The Mesquite Online News - Texas A&M University-San Antonio

500 students will volunteer with local nonprofits

By Erica Learned and Norma Gonzalez

Five-hundred students will give up a Saturday to learn the value of volunteerism and community engagement.

Choose Act Impact Day will take place Oct. 29 kicking off with an 8 a.m. rally open to all student volunteers. The rally will prepare students for a day of community engagement across San Antonio. Volunteers are required to register by Monday, Oct. 24.

Edwin Blanton, executive director for the Center for Experiential Learning and Community Engagement, said the event will impact the Texas A&M University-San Antonio campus by making students aware of “the needs of the community and get them engaged.”

The service project creates awareness for organizations in need and provides a learning experience for first-year students.

“The hope is to grow and become an annual event,” Blanton added.

To prepare for the event, Blanton said he reached out to nonprofits to identify the needs at specific nonprofits and how many volunteers would be needed. The most important thing when preparing for a day like this, he said, is “to make sure we are aware of community need and are responding to community need, and not just creating busy work out in the community.”

This event will take place in two sessions, starting at 8 a.m. and noon. Shifts will last three to four hours. A rally will proceed both sessions including breakfast tacos and T-shirts. Blanton said buses will transport students from campus to their assigned volunteering locations.

Several charitable organizations are benefiting from the event including Haven for Hope and the San Antonio Food Bank.

Others include San Antonio River Authority, Medina River Natural Area, Mitchell Lake Audubon Center Catholic Charities/Guadalupe Center and the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center.

All students who attend the volunteer day will receive breakfast before they are bused to their assigned volunteer locations and a “Choose Act Impact,” T-shirt.

Most volunteers are enrolled in Jag Tracks, a series of one-hour college courses required at A&M-San Antonio to help transition incoming students from high school to college. The weekend service project is a course assignment for students enrolled in Jag Tracks I. Students in the course are required to perform at least 6 hours of community service. Though this event includes predominantly freshmen, all students are welcome to participate.

“Volunteering and being involved in the community is a great way for especially freshman that maybe have not determined what their major is to explore their interests and passions,” Blanton said.

“It’s going to impact the campus by making aware to the students what the needs are in the community and also how they can be engaged. I think that’s the purpose of the Butterfly Effect — that every impact matters.

“You can choose, you can act and you can have an impact,” Blanton reminds students.

To publicize this day, Jaguar Marketing has suggested a SnapChat Take Over, as well as just getting as many other photos as possible, Blanton said. “Marketing can do some training, as well as possibly loan some cameras.  Students will also have access to the University’s SnapChat account.”

Items to Bring:

  • Close-toed shoes, sunglasses, sunscreen,
  • Reusable water bottle (water will be provided)
  • Be sure to wear your Choose Act Impact Shirt (available for pickup on 10/26 & 10/27).

Team Volunteer Opportunities

  • 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. “Water Way All the Way”
    Volunteer at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center at their Hoot and Harvest Festival
  • 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. “Jungles for Jaguars 1”
    Volunteer at San Antonio River Authority planting trees
  • 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. “Jungles for Jaguars II”
    Volunteer at Medina River Natural Area planting trees and mulching
  • 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. “#Equal Futures”
    Volunteer at Haven for Hope serving coffee and washing sleeping mats
  • 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. “Project TAMUSA Roots”
    Volunteer at the San Antonio Food Bank Garden
  • 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. “Little Jags”
    Volunteer with Catholic Charities with event clean-up at maintenance at Guadalupe Community Center. Some volunteers will paint a nearby safe house for women and children.
  • 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. “Water Way All the Way”
    Volunteer at Mitchell Lake Audubon Center at their Hoot and Harvest Festival
  • 1:30-4 p.m. “Share and Give”
    Volunteer at San Antonio Food Bank Warehouse sorting food for distribution

Contributing Reporters: Juliet Mendoza, Marisa Prieto, Monica Reuter, Karenna Reyna, James Velten and Victoria Wilson. Jaguar Media thanks The Center for Experiential Learning and Community Engagement for participating in our class news writing assignment in COMM 3301, Reporting taught by Prof. Jenny Moore.

 

 

 

About the Authors

Norma Gonzalez
Norma Gonzalez is a native of Monterrey, Mexico. At the age of one, her parents immigrated to San Antonio to offer her a better future. Norma’s main priority is to complete a Bachelor’s degree in communications from Texas A&M University-San Antonio. Norma previously worked at LOCAL Community News as an intern. Norma works for Nielsen as a research interviewer, conducting media surveys around the nation. After graduating, Norma aspires to become a bilingual News Reporter.
Erica Learned
Erica Learned is a senior at Texas A&M University-San Antonio. She studies communications with an emphasis in journalism as well as political science. Erica has previously worked as a journalist for the South Texan at Texas A&M Kingsville, and as a sports reporter for KTSW radio at Texas State University. She also had the opportunity to work under Lynda Obst at Sony picture studios in Los Angeles, California as a production assistant as well as assisting Mrs. Obst with her personal autobiography. She aspires to work in the marketing field after graduation.

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