WT Volunteers to Help Construct Outdoor Classroom at New Opportunity School Facility

Photo: West Texas A&M University students Erika Mejia, from left, Sonja Saenz, Daisa Brown and Aspen Stone volunteered to help clean and rebuild at Camp Don Harrington at the 2019 Day of Caring for United Way of Amarillo & Canyon.

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

United Way of Amarillo & Canyon contact: Honnah Taylor, 806-376-6359, honnah@unitedwayama.org

Opportunity School contact: Jill Goodrich, 806-373-4245, jillgoodrich@opportunityschool.com

CANYON, Texas — West Texas A&M University volunteers will brighten up a valuable community partner’s new early learning center during the annual Day of Caring.

WT will work with Opportunity School from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 18 at its new Amarillo location, 406 S. Osage St., during the annual volunteer event for the United Way of Amarillo & Canyon.

Day of Caring is a community-wide event that connects hundreds of volunteers to community established 501c3 nonprofit organizations throughout Amarillo and Canyon, according to the United Way office.

“The United Way Day of Caring is a one-day snapshot of a year’s worth of planning,” said Katie Noffsker, executive director of United Way of Amarillo & Canyon. “Projects that may otherwise cost a local nonprofit money, manpower they don’t have, or maybe never happen at all are made into reality in a matter of hours by volunteers. Every project is worthy of celebration. Whether it benefits one person or a few dozen, these volunteer hours are a way of showing how important missions of local nonprofit organizations are.” 

WT has participated for about four years, with dozens of faculty, staff and students volunteering.

“We try to pair WT’s volunteer efforts with an organization in the educational community,” said George Pacheco Jr., director of WT’s Experiential Learning office and member of the Day of Caring planning committee. “We especially try to get students involved to help them build a good habit of volunteering in their communities that will carry on even after graduation.”

Volunteers will construct new raised garden beds for an outdoor classroom for Opportunity School, which provides affordable, high-quality early childhood education and family support. The 16 beds will serve as the walls of the classroom, where flowers, ornamentals, fruits and vegetables will be grown and tended to by children.

“We’re just so grateful for all of the ways different groups are stepping up to help with early childhood education in this part of town,” said Jill Goodrich, Opportunity School executive director.

Goodrich said she hopes the new Elaine Edwards Center for Early Childhood Education will be fully operational by Aug. 1. It will replace and expand upon the current Grand Street facility.

Serving the Panhandle is a key maxim of the University’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

About West Texas A&M University

WT is located in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. With enrollment of more than 10,000, WT offers 60 undergraduate degree programs, 40 master’s degrees and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

—WTAMU—