After its official launch late last semester, the UMD-Prevention Research Center is already building connections with the under-served areas of Maryland.
The new SPH Center, in collaboration with PHEAR, collected 235 items of clothes that were distributed at a clothing drive held at the Seat Pleasant Town Hall in December. It was a first-time event that Mayor Eugene Grant said initiates a bond between the UMD-PRC and the City of Seat Pleasant.
“By providing something, giving something, it helps to establish and create a relationship,” Grant said in an article published today in Between the Columns. “Once that trust is there, then you can move to the next level.”
The UMD-Prevention Research Center brings together health experts from the University and surrounding area to develop solutions to the health disparities of the area. The Center's first geographic area of focus is the City of Seat Pleasant, an extension of the partnership between the School of Public Health and the City, established in 1999.
"I was surprised by the turnout of community residents," said Tanisha Fuller, a graduate assistant with the Center and a main organizer for the event, "but even more surprised that a lot of residents expressed how much they would like for the UMD-PRC to host another event similar to the giveaway in the future."
"The event was a huge success," Mayor Grant said. "Most of the clothes collected were given away to grateful people who were in need. It was so successful that many have requested that we hold another drive and give-away soon."
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