Students "flock" university president's yard

SFA students cover university president's yard in pink plastic flamingos 

The SFA Student United Way “flocked” SFA University President Dr. Baker Pattillo’s on-campus residence Tuesday night as part of their “Flamingo Flock” fundraiser.

“We are very pleased that Dr. Pattillo was willing to have his house “flocked” to help support the Student United Way’s fundraiser,” Gary Lee Ashcraft, president and CEO of NCUW, said.

Over the past few months, the SFAUW has been “flocking” the yards of many people within the community, including NCUW Chair Jason Sobel.  For a $10 donation, the members of the SFAUW will put dozens of pink plastic flamingos in the yards of your specified “victim.” After “roosting” in the yard for the entire day, the flamingos move on to the next yard. The $10 donation will be put into the SFAUW general budget, which the students use to buy supplies for events, as well as other organizational needs. 

Photo caption for SFAUW members: From left to right: Crystal Davis, Rocky Madkins, Cedricka Jackson, courtney Oles, Kayci Wetherspoon, Danielle Waite

Live United with the Jacks!

Free, family-friendly community tailgate 

Live United with the Jacks is an annual community give-back event put on by NCUW, in conjunction with Head Coach Johnny Cardenas, a long-time partner of the NCUW. The free, family friendly event will be held Saturday, April 20 at the SFA Baseball Field beginning at 12 p.m. There will be free hotdogs, provided by NIBCO, and the SFA Steel Drum Band will entertain fans before they head into the SFA baseball game at 2 p.m. versus Southeastern Louisiana. In addition, NCUW will be raffling off the chance to throw out the first pitch of the game.

In addition to the tailgate event, the SFA Student United Way will have their second annual Kids Fitness Day, also in conjunction with the SFA Baseball team, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Over one hundred children from Solid Foundation and Glory Gang, two NCUW partner agencies, as well as children from Headstart, will be participating in several “field day” activities designed to promote an active lifestyle. There will be sack races, inflatables and a dance station, as well as other games. The kids will then have lunch and be able to attend the SFA Baseball game free of charge.

For more information on the media event, please contact Gary Lee Ashcraft on his cell phone at (936) 552-6408.

General admission tickets to the game are $5, tickets for children ages 9-18 are $3, and admission for children under the age of 8 is free. SFA students get in for free with their student IDs.

NCUW launches new website feature

Better connecting people in need to those who can help

The Nacogdoches County United Way has created a new feature on their website to empower people in need to find assistance. The new page, titled “Find Help,” is designed to give people in certain situations 24-hour access to information on what agencies are available to help. The site (www.unitedwaynac.com/find_help.html) features links describing some of the most frequent situations the United Way receives phone calls about, according to Jessica Layfield, NCUW communication coordinator.

“Having this information easily available on our website will allow people to find the help they need from our agencies 24/7,” Layfield said. “This will cut down on the wait time for people looking for help, especially for those in emergency situations and those who can’t call us during business hours.”

There are 11 situations listed on the website, among which are: “I am homeless or about to become homeless”; “I am the victim of a natural disaster or dealing with an emergency situation”; “I am in need of counseling or mental health services”; and “I am looking for extra-curricular programs for my children.”

“NCUW has a wide range of funded agencies that meet an equally wide range of needs in our community,” Gary Lee Ashcraft, president and CEO of NCUW said. “The goal of this page is to help connect people to agencies that can get them the assistance they need.”

 “As of right now, we only have NCUW’s funded agencies on the site,” Layfield said. “We are hoping that once more people become aware of this resource, other non-profits will contact us about including their agency as well. The ultimate goal is to become a ‘one-stop shop’ for people who are looking for help.”

Agencies that would like to be included on the “Find Help” page of NCUW’s website can download an information request from the website.

“This is one of many steps we are taking to make our agency more accessible to the people we serve,” Ashcraft said.