UTEP Set to Serve Community with Project MOVE

Last Updated on February 19, 2018 at 3:45 PM

Originally published February 19, 2018

By UC Staff

UTEP Communications

More than 1,200 members of the Miner Nation will participate in The University of Texas at El Paso’s ninth annual Project MOVE, UTEP’s day of community service, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, at 50 sites across El Paso County.

The volunteers – a combination of students, staff, faculty, alumni and friends – will clean, build, paint, plant, patch and landscape, among other things. Many of them also will learn about different parts of the community, the nonprofit organizations they are helping, and the people that agency serves.

“Participation in Project MOVE better prepares our students to be more well-rounded community members,” said Ofelia Dominguez, director of UTEP’s Union Services and lead organizer for this year’s Project MOVE (Miner Opportunities for Volunteer Experiences). “In some cases, the students will be introduced to a new part of the community and be taken outside their comfort zone. The experience will help them grow as people. It will make them more confident about what they can do.”

The day will start with a pep rally at UTEP’s Kidd Field at about 9 a.m. The volunteers, who will sport orange Project MOVE T-shirts, will be dismissed around 9:30 a.m. to go to their job sites.

Several UTEP alumni chapters and networks have expressed their desire to be part of Project MOVE. For example, several members of the San Antonio Alumni Network plan to landscape outside the offices of the Strong Foundation, an agency that helps homeless families with children. Other Miner alumni groups also told UTEP’s Office of Alumni Relations of their willingness to participate. 

“We hope that other chapters will join us so Project MOVE can become a national day of service,” said Liliana Barrios, director of alumni engagement programs. “We have our athletic events and social events, but we want our alumni to consider community service opportunities because they generate their own meaningful experiences.”