MARCH 31, 2021 — For many years UTSA’s Day of Service has been an annual spring tradition, bringing together students, faculty and staff to volunteer for all sorts of great causes across Bexar County.
In an effort to accommodate social distancing and prevent the spread of COVID-19 this year, the university will instead recognize a Month of Service with a variety events benefiting the university and San Antonio nonprofits throughout April.
There are a number of ways that the Roadrunner community can get involved, whether it’s through food donation, green space maintenance or care bag assembly.
Visit the Leadership and Volunteer Services page on RowdyLink to RSVP, since some projects have volunteer limits.
April 1: Cardboard Kids Reveal Day
Join the Roadrunner community as we partner with local children’s advocacy center ChildSafe to raise awareness of child abuse in San Antonio. On April 1 thousands of colorful and imaginative 2-foot-tall Cardboard Kids will be unveiled across the Alamo City to draw attention to the pervasiveness of child abuse and neglect. All Roadrunners are encouraged to decorate their own Cardboard Kid and speak up for those who need a voice. If you discover a Cardboard Kid, snap a photo and share the location through social media using the hashtags #cardboardkidsSA and #UTSA.
April 2, April 9 and April 16: Bioswale Maintenance
9 a.m. to noon, Bioswale Area (between Convocation Center and H-E-B Student Union)
Limit: 10 volunteers per session
Volunteers are needed to maintain the bioswale area east of the Convocation Center on Main Campus. This will include pulling weeds, pruning plants and removing debris from the area. Anyone participating should wear clothes appropriate for yard work.
April 3: Peanut Butter and Jelly Donation Drive
9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Recreation Wellness Center (south entrance parking lot)
Student volunteer organization VOICES and campus women’s organization ROSIES are coming together to host this drive-thru event. All proceeds will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank to help serve thousands of families in the community. Although peanut butter is the San Antonio Food Bank’s most sought food item, other popular choices include cereal, tuna, beans, rice, macaroni and cheese, chili and soups, canned lunch meats, canned or boxed full meals, baby food, and pet food.
April 6–7: Giving Day
10:11 a.m. (April 6) to 7 p.m. (April 7)
Roadrunners across the globe will come together for the first UTSA Giving Day, an online event that celebrates the university by encouraging all members of the community—students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and friends—to support areas of campus that are important to them, either financially or through sharing the event via social media. Financial support from this event will keep many outstanding educational experiences that are offered by the university affordable for students.
April 10: Ella Austin Community Garden Beautification
10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Ella Austin Community Garden, 1023 N. Pine St.
Limit: 10 volunteers
Volunteers are needed to beautify the community garden at the Ella Austin Community Center in San Antonio’s Dignowity Hill neighborhood. The center promotes healthy lifestyles, leadership skills and self-sufficiency to individuals in the Bexar County area. Participants will assist in pulling weeds, maintaining garden beds and planting new plantlife. Anyone participating should wear clothes appropriate for yard work.
April 23 and April 30: Pollinator Garden Maintenance
9 a.m. to noon, UTSA Pollinator Garden (northwest corner of the BK5 Parking Lot)
Limit: 10 volunteers per session
Volunteers are needed to maintain the pollinator garden on Main Campus. This will include pulling weeds, pruning plants, planting new plantlife and removing debris from the area. Anyone participating should wear clothes appropriate for yard work.
April 23: Packing Bags for Bexar County Battered Women and Children’s Shelter
4 p.m. to 5 p.m., UTSA Ski Lodge Patio (outside of the Student Union)
Limit: 10 volunteers
Join the 2020 cohort of Terry Scholars to pack care bags for the Bexar County Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, which provides transitional housing, counseling, children’s and legal services to help individuals and families recover from the pain and long-term effects of domestic violence. During this event, volunteers will pack small lunch bags with menstrual products and encouraging letters.
April 28: Denim Day
10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Ximenes Parking Lot
Roadrunners often bust out their blue jeans on Denim Day to support survivors of—and educate the community about all forms of—sexual violence. This year, however, UTSA will also host a project to collect donations of toiletry items and other necessities for care bags that an individual escaping sexual violence may need in an emergency situation. Items of need include toothbrushes, toothpaste, towels, shampoo, soap and deodorant.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Led by UTSA Campus Recreation, these in-person group exercise sessions provide survivors a safe space to focus on their bodies' power to foster a sense of agency. Bring your mask and yoga mat and experience a soothing sound bath at sunrise. Students must register online before attending these sessions.
Recreation and Wellness Center, Main CampusCommunication between parents and youth can be difficult and the stress of COVID-19 and virtual learning may have made things worse. This is an opportunity for parents and youth, ages 9-17, to learn and share how to enchance communication.
Virtual EventThe virtial event will feature undergraduate student research and creative endeavors from across the university. Students who have participated in research experiences beginning summer 2020 through Spring 2021 are invited to participate.
Virtual EventBy participating in this training you will feel more prepared to recognize potential harm on a spectrum, decide how you would respond in certain situations and take action to keep our Roadrunner Community safe.
Virtual EventAt UTSA, there are many ways to connect with others, gain relevant career experience, and leave your mark at a world-ranked university. With over 300 student organizations, there’s something for everyone at UTSA. Hear from various UTSA Students Leaders about their life as a Roadrunner and why UTSA is their new home.
Virtual EventThis course is offered by UTSA's Employee Assistance Program EAP Deer Oaks. Every new beginning comes from something else ending, and in our ever changing world, it is essential to develop the ability topositively cope with change. This session provides participants with the insight to understand the nature of change and learn how to effectively deal with both the losses and the gains that change brings to one’s life.
Virtual EventOn April 28, 2021, millions of people across the world will wear jeans with a purpose, support survivors, and educate themselves and others about all forms of sexual violence. To support this movement our donation drive will be items that we will be putting together to make Care Kits. These Care Kits are for students, faculty and staff to get in case of an emergency and they need to leave the situation they're in ASAP and do not have time to pack.
Ximenas Ave GarageThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education.
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
