UA News

UA volunteers will work to make improvements to the Wildcat School, a charter middle school that focuses on math and science.

Volunteers are needed to make over a charter middle school for the annual Cats in the Community Day.

Registration is now open for University of Arizona employees and students who want to make a difference through the community service event, coordinated by the Office of Community Relations.

Every year, the UA partners with a local nonprofit organization to do improvements to its facility during Cats in the Community Day. This year, the project is partnering with the Wildcat School, a nonprofit charter middle school affiliated with the UA. The school focuses on math and science education and helps prepare students to attend the University.

About 300 volunteers are needed to make over the school, located in a converted warehouse at 25 E. Drachman St.

Volunteers can sign up to work one of three shifts during the event, which runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on March 6. Help is needed on a variety of projects, including building picnic tables and benches, doing grounds work, helping create a sustainable garden, covering books, and working on murals designed by graphic design students at the UA, said Holly Altman, director of outreach and community partnerships in the Office of Community Relations.

"It's a way to give back to the give back to the community and help a school where their goal is to create a bridge for these kids to the U of A," Altman said.

About 95 percent of students at the Wildcat School come from low-income families. The school's goal for next year is to expand to include a high school that will act as a direct pipeline for students to the UA's Arizona Assurance Program, which pays for college for undergraduates from families with an annual income of $42,400 or less.

Last year, Cats in the Community Day partnered with Project YES, an after-school youth tutoring and mentoring facility in South Tucson. The year before, volunteers worked with the Primavera Foundation, which fights poverty and homelessness.

To register to volunteer or to get more information, visit the Cats in the Community Web site. For additional questions, e-mail catsday@email.arizona.edu or contact Altman at 626-4671.