University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
EN-9: Community Partnerships

Edinburg Housing Authority The goal of the EHA is to serve the needs of low-income families in its jurisdiction and increase the availability of decent, safe and affordable housing, promote self-sufficiency and asset development, and improve community quality of life and economic viability. In addition to this, the mission of EHA is to help those served to develop the necessary work and education skills necessary to succeed and provide for their loved ones on their own. Students from the university partake in paid and unpaid internships at the EHA and help with strategic planning, staff training, youth leadership association initiatives, and summer camp activities. Southwest Border Nonprofit Resource Center (SBNRC) The SBNRC facilitates sustainable development and growth of the nonprofit community in the southwest border region by providing leadership training and management, leveraging partnerships and networks, and conducting nonprofit research. The SBNRC connects nonprofit organizations, nonprofit professionals and university students to benefit the community in the Rio Grande Valley. A directory for volunteerism is available for students wanting to volunteer at a nonprofit. Throughout the year, the university provides webinars and workshops to nonprofits wanting to learn more on how to manage their organization.

Deep South Texas Financial Literacy Alliance Region One Education Service Center, GEAR UP and Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, along with other community entities and business institutions formed the Deep South Texas Financial Literacy Alliance to increase financial literacy in South Texas. By forming partnerships between institutions of higher education, financial institutions, school districts and business and community entities, the alliance plans to improve the financial status of communities in Deep South Texas. Each project year, a series of financial literacy conferences designed to provide financial literacy for students and parents alike are held that highlight the importance of managing money, money and banking, and future financial planning. Two community engagement staff members from the university have been members of the alliance since its inception two years ago, Dr. Doris Mendiola and Mr. Joe Garcia. Proyecto Desarollo Proyecto Desarollo Humano is a nonprofit community-based organization located in Penitas, Texas that serves communities with numerous colonias where Hispanic families with limited resources live. The Direct Marketing Initiative for Beginning Farms and Ranchers in South Texas, operated by Community Engagement’s Business and Rural Development component and in collaboration with Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas/Mexico Border Coalition created a project supported by a three year grant awarded to the University by the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to enhance the sustainability of beginning farmers and ranchers by training them to successfully grow and direct market their agricultural produce and products through farmers markets, consumer supported agriculture and other direct-marketing techniques. Another three year grant by the BFRDP was also awarded and, partnering with community organizations, the initiative offered classes to provide training on topics such as organic gardening, constructing raised beds, and selling at farmers markets through hands-on workshops, field days and visits to home plots. Office of P16 Initiatives The University provides outreach services to the community in support of “Closing the Gaps” and “Generation Texas” initiatives through different programs such as: -Go Centers A Go Center is located at a high school, and is a location on the school site where students can get college readiness assistance. The Go Center is a place where students can learn about how they can be better prepared to attend a college or university. -Collegiate Go-Force Mentors The University Go Center and Collegiate G-force (CGF) Mentors offer educational support and training services to Rio Grande Valley (RGV) High Schools and the general community. The CGF mentors are college students that promote and educate students and participants on topics related to higher education. They help drive the desire in other students and others to attend college as well as raise awareness of the value of higher education. Collegiate G-Force mentors encourage and assist students and peers in motivating them to explore all available options for enrolling in college and help prepare students and peers academically and financially. -Mother/Daughter Program The program helps participants recognize the benefits of higher education through a support network of school counselors, community leaders and members, and professional role models. The program furnishes the tools for increasing self-esteem and confidence as well as opportunities for identifying, exploring, and appreciating cultural values and traditions. Incorporated in the school and evening activities we have infused a STEM curriculum to enhance academics and encourage these young females to develop a further interest in these fields. With the support of The Boone Family Foundation, effective 2013 a tutoring component has been incorporated into the existing programming to offer additional academic support to participants. Tutoring will continue into June 2013 and offer academic assistance as well as a STEM enriched curriculum that includes activities to enhance critical thinking skills. The vision of this program is to serve select populations of students traditionally underrepresented in higher education and use the programs and mentors as advocates to higher education. Collaborative relationships with institutions, organizations and communities are also essential to promote an environment conductive to completion of post-secondary education. Students from the university are encouraged to participate in the Go Center and Collegiate Go-Force Mentors by going to schools throughout the community and aiding students in their transition to higher education. Border Health Texas-Mexico Coordination Office This office collaborates with community based organizations to promote health services and education, provide technical assistance to communities and institutions, and sponsor health education efforts including conferences and workshops. The office emphasizes collaborative partnerships and entrepreneurships to enhance the university’s engagement with the community to meet challenges and maximize opportunities as well as infusing Inter-American and global perspectives throughout the university community. Some of the programs available by the office are MOREHEALTH, a forum for research and best practices pertaining to challenge and opportunities surrounding border health issues aimed at health care professionals, educators, policy makers and others interested in border health, and Go Red for Women, a yearly event aimed at raising awareness of breast cancer throughout the community.

HESTEC The Hispanic Engineering, Science, and Technology (HESTEC) Week has become a nationally recognized model for promoting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers among young people. The University addresses the issue of the lack of STEM graduates and worker shortages in this field and focuses on attracting students, teachers, parents, corporate and congressional leaders to develop new programs and approaches to address the need for STEM workers and professionals at regional, national, and global levels. This program highlights the resources, talents and achievements of its university and promotes higher education in the Rio Grande Valley by reaching out to secondary students, university students, and the community. Speakers from outside and within the university engage and interact with students to educate them on the importance of STEM and, through collaborations with partners, different activities are held to further educate students and get them excited about the STEM fields. The Fall Career Expo event aids in helping students from the university and other universities land jobs, averaging about 1500 students in attendance. Center for Rural Advancement (CRA) The CRA engages with rural communities through community based participatory research, academic service learning and outreach and technical assistance, while providing students with experiential learning and employment opportunities. The Center for Rural Advancement is part of Community Engagement at the university and through grant proposals managed to create a number of rural programs, projects and initiatives that focus on rural economic and business development, direct-marketing of farm produce, specialty crop research, and USDA program outreach. Some of these programs and initiatives include: • The Texas Rural Cooperative Center (TRCC) which provides advocacy training and technical assistance to rural cooperatives, cooperative members and member businesses in rural Texas with an emphasis in South Texas. • The Direct Marketing Initiative for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers (DMI) which provides training and hands on assistance to beginning farmers and ranchers and focuses on the small scale production of fruit and vegetable crops. This university initiative delivered 23 trainings to beginning farmers and ranchers and was responsible for launching 9 new direct marketing farms in the community. • The Risk Management Education for Small Hispanic Producers in South Texas which provides agricultural producers with risk management education to improve financial management, drought mitigation, strategies and economic decision making to enhance long term sustainability. Center for Border Economic Studies (CBEST) In cooperation with local, state, national and international entities, the CBEST works to promote economic development through its policy oriented research and analysis. The primary objective of this unit is to focus on interdisciplinary research in support of sustainable economic development, publish articles, monographs, books and reports that examine the economic, social and political issues in the border region and make this information readily available to policy makers, business leaders, government officials, academics, students and the border community, and to create strategic partnerships with private sector, foundations, government agencies, research scholars and non-profits to further policy relevant research that leads to border area economic development. The CBEST is part of the College of Business Administration and publishes a quarterly publication at the University that focuses on articles centered around the community. The boards and research associates consist of professors from within the university and outside of the university, as well as business leaders from the community.

Great Strides Program Each year the university partners up with Lone Star San Antonio to provide the opportunity for people within the community to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis by walking a 5k through teams they create from work, clubs, organizations, friends and family. This event promotes a healthy life style by exercising and raises awareness of Cystic Fibrosis. http://fightcf.cff.org/site/TR/GreatStrides/67_Lone_Star_San_Antonio?fr_id=3363&pg=entry Grow Farmers for Direct Marketing (GFDM) The University aims to help recruit, transition, develop and retain women, minorities, immigrants and young farmers to participate at farmer’s markets and other direct-to-consumer farm marketing outlets within a 26-county region of South Texas. This project benefits regional small-scale growers, regional farmers’ markets and other regional direct-marketing outlets, regional consumers and regional farm economy. http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/ce_home/red_home_2011/gfdm_home/gfdm_pc