Celebrating 10 years of supporting the UMBC community

10 Years of Retriever Essentials: A Celebration of Community

Retriever Essentials is turning 10! To mark this milestone, we’re hosting an anniversary event to celebrate what happens when a community comes together to care for its own.

For the past decade, our mission has been simple yet vital: to immediately relieve the burden of food insecurity for UMBC members and connect them to ongoing support networks. That work hasn’t happened in a vacuum. It has been powered by the heartbeat of hundreds of volunteers, founders, donors, campus partners, and advocates who stepped up to care for one another. 

What to Expect:

• Honoring Our Roots: Hear inspiring stories from some of our original founders.
• Student Voices: Hear from current students actively leading and benefiting from our programs.
• The Next Chapter: Get an exciting first look at how we are expanding our services to better support our community.
• Community & Connection: Connect with the very people (volunteers, staff, donors, and partners) who made the last 10 years possible.

Whether you’ve volunteered, donated, partnered, or simply cheered us on, you are a part of this story. Come as you are, celebrate how far we’ve come, and dream with us about where we’re going next!

This event is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the university’s nondiscrimination policy.

All contributions are administered by the UMBC Foundation, Inc. for the benefit of UMBC.