Two UA organizations will strive to make a difference in Tuscaloosa Monday with the help of a group of children when they host the Young Women Leaders Program.
Jessi Hitchins, assistant director of the UA Women’s Resource Center, said the event has been held for years and is important to the community.
“This event has been going on for several years throughout the community,” Hitchins said. “The Young Women Leaders Program has been around for many years.”
The Community Service Center is partnering with the Women’s Resource Center to sponsor a school cleanup and playground renovation at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church on March 29 at 3 p.m.
Hitchins said they chose Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary because they have a mentoring program already in place at the school and to show the students that the UA mentors hold their best interests as a top priority.
The volunteer opportunity is the culmination of a semester-long pairing of two Women’s Resource Center mentoring programs with local elementary school students.
“We want to show the kids that with a little hard work they can make a difference in their community,” Hitchins said.
Nathan Simmons, a graduate assistant in the Community Service Center, said that this year the principal of the elementary school wanted to expand beyond helping only her school and involve the community.
“It shows that service needs to extend beyond just local sites,” Simmons said.
The Community Service Center is recruiting 20-25 volunteers to assist in project preparation and execution of these events. Some volunteers can expect to paint, clean and conduct general maintenance at the school. Others will work to prepare the playground at Trinity’s child-care center for renovation. Volunteers to organize the church’s library are also needed.
“The Young Women Leaders Program has reached its capacity, and are we are very excited about it,” Hitchins said. “It’s going to be a large collaborative project.” According to the UA Community Service Center Web site, the organization is now accepting staff applications for the 2010-11 school year.
