University of Maryland Extension
ALLEGANY COUNTY UME
UPCOMING PROGRAMS & OPPORTUNITIES
You're Invited To Our Open House!
Join us on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, from 1–6 p.m. for an afternoon of discovery! As part of our National 4-H Week celebration, special activities will be held from 5–6 p.m.
Meet our Extension team, learn about local programs and resources, explore our demonstration garden, ask gardening and nutrient management questions, and enjoy hands-on activities for kids. See carnivorous plants in action, bring your pressure canner gauge for testing, and visit with 4-H animals from 3–5 p.m. Bring your curiosity—we’ll see you there!
📍 1 Commerce Drive, Cumberland, MD 21502 📞 301-724-3320
National 4-H Week: October 4–10, 2026
Celebrate National 4-H Week with us! We are asking for our 4-H Allegany County community to join us and wear green on Go Green Monday, October 5, and recognize the mentors, volunteers, and educators who make a difference in our 4-H community on Thankful Thursday, October 8.
National 4-H Week brings together 6 million youth, 3,500 Extension educators, 500,000 volunteers, and 35 million alumni to celebrate the incredible impact of 4-H and preparing young people to be Beyond Ready for life and career. Check out the video link below for the 2025 Go Green Recap from National 4-H!
Habit Shift Mindset Workshop Series Available
We wanted to highlight the Habit Shift Mindset program a bit more in this month's newsletter, so take a look at these resources and reach out if Carrie Sorenson, FCS Educator, can bring our Habit Shift Mindset to your group or organization.
With the new year right around the corner, consider offering the Habit Shift Mindset program to community networks, groups, or organizations that would benefit.
Check out this article about the Habit Shift Mindset:
https://agnr.umd.edu/momentum-magazine/winter-2025/better-habit-toolbox/
To discuss more about bringing this program to those in your community networks, please email Carrie at cjrsoren@umd.edu or call 301-724-3320.
Native Plant Class & Seed Harvesting Event
Join us on Saturday, October 24, from noon–1 p.m. at the Allegany County Extension Office in Cumberland to learn about native plants, tour the garden, and participate in a hands-on seed-harvesting session. Attendees can take home free native seeds for winter sowing. Space is limited—RSVP HERE by October 20. You can also register by scanning the QR code or emailing sllewell@umd.edu.
Cottage Food Business Virtual Webinar
Selling food? Protect yourself and others by knowing the pertinent laws! The Allegany County Library System will host a webinar, online from your own computer or in person at the South Cumberland Library via Zoom, on SAFE: MD Cottage Food Business, Wednesday, October 21, 2026, from 12:00 pm–1:00 pm. Virtual presenters from downstate will be Megan Todd & Shauna Henley, UMD Extension. Register to join them for the SAFE series: Scam Awareness & Financial Education through Maryland Libraries Together.
SHINING MOMENTS: RECENT PROGRAMS
Pathways to Success Program
Dr. Ketterman partners with local colleges and universities to provide financial education. In the picture, Dr. Ketterman is seen at the Pathways to Success program at Allegany College of Maryland to play financial jeopardy. Using games provides an engaging opportunity to promote financial wellness. On other occasions he talks about balancing student loans in relation to your choice of major. He developed a budgeting template Budgeting 101 for College Students for college students which can be found here.
Financial Literacy Day on Capitol Hill
Dr. Ketterman from Allegany County UME, along with Denise Joseph from Charles County UME, represented Extension at a display table on Capitol Hill to increase awareness of financial literacy programs offered through Extension. This annual event focuses on K-12 financial literacy and is hosted by the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
Seed Libraries at Allegany County Library System
It happened!!! All Allegany County Libraries have a seed library! South Cumberland and Washington Street had their seed libraries put in place last week! Learn about Seed Saving at https://www.seedlibrarynetwork.org/ or through this UME Resource.
Homegrown Habitat Program
The Homegrown Habitat program started with a vision of getting more native plants that are hard to find in the nursery industry into the hands of the general public. Through this program, 22 people were able to earn 15-22 free native plants consisting of 13 different species by participating in 3 required virtual educational workshops. Every single plant that was given away through this program was grown by Master Gardeners in Garrett or Allegany County! We hope to make this an annual project!
Do you want to get a head start on native plants for the spring too? Join us in October at our Native Plant and Seed Harvesting Class - be sure to register by October 20th!
New Opportunity Allows More 4-Hers to Enter Exhibits at the Maryland State Fair
4-H member Christopher Piper from Allegany County was the pioneer from our county who entered his indoor exhibits at the Maryland State Fair with the help of UME Maryland 4-H, and a new opportunity they offered to pick up indoor exhibits so our youth around the state could still participate from a distance at the Maryland State Fair! We are #4HProud of you! We hope next year, even more participants from Allegany County can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity! Thank you to the Maryland State 4-H staff for making this available to our families!
Several other youth from Allegany County participated in various contexts and livestock exhibits: Tori Adams, Adalyn and Kinley Mallow, Layne McCusker, Madison Smith, and Everett Williamson. Congratulations to them all!
Back to School with 4-H Educators
As the school year gets underway, 4-H educators are bringing engaging agriculture, STEM, robotics, electric vehicle, nutrition, and animal science lessons to local students. Through a variety of high-quality experiences, with most schools receiving at least six or more hours, educators are expanding access to positive youth development and building meaningful community relationships.
The fall programming plan is to continue reaching over 550 students through the end of the calendar year at Cash Valley, Cresaptown, Bel Air, Flintstone, John Humbird, Parkside, Lighthouse Christian Academy, Firm Foundations Homeschool Group, Allegany High School, and the Salvation Army After-School Group. Additional in-school and after-school opportunities at Beall Elementary are also in development.
Take a look at the photos below to see the students from Cresaptown Elementary being led by Jessica Mellon, 4-H Educator, and building these small-scale electric car kits from Future Makers.
Coming Soon: New Phone Numbers at Allegany UME
The New Allegany County UME Main Office phone number will soon transition to 301-226-7380, with direct lines available for program areas and staff. Stay tuned for more details!
AC Agriculture Mailing List Update
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AC UME Newsletter Mailing List Update
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Connect With Allegany County UME
We are here to serve you and help answer any questions about 4-H Youth Development,
Agriculture, Home Gardening, Health & Nutrition, Financial Wellness, and more.
Dr. Jennifer Bentlejewski, WMD Area Extension Director jthorn@umd.edu
4-H Youth Development
- Michelle Harman, Educator mharman2@umd.edu
- Jessica Mellon, Educator jmellon2@umd.edu
- Sara Barnard, Program Assistant sbarnard@umd.edu
Agriculture and Food Systems / Environment and Natural Resources
- Sarah Llewellyn, Master Gardener Coordinator/ AgFS Educator sllewellyn@umd.edu
- Brianna LeMay, Nutrient Management Coordinator blemay@umd.edu
Family and Consumer Sciences
- Dr. Jesse Ketterman, FCS Educator jketterm@umd.edu
- Carrie Sorenson, FCS Educator cjrsoren@umd.edu
Administrative Support
- Jody Parrish, Program Management Specialist jparrish@umd.edu
- Toni Richards, Administrative Assistant I tonir@umd.edu
UME Allegany County Office
Location: 1 Commerce Drive, Cumberland, MD 21502
Office Hours: M-F 8:00 am-4:30 pm, excluding holidays
Phone: 301-724-3320
Website: https://extension.umd.edu/locations/allegany-county/
Facebook Pages:
Agriculture in Allegany County- University of Maryland Extension
Allegany County Master Gardeners
University of Maryland Extension - Allegany County 4-H
Healthy Living in Allegany County- University of Maryland Extension
University programs, activities, and facilities are available to all without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, national origin, political affiliation, physical or mental disability, religion, protected veteran status, genetic information, personal appearance or other legally protected class.
If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate any program or event, please contact our office, at least two weeks prior, at 301-724-3320.