A Member of the University of Maryland Medical System | In Partnership with the University of Maryland School of Medicine
Email
Print
At the University of Maryland Medical Center, health care professionals across all areas of medicine work as a team every day to cure illness, conquer disease, and provide support to both patients and their families. Even after medical center employees leave for the day, this enduring commitment to the health and well-being of individuals and their families does not end, as employees like Orrin Webb and Trina McCullough continue this dedicated work in their own communities.
In 2000, Webb, a medical records supervisor at the medical center, founded the Druid Hill Park (DHP) Players, a non-profit program that targets the health and fitness of children in Baltimore City. McCullough, the pediatric clerkship/CME coordinator for the medical center, later joined the DHP Players in 2003 and currently serves as the program’s director of events and planning. Now in its ninth year of operation, DHP Players supports as many as 120 kids each day.
On July 25 and 26, DHP Players will celebrate its sixth annual basketball tournament at the Druid Hill Basketball Court, located at 3100 Swann Drive in Baltimore City. While the tournament’s theme changes each year, this year’s theme will be “Celebrating a Park Player’s Life” to recognize the hopes, dreams, and spirits of all past, present and future DHP Players.
The first day is dedicated as Family Fun Day to promote health awareness in the community. Events will take place between 12-6 p.m., during which time there will be games, free food, health screenings and information, and free giveaways for the entire family.
The second day is devoted to an all-day basketball tournament for DHP Players both young and old, which will take place between 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. No registration is required to participate in the tournament, so players ranging in age from 5-70 can come out to the Druid Hill Basketball Court and show their skills as they play for the tournament title.
However, while the tournament may end on July 26, Webb and McCullough’s work with the DHP Players does not, as they both step back into their roles as mentors for the kids in the program.
“DHP Players’ mentors are well known throughout the community,” says McCullough. “Police officers, school teachers, doctors, and many more are all willing to commit their time towards helping the youth to grow, learn leadership skills, and build character. Mentors guide children on how to give back to their families and the community.”
Earlier this year, the University of Maryland Children's Hospital announced an affiliation with the DHP Players, naming it an outreach program of the hospital to provide it with the necessary channels through which it could raise the funds needed to continue its great work in the community.
“DHP was established to help advance the health, fitness, and minds of Baltimore’s youth,” says Amy Jarboe, associate director of the UMMS Foundation. “This program, offered free of charge to children, is a natural extension of the University of Maryland Children's Hospital's goal of providing family-centered care.”
For more information about the upcoming Basketball Tournament, or to further inquire about the DHP Players, please call (410) 464-8360.
-- By Malissa Carroll
Click to Print
Print Preview
Click to Print
Print Preview
