MDTA Police held a Toys for Tots collection drive for the December 2025 holiday season (Nicholas Waltrip/MDTA)
When most people hear “Maryland Department of Transportation” they think roads, bridges, transit, airports, the Port of Baltimore and vehicle registration and driver licensing services. This is all in MDOT’s wheelhouse, but with a deeper look, you will start to notice MDOT employees do more. They keep communities connected, supported and seen.
I have been thinking about this a lot because of the work I do as a Digital Navigator at Morgan State University. This year, my team and I have been in Baltimore’s neighborhoods researching the digital barriers that so many underserved communities still face, teaching digital literacy skills, handing out laptops and making technology feel less intimidating.
As a communications graduate student, those moments meant a lot – a reminder that community involvement is building trust, showing up and making sure no one gets left behind. From my experience working within MDOT, the workers here are Marylanders who care about their neighbors and the communities they serve. Behind every upgraded road, MVA customer service desk and transit vehicle is a talented team of professional civil servants. Each action they take is intentional and says, “We see you and we want you safe.”
MDTA Police held a Toys for Tots collection drive for the December 2025 holiday season (Nicholas Waltrip/MDTA)
MDTA Police held a Toys for Tots collection drive for the December 2025 holiday season (Nicholas Waltrip/MDTA)
Beyond infrastructure, MDOT keeps finding ways to continue serving Marylanders. A joyful example is officers from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police and the Maryland Transit Administration Police forces partnering with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots Program. Both partnerships are now in their third decade. Every holiday season, collection bins suddenly appear at transit stations, bus depots, toll bridges, DriveEzMD Customer Service Centers and MDOT offices. You know what’s interesting? Not only do MDOT employees donate toys, but many other families also drop off toys during their commutes.
Last year, generous transit riders themselves played a huge role in filling those boxes, making sure children across the state had a toy to open and play with during the holidays. That kind of community spirit can only grow in places where people feel connected to the system that serves them.
Team members at the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Secretary’s Office in Hanover, Maryland created holiday cards for the elderly. (Victory Momoh/MDOT)
This spirit of giving shows up again during the summertime. MDOT TSO employees donated school supplies to support the Children of Promise’s Back-to-School fair for Baltimore City students this past summer.
For the past seven years, the MDOT Headquarters has supported Sarah’s House, an emergency shelter that serves women and children who experience homelessness, through donations and outreach. In addition, multiple MDOT agencies also host recurring donation drives throughout the year that benefit the Maryland Food Bank, collecting nonperishable food items and toiletries to support families who experience food insecurity.
MDOT employees also organize to help people beyond state lines. Most recently, MDOT workers supported Hurricane Maria disaster relief efforts by coordinating donations of nonperishable food, baby formula and toiletries for communities impacted in Jamaica.
These combined efforts echo the great words of Thurgood Marshall: “None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps.” The quote reminds us that progress is a shared effort. We rise because someone makes the part safer, clearer or more supportive that it was before.
And MDOT continues to be one of the hands lifting up all Marylanders.
Victory A. Momoh is an Intern at the Maryland Department of Transportation’s Office of Public Affairs.