Community Outreach Day Service Projects Saturday, September 26, 2009

Community Outreach Day is UH-Clear Lake’s official “day of service”, during which students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members join forces and volunteer at a number of service organization sites within the Houston-Galveston community.

Volunteers may pre-register for one project, and must complete the appropriate liability waiver form. Spots fill up quickly, so register early. All volunteers receive a free UHCL Community Outreach Day t-shirt on the day of the event.

* Important Information for all Community Outreach Day Volunteers

The following applies for all of the service projects:

• Volunteers must be 18 years or older. This is due to service site regulations and University liability standards.
• No short shorts or open-toed shoes at any sites – a safety standard. You will NOT be allowed to participate if you arrive in short shorts and sandals.
• All volunteers must complete waiver forms prior to participating in activity. (Note: It will save time if you complete these forms PRIOR to arriving for service.)
• If you are able to help us with carpooling for a service project, the Student Life Office does need to obtain a photocopy of your car insurance policy PRIOR to Community Outreach Day. You may fax this information or email to:
  Jennifer Clark, Assistant Director of Student Life
  Fax: 281-283-2611
  Email: clarkjen@uhcl.edu
  

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Off-campus Projects

Habitat for Humanity – Baytown, www.baytownhabitat.org

Mission: Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian ministry which builds simple, decent and affordable homes in partnership with those in need. Families purchase the houses at no profit, through interest-free loans. The driving force behind the organization is its volunteers-those who contribute a day, a week, a few months, to give Habitat’s vision a tangible form. Volunteers, joining with the future homeowner families, provide virtually all of the house- building labor. Baytown Habitat for Humanity, Inc. is an affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. We were incorporated in August, 1990 as a non-profit organization and immediately began operations, completing our first home in September, 1991. Since that time, Baytown Habitat has built 31 homes in the community for families in need.

Description of Activity: Still to be determined at the time of this posting, but volunteers will help with whatever stage of the building project is pertinent at this time. Past activities have included: installing windows, siding, hammering, roofing, painting, etc.)

What to Wear/Bring: Volunteers must wear long pants and closed-toed shoes. (You will not be allowed to work if you are in sandals.) We recommend hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen to protect you from the elements. If you have building tools (hammers, drills, gloves), we recommend you bring them. Supplies will be available for volunteers, but if you have your own, that will make more tools available for everyone.

Houston Food Bank, www.houstonfoodbank.org

Mission: Founded in 1982, the Houston Food Bank is a private, nonprofit organization that seeks food donations and distributes to charitable programs. The Houston Food Bank is a certified member of Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network.) Last year, the Houston Food Bank distributed 36 million pounds of food. 80,000 different people are fed each week, and more than 498,000 different people are fed each year. The Houston Food Bank supplies food to more than 400 hunger relief agencies in 18 southeast Texas counties, including church food panties, homeless shelters, safe havens for the battered and abused, and nutrition sites for children and the elderly. More than 100,000 volunteer hours are contributed annually.

Description of Activity: Volunteers will work at the Houston Food Bank warehouse located downtown. Past activities have included bagging rice, filling boxes with meals for AIDS patients, and sorting donated food for quality assurance.

League City Animal Shelter, www.leaguecityanimalshelter.com

Mission: League City Animal Shelter (LCAS) is a Municipal/Government organization has been rescuing, caring for and finding homes for homeless and abandoned animals in League City, Texas since 1998. Our mission is to end all unnecessary euthanasia, to educate towards humane and responsible pet ownership, and to enforce the state and city ordinances. Securing caring homes for animals is a major goal of the LCAS.

Description of Activity: Volunteers will bathe animals, exercise animals, and spend time giving the homeless pets much needed TLC. Other activities may include: painting, repairing fences, beautifying visitation area. LCAS welcomes donations of any of the following: canned food (dog, puppy, cat & kitten), dry food (puppy and kitten), puppy & kitten milk replacers, animal collers/harnesses, newspapers, animal shampoo, animal clipper/shaver, bath towels, small rugs.

Armand Bayou Nature Center, www.abnc.org

Mission: Experience first-hand how Armand Bayou Nature Center (ABNC) is working to preserve the wetlands prairie, forest and marsh habitats surrounding Armand Bayou. Visit this astonishingly beautiful part of the Texas Gulf Coast and "reconnect with nature". Visitors can learn about our plant and animal inhabitants, bird-watch, hike on the Nature Center's trails or view our live animal displays of snakes, spiders, hawks and bison. A visit to the Center's Martyn Farm will take you back in time to late 1800's farm life in Texas.

Description of Activity: Join us for a morning of trail maintenance at the Armand Bayou Nature Center. ABNC maintains 5 miles of hiking trails that run through the flatwoods forest. Much of this area was heavily impacted by Hurricane Ike. In fact, the nature center staff estimates that half of the canopy trees were downed by the storm. This loss of trees and opening of the canopy has created a new management challenge for the staff. All of this newly available sunlight created by the open canopy has encouraged a tremendous amount of brush to grow, particularly to the trail system that we all enjoy hiking. Our project will be to prune any limbs and branches that grow onto the trails. We’ll use limb loppers and hand pruners (if you own these, please bring them). Please dress for weather as it is sure to be hot. Loose-fitting clothes, long pants, a hat, gloves, closed toe walking shoes and insect repellent are recommended. ABNC staff will meet us, give an orientation and get us started down the trail.

What to Bring: Be sure to bring a personal water bottle that you can carry on the trail.

On-Campus Projects

Environmental Institute of Houston, http://prtl.uhcl.edu/portal/page/portal/EIH

Mission: The mission of EIH is to help people in the Houston region participate more effectively in environmental improvement. Information and technology will be obtained and disseminated from research supported by EIH in critical areas including pollution prevention, natural resource conservation, public policy, and societal issues. EIH will seek to expand balanced environmental education based on objective scholarship to empower the entire community to make sound decisions on environmental issues.

Description of Activity: Volunteers can expect to “play in the dirt” as they will be working to help maintain the EIH Gardens. Please dress appropriately in close toed shoes, wear a hat and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. You may also need to apply sunscreen, and it is advisable to bring a water bottle. We will provide cold water and snacks during the morning. No need to bring any garden tools or garden gloves, as we will provide all tools needed. Volunteers will have the opportunity to work with native plants, vegetable gardens, and possible plant or mulch, depending on what needs to be done. We will hopefully see wildlife in the gardens such as birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, so be prepared for some excitement! The garden is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy lunch if anyone wants to bring their lunch and sit at the picnic tables after working in the gardens.