COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland basketball head coach Mark Turgeon took his turn as a celebrity waiter at Ledo Pizza on Wednesday afternoon to help support the Community Police Dream Team project.

Spearheaded by David Mitchell, director of public safety and chief of the University of Maryland police department, the fundraising initiative supports local law enforcement units coming together to build relationships and trust with the youth in the College Park community.

So Turgeon traded in his job as a college basketball coach and turned his attention to serving pizza, visiting with patrons and thanking law enforcement staff and volunteers during his hour-long visit at the iconic College Park restaurant.

“I truly appreciate everyone's commitment in making this a great community to be a part of,” Turgeon said.  “This is an important fundraiser and I'm really happy with the outpouring of support we received today for this event.”

Joining Turgeon for the charitable lunch were assistant coach Dustin Clark, director of basketball operations Nima Omidvar and video coordinator Jon Trock.

“Having Coach Turgeon, his coaching staff, Testudo and our county officers join in for this important initiative is just tremendous,” Mitchell said. “You only get out of your community what you put into it, so it is imperative that we work together to invest in our youth.”

For more information log onto the link below:

http://vpaf.umd.edu/community/dreamteam.html

Maryland opens its regular season against Wagner on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at XFINITY Center.