*Free Resources during Covid-19 has been renamed to Useful Resources and Links*
Reduced or Free Meal/ Food Locators
- During the temporary school closures, Maryland schools and agencies are providing free emergency meals to children 18 years and younger.
- Visit Maryland Meals Site Search to find available sites and meal times.
- MD Food Bank – Find Food
- Retriever Essentials (for UMBC members)
- Food 211 Maryland
- Elkridge Food Pantry
Internet Access
- FCC agreement stating that providers will waive late fees, not cutoff service for lack of payment, and open hot-spots.
- Comcast COVID-19 response Xfinity WiFi Public Hotspots are now open to everyone on the “xfinitywifi” SSID.
- Charter Free Internet offer for 2 months
- AT&T COVID-19 response: offers open hot-spots, unlimited data to existing customers, and $10/month plans to low income families
- Verizon COVID-19 response: no special offers, but following the FCC agreement.
- Verizon Internet for Low Income Households
- Sprint COVID-19 response: follows FCC agreement, provides unlimited data to existing customers, and, starting Tuesday, 3/17/2020, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge (I expect others will follow).
- T-Mobile COVID-19 response: follows FCC agreement, plus unlimited data to existing customers, and, coming soon, will allow all handsets to enable hot-spots for 60 days at no extra charge (I expect others will follow).
- Utilizing UMBC wireless safely
- UMBC will be making part of the Admin parking lot wifi-enabled; you can drive up and connect (check this page for updates on the exact location). Other resources are below.
- Using eduroam wireless throughout the state
- UMBC is part of the eduroam wireless network which allows you to access wireless for free at various museums, universities and other venues. The same wifi network that we have at UMBC, if you have connected eduroam at UMBC, you can find the full list of locations at the US eduroam site.
- UMBC has instructions for connecting to eduroam available for all types of devices through the UMBC Eduroam FAQ
Financial Resources
- Maryland Unemployment Office
- Financial Relief Resources for Artist
- Catonsville Emergency Assistance
- UMBC Black & Gold Emergency | ‘To Apply’ is at the bottom of the page
- Education Department Scholarships | Available to students who are actively enrolled in the Education Department at UMBC
Resources for Assistance with Utility Bills
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- The Office of Home Energy Programs (OHEP) provides assistance to low-income Marylanders to make energy costs more affordable and to help prevent shut-offs and restore home energy service. Visit their website for information on how to apply.
- The Fuel Fund of Maryland assists income eligible BGE customers. For more information or to apply for assistance, visit their website to fill out an application or call 410-235-9080.
- Pepco also provides assistance to customers in need. For more information or to apply for assistance, visit their website.
Shelters and Emergency Services
Please note that there are certain stipulations involved while staying in a shelter. Usually it means you are given a bed, you are supposed to store your belongings underneath the bed etc. Prior to arrival please check with the shelter staff you are intending to stay at.
- 211 Maryland
- Baltimore County Westside Men’s Shelter (open 24 hours within a mile’s distance)*
- My Sister’s Place
- Women’s shelter
Mental & Physical Health
- Mental Health Resource Guide From the State
- UMBC Counseling Center – If you would like to speak with a Counseling Center clinician, you may call (410) 455-2472 and leave a message including your name, email address, phone number, and UMBC ID#.
- unicef | for every child – (Article) How teenagers can protect their mental health during coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Yoga with Adriene
- Blooming Breath Yoga for Kids and Teens | Facebook page
- Corepower Yoga on Demand
- YMCA Heath and Fitness Videos (Boot Camp, Barre, Yoga, Active Older Adults, Weightlifting, Tai Chi)
- University Health Services will be providing services remotely using phone and audio/video. Weekdays (M-F) 8:30a – 5p. Please call (410) 455 – 2542 and leave a message, a provider will contact you.
- Affordable Health Insurances Comparison Guide – Provides a comprehensive overview of available healthcare insurances on the market.
Learning Resources
- Khan Academy for Kids
- Scholastic Learn at Home
- Free reading resources for multilingual families are the
- Legends of Learning | Free math and science games
- Authors Everywhere! YouTube channel
- Story time From Space | Astronauts reading children’s books from space
- General Assembly | Intro to coding: HTML & CSS Thursday, March 26 2020 10a – 12p PDT (Online Live Stream)
STEM Teaching Resources (Simulations and models)
- PHET Interactive Simulations from University of Colorado Boulder
- The Concord Consortium
- NetLogo is a multi-agent programmable modeling environment
Teaching Resources and Tools
- Mango – Online world language teaching materials including digital curricula, apps, activities, and assessments for over 70 different world languages (including Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, German, Arabic, and English, among others)
- NCTE (National Council of Teachers English): Resources for Virtual Instruction and Online Learning
- The Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning (COERLL) offers a wide range of free online tools, materials, and textbooks for world language teaching and learning
- Google Classroom Manage teaching and learning with Classroom. Classroom helps students and teachers organize assignments, boost collaboration, and foster better communication.
- CRE (Culturally Responsive Education) HUB: Culturally Responsive
- TNTP | Supporting multilingual learners (MLLs)/ English language learners (ELLs) during the COVID-19 Shutdown (PDF)
- Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) Teacher’s Guides
- Global Teaching Insights Online teaching videos focused on the areas of classroom management, classroom talk, cognitive engagement, quality of subject matter, responsiveness, and social-emotional support
Museums, Zoos and other Fun Online Resources
- Smithsonian Institution
- Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
- Draw Everyday with Jarrett J Krosoczka – Author & Illustrator, YouTube Channel
- Wendy MacNaughton live drawing class streamed through Instagram 10a PST M-F
- Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center – Watch & Listen
- Maryland Zoo Live Cams
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Live Cams
- San Diego Zoo Live Cams
- Explore Live Nature Cams
- NASA Curiosity Rover | Access Mars
- Dyson 44 engineering challenges for children
- Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) Free Family Sundays at home
- Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) Youtube channel includes Artist talks and Virtual Gallery Walks
- Walters Art Virtual Museum
- Walters Art Museum Look At Art, Make Art Youtube channel
- Animals of the Florida Everglades – This page covers animals such as the Florida Panther, West Indian Manatee, American Alligator, as well as other animals that can be found in Florida. Special Shout out to the Gomez family for sharing this resource!
- Free Arts and Crafts Resources – Multiple resources including virtual museum tours, games and other activites. Thank you to the Gomez family for sharing this awesome resource!
- Seasonal Holiday Printable Worksheets – Printable worksheets, coloring pages, and educational quizzes/ lessons based on the seasons. Thank you to the Price family for sharing this fantastic resource!
- Virtual Tour of Famous Landmarks and National Parks of Wyoming
- Interactive Historical Virtual Reality Field Trips
Library of Congress
For Educators: Classroom Materials & Online Office Hours
- The Library of Congress offers classroom materials and professional development to help teachers effectively use primary sources from the Library’s vast digital collections in their teaching. https://loc.gov/teachers/
- Join Library of Congress education specialists for 20-minute topical presentations followed by Q&A every Tuesday and Thursday 2-3 p.m. ET. https://loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/office-hours/
- Dive into the Library’s digital collections to explore just about any topic imaginable. Click through historical portraits and cityscape photographs, listen to sound recordings and oral histories, study American history and world cultures, discover local history and folklife traditions, explore maps, music, manuscripts and so much more. With digitized collections of more than 2.4 million items, it’s all at your fingertips.
- This is intended as a guide to laws, regulations and executive actions in the United States, at both the federal and the state level, and in various countries with respect to the new coronavirus and its spread. It also includes links to the Library’s Congressional Research Service reports that provide information to Congress about the novel coronavirus. In addition, we provide links to relevant federal agency websites.
Ask a Librarian – Open for (Online) Business
- Most of the Library’s reference librarians are now teleworking in response to the coronavirus pandemic. But our Ask a Librarian service remains open! Submit questions to receive research or reference help.
Blogs or Sites with Multiple Resources
- Blog Post: 32 Resources for entertaining energetic preschoolers during daycare and preschool closures
- Blog Post: Literacy and Media Lab at the University of Colorado-Boulder | Finding tools that work for you: Support for K-12 digital learning in times of crisis
- Site/ list: Education Companies Offering Free Subscriptions due to School Closings
- NPR List of Live Virtual Concerts
- Parents (Site): List of Museums offering virtual tours
- UNESCO (site) – List of Distance Learning Solutions + other resources
UMBC Resources
- Office of Accessibility and Disability Services
- UMBC Counseling Center – If you would like to speak with a Counseling Center clinician, you may call (410) 455-2472 and leave a message including your name, email address, phone number, and UMBC ID#.
- SI Pass (Supplemental Instruction)
- Retriever Essentials
- University Health Services – will be providing services remotely using phone and audio/video. Weekdays (M-F) 8:30a – 5p. Please call (410) 455 – 2542 and leave a message, a provider will contact you.
- Academic Success Tutoring Available Online
How to give or volunteer during this time: Maryland Unites: Responding to COVID-19
How Marylanders can help during this time
updated 2022 May 16 – added new links