By Melissa J. Brachfeld

Sentinel Staff Writer

Standing outside a brick building in Riverdale last Thursday morning, Del. Anne Healey (D-Dist. 22) spoke about planting "new seeds of hope" within the local community.

"This [endeavor] is wonderful and this is a great day for our whole community because we're taking something that was a target for gangs and turning it into something positive for the whole community," she said.

The "target" Healey spoke of is the newly opened Center for Educational Partnership located at 6200 Sheridan Ave. in Riverdale. The center was created by a partnership between the University of Maryland and the Maryland Multicultural Youth Centers and designed to provide educational resources and programs to the community.

At a ribbon cutting ceremony last Thursday morning, officials from the University of Maryland, MMYC, State's Attorney for Prince George's County Glenn Ivey, Healey, Sen. Paul Pinsky (D-Md.), officials from the county executive's office, and several others joined together to celebrate the opening of the center.

"Seeing the completion makes it all worthwhile," John Pocari, vice president of administrative affairs for the University of Maryland, said. "This building originally was a warehouse, and it has been for the last 28 years. It has not been an asset to the community, but by turning it into this community partnership building, we think we can help the community and we can serve the university's mission better... it's a win all the way around."

Luisa Montero-Diaz, managing director of MMYC, said funding to start up the center came from a $240,000 Maryland bond bill, which she noted Pinsky, Healey and Del. Justin Ross (D-Dist. 22) were instrumental in securing. At the ceremony, Lori Kaplan, executive director of the Latin American Youth Center, said she was "99 percent sure" they had found a private donor to match the $240,000 already provided by the state. She said they plan to have everything finalized by September.

Gloria Aparicio, an assistant to Pocari, said the center is not fully operational yet. She noted that renovations began on June 10, thanks to 20 volunteers from the InterAmerican Development Bank, the University of Maryland and MMYC. However, Aparicio said that nearly $10 million would be required in order to finish renovations at the 16,000 square foot facility.

Right now, children from two camps located at Nicholas Orem Middle School and William Wirt Middle School come over to the CEP everyday to participate in programs, Aparicio said. From painting a mural detailing the history of Maryland to planting flower gardens, she added that the once idle, graffiti-covered building is starting to take shape.

"This is wonderful and I am so happy to see its completion," she said. "Well, we have a lot of work to do in terms of programming, but at least we started with something that is ready, open for the community and that's the most important part. It's about working with youth and the youth are the ones who are going to be taking advantage of [this] in order to be successful later on in their educational goals."

Aparicio said the first phase of programs will begin in the fall and will include computer training, GED preparation, tutoring, bike repair and counseling services. Job training and placement, computer training, case management and counseling, GED instruction, arts activities, after-school programs for youth, life skills training, gang prevention, early-intervention activities and recreation programs will be offered once the center is complete.

"This center is not simply another after-school program, but a place where the university and the community can come together and address the everyday challenges we all face—educating our youth, strengthening our neighborhoods and contributing in a meaningful way to the larger community," University of Maryland President C.D. Mote, Jr. said. "We have had many conversations with our neighbors in Riverdale to explore different ways to actively engage youth, parents, teachers and civic leaders. This center, with its mix of services, will be a significant step in that direction."

Photo by Marketa Ebert