Volunteers Unite to Serve Patients and Families

Faculty, staff, students and their friends may join others throughout The University of Texas System in a state-wide volunteer service project this spring.

During United to Serve Saturday, April 23, members of the UT Health Science Center at Houston and UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center communities will work on a two-hour project benefiting patients and their families at eight Texas Medical Center facilities.

Each volunteer may choose one of the following venues: M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Hermann Hospital, The Methodist Hospital, Texas Children's Hospital, Ben Taub Hospital, St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research (TIRR).

Check-in begins at 8:30 a.m. at the UT Dental Branch at Houston. A kickoff event - featuring breakfast fare, music and fellowship - will be followed by volunteer projects from 10 a.m.- noon. Volunteers also are needed to help with the kickoff event itself.

Complimentary parking will be available at the Mental Sciences Institute lot across the street from the Dental Branch.

Last year more than 200 faculty, staff and students volunteered throughout the Texas Medical Center for projects that ranged from making Christmas stockings at Memorial Hermann Hospital to assembling patient education packets at M. D. Anderson.

"Due to the overwhelming success of last year's project at our campus, we will serve as the model for each campus throughout The University of Texas System in 2005," said Manuel M. Reyes, the health science center's representative to the UT System Student Advisory Council. A fourth-year medical student, Reyes is president of and minority representative to the health science center's Student InterCouncil.

First envisioned by the UT System Student Advisory Council and coordinated through the Chancellor's office, United to Serve was created to increase awareness and participation in volunteering throughout the 15 campuses of the UT System. During National Volunteer Week last year, nearly 1,000 UT volunteers participated throughout the state contributing over 2,400 volunteer hours.

For more information or to sign up, see http://publicaffairs.uth.tmc.edu/sic/united_to_serve/.

By Ina Fried, Public Affairs