On Saturday, April 2nd, the Universities at Shady Grove host the 9th annual Service-Learning & Civic Engagement Conference (SLCE), Stronger Together.  This annual event is hosted by a network of universities and individuals dedicated to creating strong civic engagement, service-learning, and community partnerships in the Maryland and D.C. area.  For more history, visithttps://www.mdccc.org/events/slce/slce-past.html

Check out the variety of workshop offerings and learn about the award nominees.  The keynote speaker is Ludley Howard, founder of Pride Youth Services, Inc. (PYS).  The mission of PYS is positively influence and improve the social, emotional, and cognitive development of young people by providing resources to equip them with the confidence and skills essential to making healthy and positive choices as they deal with life’s challenges. 

LaMar Davis, Director of The Choice Program at UMBC, a program of The Shriver Center, commented, “For 20 years, Ludley Howard has provided case management and crisis intervention support/consultation to Choice.  He has developed cutting edge programming specifically for our youth of color that seeks to build resiliency and change how youth see themselves.  His understanding of systems and his deep insights into the challenges faced by court-involved youth and families is unsurpassed.  Furthermore, he has been an inspiration and mentor to hundreds of our AmeriCorps Community Service-Learning Fellows and program staff.”  For more information on Pride Youth Services, Inc., go to http://www.prideyouthservices.org.

This year’s event will honor Nick Ramundo, former MDCCC AmeriCorps VISTA at The Shriver Center, whose focus was Arbutus Achievers at Arbutus Middle School.  Nick passed away unexpectedly on March 27, 2015.  UMBC Senior Chad Byrd is the recipient of the inaugural “MDCCC Nick Ramundo Award.”

Please register by Friday, March 18th.  UMBC is a member of the Maryland-DC Campus Compact, which keeps registration costs low: $10 for students and $25 for faculty/staff. Registration for all community partners is just $25. Registration includes access to all events as well as breakfast, lunch, and a dessert reception. 

Members of the Shriver Living Learning Community, Student Coordinators, and France-Merrick Scholars & Fellows can attend for free (SHRIVER2016)Stronger together, let's check it out together! For those interested in carpooling, please complete the following link http://goo.gl/forms/g79MhWFDLj