencing the broader UMBC community in an impactful way. This amazing organization is setting a precedent for what it means to/how to fight the issue of food insecurity.

Zoe Smith: Retriever Essentials is an incredibly unique experience. Although the distribution of the food bags is anonymous and done by campus partners, rather than the pantry itself, it is still incredibly easy to see the impact of the program. From seeing food fly off the shelves as campus partners request more bags to deliver the bags and seeing how excited the staff are for the new bags the appreciation for Retriever Essentials is evident and helps you feel that you really are helping to make a difference in your own community.

Where Coffee Meets Community

5410 East Drive
Arbutus, MD 21227

When you have a moment, please be sure to stop by Oca Mocha for excellent coffee and delicious things to eat!!

A huge thank you to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for collecting over 3,500 non-perishable food items for Retriever Essentials (retrieveressentials.umbc.edu) at UMBC.

What happens on our UMBC campus when you put out a call at 8 p.m. the night before that you need volunteers to help move all of this food across campus? Take at look at the photos to see how our phenomenal UMBC community of Retrievers comes together at a moments notice to help others in need!!

Thank you to everyone who donated food, to SAAC, UMBC athletes, faculty and staff and to all of our volunteers. Together we moved thousands of pounds of food across campus in 1 hour and 15 minutes. Go Retrievers!!!

We at Retriever Essentials would like to express our heartiest gratitude to all our collaborators and guests who made UMBC’s first Home for the Holidays event a reality. The event offered a communal atmosphere to UMBC members who cannot travel back home or did not have family living in proximity during this holiday break. The event was celebrated on Thanksgiving Day, November 28^th. 

Through the support of Chartwells team, True Grits Dining Hall became the “home” and through the contributions from the collaborators, the community became one big family. The collaborators brought various food items ranging from classic Thanksgiving dishes to international cuisines. OCA Mocha brought in its fresh coffee to warm up the guest on the cold windy afternoon. The event also included fun activities like board games, arts and craft time, letter writing, and music. The event concluded with a raffle contest where our guest won giveaways and goodies. 

Home for the Holidays brought the campus community together and provided a warmhearted holiday experience to its attendees. We thank all of those who participated in the event and hope that Home for the Holidays continues to become yet another inclusive tradition at UMBC. 

Our key collaborators were: Academic Success Center, Campus Dining Services, English Language Institute, Financial Literacy Committee, Off-Campus Student Services, Office for Academic and Pre-Professional Advising, OCA Mocha, SAHAP Department, Student Government Association, The Campus Police, The Registrar’s Office, The Shriver Center, and UMBC Sustainability.

Here is a recap of the event: 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UzdKkwIMStEmsT0n0yP6WZBcTT1nvLD7/view

For more updates from Retriever Essentials please visit our Facebook and Instagram pages.