Coming together to give back: Student Affairs staff and students adopt families
(Jan. 8, 2013) -- This holiday season, 18 offices across the UTSA Division of Student Affairs and 12 student organizations adopted 25 senior citizens and 27 families through the Family Service Association Adopt-a-Family program.
Volunteers packed cars and trucks with wrapped gifts ranging from sheets and kitchen supplies to bikes and games and delivered the gifts Dec. 11 and 18. The Family Service Association coordinated the adoption of 750 families in our community this year, and UTSA was one of the biggest adopters in the entire program.
Families are selected to participate, and most are very low-income and often had experienced job loss, death in the family or medical emergencies this year.
This was the fifth year of the UTSA Student Affairs participation in the program, and each office and student organization puts its own tradition into the service project. In some offices, each staff member adopted one family member and shopped for the needs and wants of that individual. Other groups had a gift-wrapping party as a part of their holiday celebration, and many offices donate canned goods and gently used clothing in addition to new gifts.
This year, Athletics inspired individuals outside the university to assist with the effort when they purchased a new mattress for a senior in need. Deby Bailey, athletics business manager, set out to find an affordable mattress and ran into dead ends when prices were too high. She finally went to Factory Mattress on De Zavala, met a great sales person and found what she was looking for. Before checking out, the salesman disappeared and returned with $25 of his own money to contribute to the effort; he later called to let Bailey know he had told his boss about the sale and the store upgraded the mattress at no cost.
>> To receive a monthly email with volunteer opportunities, email volunteer@utsa.edu or visit the UTSA Volunteer Services website.
>> Learn more about the Family Service Association and Adopt-a-Family.
Events
The UTSA Office of Undergraduate is proud to celebrate National Undergraduate Research with an annual event sponsored by the (OUR) featuring students will showcase undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from all disciplines across campus.
Various LocationsDía en la Sombrilla, formerly Fiesta UTSA, is a festival hosted each spring as a part of Fiesta® San Antonio events. Sponsored by Roadrunner Productions, the event features music, food, confetti, games, event t-shirts, and more.
Sombrilla Plaza and Central Plaza, Main CampusFiesta Arts Fair features contemporary art from more than 100 artists from across the U.S., Fiesta favorite foods, drinks, live music by local and regional performers, and a Young Artists Garden providing opportunities for budding artists to learn, explore and express their creativity.
UTSA Southwest CampusJoin the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
AlamodomeCelebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome