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West Texas A&M University volunteers will brighten up a valuable community partner’s new early learning center during the annual Day of Caring.
WT will work with Opportunity School from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 18 at its new Amarillo location, 406 S. Osage St., during the annual volunteer event for the United Way of Amarillo & Canyon.
Day of Caring is a community-wide event that connects hundreds of volunteers to community established 501c3 nonprofit organizations throughout Amarillo and Canyon, according to the United Way office.
“The United Way Day of Caring is a one-day snapshot of a year’s worth of planning,” said Katie Noffsker, executive director of United Way of Amarillo & Canyon. “Projects that may otherwise cost a local nonprofit money, manpower they don’t have, or maybe never happen at all are made into reality in a matter of hours by volunteers. Every project is worthy of celebration. Whether it benefits one person or a few dozen, these volunteer hours are a way of showing how important missions of local nonprofit organizations are.”
WT has participated for about four years, with dozens of faculty, staff and students volunteering.
“We try to pair WT’s volunteer efforts with an organization in the educational community,” said George Pacheco Jr., director of WT’s Experiential Learning office and member of the Day of Caring planning committee. “We especially try to get students involved to help them build a good habit of volunteering in their communities that will carry on even after graduation.”
Volunteers will construct new raised garden beds for an outdoor classroom for Opportunity School, which provides affordable, high-quality early childhood education and family support. The 16 beds will serve as the walls of the classroom, where flowers, ornamentals, fruits and vegetables will be grown and tended to by children.
“We’re just so grateful for all of the ways different groups are stepping up to help with early childhood education in this part of town,” said Jill Goodrich, Opportunity School executive director.
Goodrich said she hopes the new Elaine Edwards Center for Early Childhood Education will be fully operational by Aug. 1. It will replace and expand upon the current Grand Street facility.
Serving the Panhandle is a key maxim of the University’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.
-West Texas A&M University