The Catalyst

Fall 2001

ACEE Helps YMCA Celebrate Its 150th

Nearly 40 ACEE members participated in the program's first community service project of the 2001–2002 school year on Saturday, October 13, volunteering at the YMCA's 150th Anniversary Family Festival at Capital Plaza in central Austin.

As AmeriCorps members, ACEE tutors are required to participate in four national days of service per year, days when every AmeriCorps member in the country also participates in community service.

"These days of service are designed to promote community service, engender collaboration among AmeriCorps programs and other local volunteer organizations, and provide opportunities to develop projects where members of a community can coalesce to address large-scale needs," ACEE Program Director Bryan Murdock said.

"The YMCA project we just completed was for Make a Difference Day, and I believe it fit perfectly with these goals and objectives," he added.

Festival volunteer coordinator Stephanie Triggs estimated that 1,500 children and adults attended the free YMCA festival, twice as many people as last year's event. Triggs said the purpose of the event was to show how the YMCA serves the children of the Austin community.

Festival events included face painting, karaoke, ring toss, pony rides, an aerobics demonstration, a marching band performance, and a raffle.

Triggs said that ACEE members were instrumental to the success of the event.

"They were incredibly important to the event," Triggs said. "We couldn’Äôt have pulled this off without them."

ACEE members volunteered in various capacities, from helping set up and staff the festival booths to dressing up as lovable costume characters and handing balloons to children.

"I had a lot of fun playing Goofy at the YMCA carnival," ACEE member Lewis Thomas said. "It was good to interact with the kids in a relaxed environment and see their happy faces."

Triggs said the costumed characters were a tremendous success.

"The children loved them," she added. "They added to the air of fun and community spirit."

Other attendees of the festival included U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, State Representative Dawna Dukes, and the Austin Fire Department.

ACEE's next community service project will take place on January 21, 2002, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday.

—Cindy Tom, ACEE Member 2001