This Saturday, Feb. 23, more than 2,000 University of Texas at Austin student volunteers are expected to participate in The Project, one of the largest one-day student and community run service events in the nation. In addition to the service effort during the day, The Project will also include an extensive community health fair running from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Consuelo Mendez Middle School. 

The community health fair will provide information from a variety of community resources, entertainment for families, diabetes, blood sugar and vision screenings, free immunizations, a Home Depot Kid’s Workshop, and many other activities. This year will also include cooking demonstrations, and a Zumba and dance contest for youth. Throughout the day, there will be various educational workshops.

Established in 1999 by the Volunteer and Service Learning Center of The University of Texas at Austin, The Project is a massive collaborative effort involving student volunteers, city government departments, community organizations and local businesses. Since its inception, The Project has involved more than 18,000 student volunteers completing more than 57,000 hours of direct service in 10 Austin neighborhoods. In response to the work done by annual Projects, The Project has received numerous service awards including the Keep America Beautiful National Award for Community Improvement in 2000.

The range of service projects carried out by UT student volunteers throughout the day will include trash removal; rebuilding fences; and school, church and park beautification projects, among others. 

Community partners who work to plot out the service projects and resources includes the Austin Police Department, Austin Fire Department, Austin Parks and Recreation, Downtown Austin Community Court, Solid Waste Services, Keep Austin Beautiful, University Federal Credit Union, The Home Depot, neighborhood organizations in the selected community, area school representatives, and several other organizations.

For more information on The Project, contact The University of Texas at Austin Volunteer and Service Learning Center at 471-6161 or send an email to theproject.ut@gmail.com. For information on the health fair, contact The Consuelo Mendez Family Resource Center at 841-1016 or e-mail Leonor.Vargas@austinisd.org