It was early on Saturday, Jan. 18, when nearly 100 UHD volunteers gathered in Houston’s Moody Park for GatorServe’s National Day of Service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Their purpose? A major clean-up and restoration of the historic city park, especially cleaning up the trash deposited when the bayou floods. 

In high spirits, the GatorServe volunteers completed seven different projects, including trash collection, mulching, window washing, pressure washing, sanitizing, guiding, and helping with the set-up of an essential warming station for the inclement weather to come. 

Community leaders on hand were State Representative Christina Morales, Houston Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Cherly Johnson, and Department of Neighborhoods Director Herbert Sims. 

Sponsored by Houston Parks and Recreation Department and City of Houston Volunteer Initiatives Department, the event was presented by UHD’s Center for Community Engagement & Service Learning (CCESL) as part of UHD’s Impact Learning Office (ILO), led by Dr. Poonam Gulati, Executive Director of ILO and Associate Professor, Microbiology and Biology. Gulati credits Gabriel Durham, the new Associate Director of the CCESL, and Natasha Nowlin, the Program Coordinator for CCESL, for the organization and success of the event. 

“It is always amazing to see the profound impact so many hands can have in just a couple of hours working together,” saidStudents pick up trash at Moody Park. They wear neon vests. Durham. “Using our impact as a gauge, it is staggering to imagine how much was done across the nation in celebration of Dr. King's legacy.”  

Gulati was grateful that UHD President Loren J. Blanchard, Provost Deborah Bordelon, and Interim Vice President for 3SL Daniel Maxwell shared their support in addition to staff and faculty members Lisa Braysen, James Bjacek, John Henderson, Luz Castilla Hincapie, Marie Jacinto, Whitney Botsford Morgan, Jean Nganou, Gabriela Perez, Annalee Ring, Ra'Nekia Smith, Joy Thomas, and Shovna Tripathy. 

“We would love to have more faculty and staff join the GatorServe events. The students get very excited when they see faculty and staff working alongside them,” said Gulati. Plans are already underway for the 9/11 National Day of Service.  

 

Students, staff, faculty, and community leaders pose for a photo. They are wearing yellow shirts to commemorate the GatorServe event.   Three students picking up trash. The middle student has a trash bag in hand.   A UHD student dumps a trashcan's contents into the back of a garbage truck.