Our middle school VPL program is full of outstanding volunteers! You may have read earlier this week about Cristian Dominguez from Webb Middle School — today we are highlighting another VPL volunteer, Caroline Trang, in honor of National Volunteer Week. Caroline is a 7th grader at Decker Middle School, one of the three middle schools served by our Middle School Matters program. This year was Caroline’s first year in the VPL program, and she had the best attendance of any student in the program and was a leader of Decker’s Literacy Night activity booth. Other projects Caroline and her team have taken on include making book posters, sorting books for donation, volunteering in the school library and creating bookmarks with literacy tips for other students. Young Leaders Society (YLS) Executive Member, Frances Jordan, serves as the YLS Campus Captain of Decker Middle School and has worked closely with Caroline this past year. Frances not only volunteers through YLS, but also serves as a member of UWATX’s volunteer Resource Development Committee and helps our fundraising team find new business and make important decisions. Frances and Caroline sat down together and chatted about their involvement and volunteer experiences with UWATX: Frances: Why do you volunteer through the VPL program? Caroline: My friend Helen made me come at first, but it turned out to be so fun! I like to help others. Frances:What are your favorite types of volunteer activities? Caroline: Helping with cleaning up the community, presenting to groups, and giving gifts to those in need. Frances: Describe […]
Read MoreYLS Chaperones Webb Middle School Dance
As the school year comes to a close and students have summer tunnel vision, most adults would assume that they are thinking about anything but school. This is not the case at Webb Middle School. Managing the Young Leaders Society for UWATX has allowed me to get a glimpse into the lives of middle school students at Webb and they continue to truly impress me. On June 2nd, the Young Leaders Society volunteered to chaperone the 8th grade graduation dance for the second year in a row. The dance immediately followed a graduation ceremony, where several Webb students were honored for academic achievement. As I listened the names being called of the students that worked so hard to gain success, I could not help but be moved. As an employee of United Way for Greater Austin and a donor, I could clearly see the impact this organization has on Webb, Mendez and Decker Middle Schools at that graduation ceremony. After the last name had been called and the parents made their way down to congratulate their graduates, other YLS volunteers and I headed into the cafeteria to get set up for the dance. Members of the YLS executive committee as well as potential YLS members mixed and mingled while we set out punch, tacos and a sheet cake the size of Texas. After a few minutes all of the middle school students filled the room, and once the DJ started playing you could tell it was going to be an […]
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