Freshmen Volunteer at A Wider Circle

For 22 years, freshmen in the living-learning College Park Scholars program have spent their first full day at the University of Maryland with a day of community service at off-campus sites. On Friday, August 25, 2017, 70 students in the Business, Society and the Economy (BSE) program (one of the 12 thematic two-year programs) went to A Wider Circle, a non-profit organization in Silver Spring, Md., that provides basic need items to individuals and families transitioning out of homelessness.

Mark Bergel, director of A Wider Circle, welcomed students and challenged them to think about others in the community who are not as fortunate. “Poverty is the number one civil rights issue of today….If it does not take an individual’s life, it takes their potential,” he said.

With the help of several sophomore BSE Team Leaders, the students sorted clothing in the professional development center, filled backpacks with donated school supplies, filed books, and sorted other donated household items and furnishings.

Mark Wellman, clinical professor of management and organization is the director of the BSE Program. College Park Scholars is a by-invitation-only program that provides intellectual challenge and vibrant community for engaged and academically talented freshmen and sophomores. Learn more about College Park Scholars. The Business, Society and the Economy program, is sponsored by the Robert H. Smith School of Business. To learn more about BSE, click here.

To learn more about A Wider Circle, visit their website at www.awidercircle.org.

- Claudia Donnelly, Smith Undergraduate Program