Students donate their time at Community Outreach Day

Pat Martin

The Signal Staff

Christian theologian and founder of Methodism John Wesley once said, “Make all you can, save all you can and give all you can.” The most valuable thing a person can give is their time.

This past Saturday more than 130 University of Houston-Clear Lake students, faculty and staff members gave their time by participating in the UHCL Community Outreach Day.

Community Outreach Day is sponsored by the UHCL’s center for Student Leadership, Involvement and Community Engagement, or SLICE. The mission of SLICE is to develop leadership through service to the community. On Feb. 13, SLICE hosted six different projects throughout the community.

“For many of these students, it is their first time to do community service,” said David Rachita, assistant dean of student life. “This is a great introduction to thinking past yourself for the benefit of the community.”

This year’s projects included building homes for Habitat for Humanity in two different locations, caring for pets at the League City Animal Shelter, providing social activities for seniors at the Mountbatten House, feeding the homeless at the Houston Food Bank and hosting reading parties for underprivileged youth at the Alliance for Multicultural Community Services.

Jennifer Clark, assistant director of student life and SLICE, coordinates Community Outreach Day. Clark participated at the Mountbatten House, where volunteers socialized with seniors. She explained that it was so nice to see the students jump right in and take initiative with the residents. There were smiles from the volunteers and even larger smiles from the recipients.

“When we gathered as a group afterwards to reflect on the experience, one volunteer noted that they heard one resident say that it was just so good to hear laughter coming from inside the home again,” Clark said.

Doug Relyea has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for more than 10 years. He oversees projects for the Habitat, and has built five homes on the plot in Baytown. There are 10 more scheduled to be built in the same area, as well as a park.

“The UHCL volunteers have helped out twice a year and have had a part in the completion of all five of these houses,” Relyea said.

Volunteers at the League City Animal Shelter helped out by walking and socializing with the animals. Monica Millican, member of Friends of League City Animal Shelter, is constantly looking for volunteers to come back and help with future projects.

“The goal is to get volunteers engaged and hope that they come back and volunteer permanently,” Millican said.

This semester marked the largest amount of projects that the program has offered for Community Outreach Day. It provided an opportunity for faculty and staff to participate with students outside of the normal classroom environment.

“I was so impressed with our students and how they didn’t hesitate to take a few hours of their day, especially on a Saturday when they could have been doing anything else,” Clark said. “Our students are amazing, and they inspire me everyday.”