When Talia Vogel was getting ready to celebrate her bat mitzvah she knew she wanted to do a service project. Many area synagogues require bar/bat mitzvah students to find a social action endeavor, often known as “mitzvah projects,” as part of their preparations. Talia decided to collect art supplies—a passion of hers—and donate them to kids at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital who “might not have access to a lot of activities,” she explains.

Talia and her family also decided to open the cause beyond those invited to her bat mitzvah. They put flyers in all the neighbors’ mailboxes and her mom, Susan, posted the information on social media, noting that people could drop off supplies on the porch of their Phoenix home, donate money via Venmo, or bring the goods to Har Sinai-Oheb Shalom Congregation the night of Talia’s Havdalah service. Susan couldn’t believe how many people—most not Jewish—participated, often leaving notes for Talia telling her how happy they were to contribute.

“A bat mitzvah is about becoming a Jewish adult and it’s important that you do things that show you are part of the Jewish community,” says Talia, who is in eighth grade. “Doing a service project can give you a start of how you want to make a difference.”

Starting kids young on projects they care about, like Talia’s, is key to raising service-minded kids, says Nakeia Jones, executive director of Baltimore’s Philanthropy Tank, a nonprofit that, through grants and mentorships, empowers young people to find service-driven solutions to problems affecting their own communities.

“You need to find something kids are interested in and find a way they can volunteer in that area,” says Jones. She notes that it’s okay to start small. That can mean anything from reading to the dogs at the SPCA to serving Thanksgiving dinner at the Bea Gaddy Family Center. Jones says it’s also important for parents to demonstrate that volunteering is a regular occurrence in their lives.

“Kids emulate what they see,” says Jones. “Be a good example.”

That sounds a lot like the unofficial model of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA), says Sam DiStefeno, the marketing and communications executive for the BSA’s Baltimore Area Council. “Service is one of the main pillars of Scouting,” he explains. And by implementing that into the entire Scouts program, “it’s teaching these really important values for the rest of their lives,” says DiStefeno. That often includes everything from collecting items for neighborhood food banks to huge Eagle Scout service projects that can impact an entire community.

“I am always inspired by how compassionate and conservation-minded our youth naturally are,” says Kristen Engelke, Scoutmaster for Troop 328 in Timonium. “Membership in a group that encourages service, compassion, and environmental stewardship during their formative years can help young people grow into adults who are conscientious of the world around them and generous with their time and talents.”

A few weeks after her bat mitzvah service, Talia and her mom headed to Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital—their car packed full of every imaginable art supply. For Talia, it’s still one of her favorite memories from her bat mitzvah and one that’s had a lasting impact on her.

Says Talia, “Doing something like that can make people really happy and it made me feel good.”

In November 2021, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) community and guests gathered for the inauguration of Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, as the seventh president of UMB. Dr. Jarrell stepped into this role in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, guiding critical efforts to address this global health crisis with world-changing vaccine research, treatments, community service and outreach, and leadership across the state and beyond.

Under Jarrell’s leadership, UMB remains one of Baltimore’s most powerful anchor institutions and continues to effect real and lasting change by improving health, creating wealth, and advancing social justice in the city, the state, and around the world. This is particularly true in today’s COVID-19 climate.

 

Central to President Jarrell’s vision is that UMB expand on its success by motivating students, faculty, and staff to embrace the university’s core values, which are rooted in service, a commitment to Maryland, and ultimately improving the world. UMB inspires passionate people to apply solutions to the pressing problems facing humankind, and its health care, human services, and law professionals create innovative solutions where others see only problems.

“When I look at UMB, I see an environment that encourages innovation and creativity,” Jarrell says. “I’m surrounded by students and employees who are committed to improving the health and well-being of the people in our community and around the state. That is the magic of UMB, and it’s the secret to our great success.”

 

To maintain UMB’s standing as Maryland’s premier human services institution, these are President Jarrell’s priorities:

• Commitment to excellence in education. UMB works to attract, retain, and educate the best and brightest scholars, staff, and faculty through efforts such as the President’s Initiative on Education, scholarship programs that create opportunities for more students, and by remaining an employer of choice.

• Commitment to working for equity and justice. UMB accepts the responsibility to help improve the health and well-being of underserved populations in Maryland by expanding access in areas of need across the state, supporting our Community Engagement Center, and fostering educational programs to support opportunity and advancement for disadvantaged communities.

• Commitment to statewide collaborations. UMB is maintaining and growing its strong partnership with the University of Maryland Medical System, sustaining and propelling innovation through its collaboration with the University of Maryland, College Park under the MPowering the State initiative, and expanding relationships with other key institutions across Maryland.

• Commitment to innovation and discovery. UMB is preparing for the future with a strong focus on innovation and discovery. The university is expanding its $682 million research enterprise, strengthening its community-based research activities, and developing more interdisciplinary research programs and projects.

Through these efforts, UMB achieves its mission to improve the human condition and serve the public good of Maryland and society at large through education, research, clinical care, and service. Amidst unprecedented challenges in today’s world, UMB is evolving and developing critical innovations toward changing the future today.

 

UMB is Maryland’s public health, law, and human services university, a leading U.S. institution for graduate and professional education, and a prominent academic health center that combines cutting-edge biomedical research and exceptional clinical care.

The university enrolls more than 7,200 students in six nationally ranked professional schools and its interdisciplinary Graduate School, conferring most of the professional practice doctoral degrees awarded in Maryland each year. Serving as a powerhouse economic engine for Maryland, UMB delivers care and services that spur growth, and, in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and affiliated physician practices, the university stimulates nearly $8 billion in economic activity each year, generating 17,000 jobs and yielding $13 in economic activity for each $1 of state general fund appropriation.

UMB provides direct health, employment, legal, educational, and social services to underserved communities and impacts the future by addressing the needs of the most vulnerable populations and fostering the next generation of leaders in innovation, discovery, outreach, and economic impact.

To learn more about UMB, visit www.umaryland.edu.