Helping Other People Everywhere
HOPE, Helping Other People Everywhere, is the largest student-led organization dedicated to community service at the TAMS. We provide year-round volunteering through our 18 committees, host the annual HOPE Auction and Dance charity fundraiser, organize four blood drives in collaboration with Carter BloodCare throughout the year, and much more!
| Topic(s) | Community Service |
|---|---|
| Advised | Yes |
| Execs | President: Saatvik Sunkavalli
Vice President: Braiden Aaronson Secretary: Ivy Liang Treasurer: Harish Sridharan Social Coordinator: Amy Guan |
| Event(s) | HOPE Auction |
| Website | https://www.tamshope.org/ |
| Link | |
| thehopeexecs@gmail.com |
During 2019-2020, HOPE volunteers provided over 10,000 hours of community service throughout their 18 committees. Additionally, HOPE held 4 blood drives, donating 283 units of blood, and HOPE Auction, raising over $17,000 for the Rainforest Trust. HOPE Auction ranked as the #1 Social Event of the Year at TAMS.
Committees
HOPE provides volunteering opportunities through their committees.
Denton Nursing Home
Denton Nursing Home (DNH) is a joint committee, under both Helping Other People Everywhere (HOPE) and TAMS Medical Society (TMS). DNH provides students the opportunity to interact with the residents of the Good Samaritan Society Nursing Home, twice a week. Our volunteering opportunities include making crafts, hosting parties, and, in general, playing games and spending time with the residents of the nursing home. We plan on holding a diverse array of events, such as holding a prom for the Nursing Home Residents and making gift boxes, in order to make an impact on the nursing home and the Denton community.
| Committee Heads | Years |
|---|---|
| Kaitlin Sanders | 2020-2021 |
| Eric Roach II | |
| Khyathi Thallapureddy | 2019-2020 |
| Chandana Chitralekha | |
| Annie He | 2015-2016 |
| Veronica Zheng | |
| Sarah Zbidi | 2014-2015 |
| Nina Kupra |
Elm Fork
This is TAMS Elm Fork Education Center Volunteering, a committee of HOPE! Our mission is to implement environmental education programs that encourage responsible environmental decision making for students of all ages. We provide opportunities for TAMS students to help run field trips and homeschool labs. Volunteering with us is a very easy way to give back to UNT and to inspire children to be passionate about science.
| Committee Heads | Years |
|---|---|
| Michael Zhao | 2020-2021 |
| Elijah Nacar | |
| Lela Lemke | 2019-2020 |
| Liu Copeland | |
| Lily Nguyen | 2017-2018 |
| Smruthi Senthil | |
| Michael Li | 2016-2017 |
| Vinit Shah | |
| Ankita Rugi | 2015-2016 |
| Margaret Vakulenko | |
| Benjamin Sterling Lunday |
Food for Thought
Food for Thought is dedicated to providing those in the Denton area with a consistent means of obtaining food. Our volunteering includes programs at the UNT Food Pantry and other surrounding food bank and soup kitchen organizations.
Friends Forever
Friends Forever focuses on fostering new relationships between children with special needs and TAMS students. In partnership with It’s A Sensory World, this program aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop friendships. Friends Forever will match 1 or 2 teens and a child with special needs based on similar interests and passions. This committee offers a unique opportunity for students to stay connected and create an inclusive community that nurtures a comfortable and welcoming environment for new friendships to form.
Habitat for Humanity
Every night, there are an estimated 553,742 people in the United States experiencing homelessness. Through Habitat for Humanity (HFH), a committee under Helping Other People Everywhere (HOPE), we have the power to help change that. We have multiple volunteering opportunities each month to give back to the Denton community, helping families in need of decent and affordable housing. Volunteering is hands-on, involving construction work such as landscaping, cleaning, and painting.
Helping Hands
Helping Hands' goal is to give back to the community by serving the homeless and underprivileged. We will be providing volunteering opportunities with the Salvation Army in Denton throughout the year and would love for you guys to participate/volunteer with us in order to better the lives of the individuals we are serving. Volunteering might include food serving, cleaning, serving at the shelter, etc.
High School Tutoring
High School Tutoring is a HOPExTAS committee focused on helping local Denton high school students with STEM-related curriculum. TAMS volunteers will each be paired with a student from one of these high schools and will work with them on whatever academic help they need.
Hoofbeats
Hoofbeats aims to help engage students in the amazing healing process of equine therapy. We work with New Hope organization in Argyle, Texas where you will be able to aid in therapeutic horseback riding for young students with a variety of disabilities.
Learning Through Borders
Learning Through Borders (LTB) strives to help you connect to students across the world. LTB is a project under the Worldwide Education Fund, who assists existing hostels, orphanages, schools and other institutions and organizations that are committed to educating underprivileged children who have limited access to a quality education because of poverty, religion, gender, or other factors.
Library Committee
The overarching goal of the Library Committee is to break down barriers in education and to provide all students with equal opportunities. Our main volunteering project throughout the year is with the Denton Public Library, where we help biweekly with anything the library needs. Libraries can be an oasis of information in areas that lack other resources. TLC works to facilitate the library’s operations in an effort to expand its reach, In addition, this year, we are looking to hold a book drive to collect books for students in third world countries that don’t have access to them.
Little Leaps
Little Leaps’ mission is to serve local underprivileged daycares and youth centers, and support children (ages 1-5) so they can get quality care and education they deserve!
Revive
REVIVE provides students the opportunity to interact with children with special needs to allow for the parents to enjoy a night out. This is a committee under Helping Other People Everywhere (HOPE) and will occur every other Friday. REVIVE allows students to play board games, watch movies, make arts and crafts, and video games.
Pet Shelter
We are a volunteer group that visits Denton’s Pet Shelter every week. We usually help out with chores and also play with the animals there.
Robotics Mentoring
We are the TAMS Robotics Mentoring, a committee in collaboration with HOPE and Robotics.We will be mentoring an FTC (First Tech Challenge) team at a local Denton middle school and teach them the basics of robotics. In addition to mentoring a team, we will also host a local FTC tournament and provide opportunities to volunteer at other events.
SCRAP
SCRAP is a committee under HOPE that holds volunteering sessions every week (Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons) to help the local SCRAP store. SCRAP is a nonprofit organization that aims to reduce waste and encourage environmentally sustainable actions by providing affordable, reusable materials. Our goal is to aid the SCRAP store by sorting the merchandise and creating exciting crafts for the store to sell with the donated materials they give us.
Shiloh Field
Shiloh Field Community Garden is this year's new joint committee under Hope and Naturally! Shiloh Field Community Garden provides students the opportunity once a week to grow fresh produce at Denton's very own Shiloh Field. At Shiloh Field volunteers serve the community by tending to the 152 individual plots, with fruit trees, blackberries, chickens, honey bees, a vineyard, composting, and more! This is a great opportunity to learn more about the food we eat and to feed those who are hungry.
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is a committee under HOPE that holds volunteering sessions every week in order to help out at our local Special Olympics team! Special Olympics is an organization that provides training and competition for various sports, to people with disabilities, throughout the year. Our goal is to aid the Special Olympics team by providing good coaching to the athletes and by being kind and empathetic volunteers.
Teen Court
Teen Court provides members of the TAMS community with opportunities to volunteer at the Denton Municipal Teen Court on the first and third Tuesday of every month. Volunteers can participate as attorneys or jury members in cases with other Denton teens. As a result, Teen Court volunteers are exposed to real-world settings and provide a great service to our city at large.
This year, we are in the process of creating a new program to address some of the systemic issues that we see within the community. The program will focus on providing an educated session on both the law and personal development. Our goal is to see less juvenile incarceration, see less recidivism, and instead see more prospering teens.
UIL Volunteering
We host volunteering events at local UIL competitions, and help tutor students for UIL competitions at nearby schools. Our goal is to help these events run smoothly, and volunteering includes monitoring tests, grading exams, and running papers among other things.
Execs
2020-2021
President: Saatvik Sunkavalli
Vice President: Braiden Aaronson
Secretary: Ivy Liang
Treasurer: Harish Sridharan
Social Coordinator: Amy Guan