Students Volunteer to Make a Difference

In the spirit of giving displayed in last fall’s highly successful "Into the Streets" program, UT students, faculty and staff will work as community volunteers on "Make a Difference Day," Monday, January 15. Some 125 students, 15 student facilitators, and 15 faculty and staff members already have volunteered for the event, which is designed to coincide with Martin Luther King Day, and will conclude with a gathering in King’s honor at Pepin-Rood Stadium.

After breakfast in Plant Hall’s Grand Salon, students and leaders will be dispersed to nine area sites to provide volunteer services ranging from beach cleanup at MacDill Air Force Base to conducting a ‘50s dance at Hudson Manor.  Other sites include Ronald McDonald House, the Spring store, Metropolitan Ministries, Lowry Park Zoo, Francis House, Judeo-Christian Health Clinic and Hope Children’s Home. About 35 residents of Pyramid, a center for people with developmental disabilities, will work with the UT teams.

In late August, the University inaugurated "Into the Streets" as an annual student volunteer day to be conducted the Saturday before classes start for the fall semester. When 400 students—twice the anticipated number—volunteered to serve at more than a dozen Bay Area organizations, UT created "Make a Difference Day," a second annual organized volunteer effort, to kick off each spring semester.

For more information, contact the Office of Public Information at publicinfo@ut.edu.