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SALISBURY, MD---ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ President Charles Wight recently helped celebrate the opening of the Newton Community Center at a ribbon-cutting ceremony with ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ Mayor Jacob Day and other local dignitaries

The center will offer programming for children and adults. Beginning this summer, activities for children ages 6-18 will include education, arts and crafts, poetry and creative writing, Lego league, music, movies and more.

ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ played a role in how the center would operate and will continue to be a partner moving forward. The University’s Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement (PACE) has been involved in the development of programming for the Newton Community Center, as well as ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½’s Truitt Community Center, under the guidance of interdisciplinary studies and PACE Lecturer Ryan Weaver, and PACE’s Presidential Citizen Scholars (PCS).

PCS Scholars collaborated with the City of ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ leadership to design a survey to assess the community’s needs and hopes for the new center in the Fall of 2019. They also have worked to build programs for the City’s two community centers.

“The Newton Community Center is an amazing addition for ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ and those who can use a space to gather, learn and grow as people,” said Wight. “I’m proud of the role that ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ students took in determining what community members hoped to see at the site. Our students’ continued work with staff there to assist children in the community is a testament to the strong relationship between ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ and the surrounding neighborhoods.”

ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½’s PACE Presidential Citizen Scholars program is an interdisciplinary civic engagement experience that prepares students to become community leaders and develop habits of democratic citizenship.

The Scholars’ community needs assessment for the Newton Community Center helped identify areas that were of interest for local residents, including activities for children, accessible adult education and events. The community needs assessment showed many hoped the center would be a safe place for children to gather, a place to help neighbors prepare for the future and a hub to bring the community together.

Presidential Citizen Scholars built upon the civic research from the community needs assessment to establish adult education courses at the community centers in partnership with Wor-Wic Community College (beginning this summer). They also earned grant money to supply the center with instruments for music education and design a city transit loop for sustainable transportation between the Newton and Truitt community centers.

This fall, staff members and volunteers will provide afterschool homework assistance, with other activities continuing year-round at the Newton center. General education development (GED) and English as a Second Language (ESOL) courses also will be offered, along with homebuyer education classes.

To learn more about the Newton Community Center, visit its .

For more information about ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½’s involvement, call 410-543-6030 or visit the ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ website.