A day of service at UTA
To kick off the first week of the spring semester, students from The University of Texas at Arlington committed their Martin Luther King Jr. Day to giving back to the community.
UTA Mavericks spent their day off volunteering with local charities and nonprofit organizations for the Zeb Strong Jr. Day of Service, part of Arlington’s Advancing the Dream Celebration.
UTA social work senior Allison Levy helped make sleeping mats for homeless individuals with nonprofit Sarah’s Bag Ladies.
“What inspires me about Martin Luther King Jr. is from his quote ‘Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve,’ and that’s what social work is all about,” Levy said. “Social work is all about giving back to the community. I like to try to do something once a month, and this was a great opportunity to serve the community at the school I go to as well.”
Sarah’s Bag Ladies is a nonprofit committed to recycling and helping the homeless in Tarrant County. Its focus is on teaching community members how to convert used grocery bags into plastic yarn. Sarah’s Bag Ladies has worked with several UTA student groups and participated in UTA volunteer events over the past three years.
“I’m inexpressibly grateful for the support we have received from UTA and look forward to a thriving relationship,” said Sarah Zink, founder and executive director of Sarah’s Bag Ladies.
The late Zeb Strong Jr., a 1988 UTA alumnus, was the University’s former recruiting initiatives and Human Resources outreach services director. The day of service was named in his honor in recognition of his servant leadership and strong sense of community.