General Resources
For access to health and human services information, visit 2-1-1 Maryland or dial 2-1-1.
For UMBC community members who need access to healthy food and other essential supplies, visit Retriever Essentials or the myUMBC Retriever Essentials group.
For UMBC-related COVID-19 updates, visit covid19.umbc.edu or email covid19@umbc.edu
Religious and Spiritual Resources
Gathering Space Student Advisory Board
Contact: Matt Hoffman | matt.hoffman@umbc.edu | 410-455-6795 | 103, The Center for Well-Being
Created in the Summer of 2022, the Gathering Space Student Advisory Board was formed to provide a forum for students from religious and belief organizations on campus to get to know each other, discuss issues impacting the Gathering Space, and to create programs centering connection and dialogue. The hope of this Student Advisory Board is also to create spaces for connection and relationship, while providing a forum for religion and belief student organizations to discuss difficult issues as a community. This group will partner with Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging (i3b) staff and work parallel to the Religious Council to help uphold the vision of the Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being. Bi-weekly meetings are planned for Fall 2022 Semester.
If you are interested in learning more or joining in the conversation, please reach out to Matt Hoffman, Assistant Director of Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging and based in the Gathering Space. He can be reached at matt.hoffman@umbc.edu or in the Center for Well-Being, Room 105.
Religious Council
Contact: Matt Hoffman | matt.hoffman@umbc.edu | 410-455-6795 | 103, The Center for Well-Being
Recognizing the value of religion and spirituality as part of holistic well-being, UMBC is committed to welcoming students, staff, faculty, and community members from the diversity of religious, spiritual, and worldview backgrounds. As such, the UMBC Religious Council was created to partner with local religious and spiritual leaders (both ordained and lay, some volunteers and others supported by outside organizations) to help provide support, organization, and a forum to better serve students and the campus community at large. Representing a large variety of backgrounds and experiences, Religious Council members often provide secondary support to religion and belief student organizations as well as provide pastoral care and counseling, spiritual guidance, and model the value of relationships in promoting pluralism and cooperation. Collectively, the Religious Council strives to create and support a safe and inviting environment, where spiritual exploration is encouraged and spaces for dialogue and relationships are fostered.
Current Religious Council Members (Updated Fall 2022):
- Rabbi Jeremy Fierstien, Hillel (Chair of the RC)
- Imam Yaseen Shaikh, Muslim Student Association
- Father Matthew Himes, Catholic Retrievers
- Pastor Laura Sinche, Lutheran-Episcopal Campus Ministry
- Rabbi Dovid Reyder, Chabad
- Nancy Parlette, International Students, Inc (Chrisitan)
- Nate Briggs, Agape Campus Christian Fellowship
- Aliza Silverman, Hillel
- Danielle Baron, Hillel
- Ellen Vallonga, Catholic Retrievers
Retriever Essentials
Retriever Essentials’ mission is to develop a comprehensive program of various resources to try and eliminates the burden of food insecurity for students. The program connects them to ongoing support networks in order to enhance students’ academic success and retention. The Mosaic serves as one of the several distribution centers on campus.