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Please read Javon Brown's request and consider joining him adopting a family.

My name is Javon Brown, and I am a senior at UMBC in the Social Work Program. As a social work student, I am currently doing my field placement at an elementary school in West Baltimore. With Christmas approaching it can be a difficult time for families to provide gifts to their children so I am reaching out in hopes you would like to participate in adopting a family for Christmas. This is a program started by a former social work student of UMBC and I would like to continue this program this year as well. What this means is, you or the organization you are a part of, would be donating gifts to families so the children will have presents during the holiday season. Along with gifts, if you are able to do so, gift cards can be donated as well to help out families with nutritional needs however the goal is to provide gifts for the kids first. Our overall goal is to provide gifts for 25-30 families. 

Attached is a google survey for you to fill out for yourself or on behalf of your organization so we can start the process of assigning families and getting gifts together. Please fill out the survey by November 5^th so we can assign everyone a family by November 24^th , just in time for black Friday shopping. All gifts must be given to me by December 10^th, a drop-off box will be located in the Social Work Office located at Sherman Hall-B, Room 322. I am also willing to arrange times to meet on campus if needed. The best way to reach me is through text, 443-490-5744 or through my UMBC email, Javonb1@umbc.edu.

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It's almost Halloween! Using official UMBC Student Organization-Approved candy, members of UMBC SSMVF greeted students on the night of the Halloween Student Org Fair. We’re keeping dentists in business! Thankfully, all groups used only officially issued-candy, allowing the SSMVF table to stand on equal footing, and attract interested students based on our merit alone!

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Members of the UMBC SSMVF greeted prospective students and future Retrievers at the Retriever Day event at the RAC. We talked with quite a few high school students interested in both UMBC and the role of SSMVF on campus. We also talked with several parents with military ties who are looking forward to their kids using GI Bill benefits to help pay for college, and we met two Veterans who plan to pursue their degrees now that they are separated from military service. I think at least one was motivated enough by our presence that UMBC was now a more likely selection among prospective colleges. Since UMBC has no significant outreach to the vast prospective military service member and Veteran population in the Mid-Atlantic region, we were happy to help out.

There’s nothing as much fun as Involvement Fest! Backed into a dark corner and using only a high-tech hand-made sign, UMBC SSMVF still garnered over 30 signatures from students interested in supporting us and learning more about building a better community on campus. Thanks so much for your support!

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Greetings All!

I know many of you were unable to attend our Sep 27 meeting on campus, so here is a brief recap. We had a full room, tasty lunch, and many new faces- thanks to everyone who could attend! Each week we meet new service members and Veterans who haven't yet joined UMBC SSMVF or who are unable to make it to events, and we appreciate the time, effort, and support from everyone. A big thanks to Alex Getachew and our OCSS supporters for their partnership, and we welcomed Mr. Dennis Walker, Jr., UMBC’s new Assistant Director for Adult-Learners and Veteran Student (student service member) Success. We know Dennis will be a great addition to UMBC, and we look forward to working as partners to improve the UMBC experience for service members and their families.

After introductions, we reviewed our progress over the last 18 months, from the dissolution of the previous student Veteran group, to our formation of a new organization for student military service members, Veterans, and their families. We discussed our meetings with various leaders of UMBC and University of Maryland system, discussed problems and concerns, and laid out a vision for what we’d like to achieve over the next 18 months. We also discussed future fun events. Watch for a brief survey- we hope you’ll add your input, suggestions, and ideas.

On behalf of SSMVF, thanks again for your time & support!

-S.

Welcome!