Baltimore, MD. In an effort to preserve a piece of history for future generations, UMBC's Shriver Center has joined with the Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning and community groups such as the Butchers Hill Association in the restoration of the Patterson Park Pagoda, a Baltimore landmark for over 100 years.

On Tuesday, June 3 at 10:00am, Baltimore's Community Lead Education and Reduction Corps (CLEARCorps) will demonstrate the lead hazard reduction techniques to be used during the preliminary restoration efforts. CLEARCorps is assisting in this initial task to ensure the safety of community volunteers continuing the renovation.

The Pagoda event will kick-off Baltimore's celebration of Maryland Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which highlights programs throughout the state focused on preventing the environmental disease most deadly to the nation's children. This year's theme, "Do Your Part to Create Lead-Safe Homes," emphasizes the importance of collective involvement in addressing this complex problem. Shriver Center CLEARCorps members will show how individuals can follow simple steps to reduce the risk of lead poisoning in their own homes. Government agencies and organizations active in the fight against childhood lead poisoning will also be on hand to offer information and resource suggestions to community members.

WBAL anchor Donna Hamilton will host a brief program, to include remarks by UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski and CLEARCorps National Director Jamie Price. Media representatives will also be invited to tour lead hazard control efforts underway in the Pagoda.

CLEARCorps is an AmeriCorps program focused on targeted, feasible, and cost-effective solutions to reduce childhood lead poisoning in urban neighborhoods. Corps members educate parents and other community members on lead risk reduction; and clean and repair homes to reduce the risk of lead poisoning. UMBC's Shriver Center is the national administrator of CLEARCorps and presently supervises sites in Charleston, SC; Minneapolis, MN; and Pittsburgh, PA. Sites are scheduled to open in Austin, TX and Portland, OR this summer.

Coalition to End Childhood Lead Poisoning is regarded as a leading resource for prevention, outreach, education, and lead-safe community initiative assistance. The Coalition's programs include a Lead Safe Housing Registry; Education on Local, State, and Federal Laws and Grants Program; Early Intervention Programs; and Prevention Training Programs.

For more information on CLEARCorps, call 410.455.2493.