EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso celebrated “National Volunteer Month” during its third annual Days of Service four-day event.
The Days of Service event was held Wednesday, April 12 through Saturday, April 15.
This year’s Days of Service event is “one to remember” as the event was held during the yearlong celebration of the school’s 10-year anniversary as an independent university in the Texas Tech System.
“Days of Service is a prime example of the university’s dedication to volunteerism, with TTUHSC El Paso students alone contributing over 19,000 hours of community service annually,” according to a news release sent out by the university.
The Days of Service event is organized by the university’s Office of Outreach and Community Engagement. The event allows students, faculty and staff to volunteer at different organizations or non-profits.
The event had over 175 volunteers doing more than 750 hours of volunteer work with partnerships in over 15 community organizations at 20 sites. Volunteers were engaged in activities such as, “sorting donations at the Opportunity Center for the Homeless, organizing kids’ rooms and painting the computer lab at the YWCA Transitional Living Center and assisting with food distribution at El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank,” the university said.
Additional volunteer sites included the El Paso Baptist Clinic Pharmacy, the Socorro Ramirez Community Center, and the Salvation Army of El Paso.
Donations were also an option for those who couldn’t volunteer. Collection bins were placed throughout the campus and donations of toiletry articles and pet supplies were donated to local organizations.
The university says the “student-led initiatives successfully supported various groups, including the Kelly Center for Hunger Relief, Opportunity Center for the Homeless, Humane Society of El Paso, and Rescue Mission of El Paso.”
TTUHSC El Paso is also organizing a food drive to benefit Siguiendo Los Pasos de Jesus and the Animal Rescue League of El Paso.
