Nearly 100 students from the John V. Roach Honors College spent a Saturday morning serving communities across Fort Worth as part of the first-ever Honors in Action: Roach Honors Day of Service, organized by the Honors College Community Service (HCCS) student organization.
Volunteers traveled to several community partners throughout the city, supporting organizations including Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth, R.L. Paschal High School, Westcliff Elementary School, Tarrant Area Food Bank and the Fort Worth North Animal Care and Adoption Campus. Another group helped clean up Lake Como Park, collecting trash and improving the shared community space.
HCCS leaders said the event represented a new way to bring the Honors community together through service.
“We are always looking for new ways to engage our members with the Fort Worth community,”
Grant Cantrill, HCCS co-president, said. “Our program has grown a lot this past year,
and one day we realized that with the number of members we had, we could visit all
our partner organizations in a single day.”
What began as a student idea quickly became a collaborative effort across Roach Honors College. With support from Wassnenich Family Dean Ron Pitcock and college staff members, the organization spent months planning the large-scale service initiative.
“This event was almost a year in the making and involved a lot of moving parts,” Cantrill said. “With the guidance of Honors staff, the collaboration of our executive team and the dedication of our volunteers, everything came together smoothly and was incredibly worthwhile.”
The February day began early at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni & Visitors Center, where students, staff and faculty gathered before heading out to their service sites.
“The most rewarding part was seeing lines of students fill the alumni center, put
on their shirts and get excited to head out,” Cantrill said. “It was an early Saturday
morning, and there were plenty of reasons not to show up, but nearly 100 Honors students
came together for something bigger than themselves.”
At the Fort Worth North Animal Care and Adoption Campus, students worked to help care for the shelter’s animals. Volunteers power-washed outdoor areas, cleaned kennels and made peanut butter-filled Kong toys to keep dogs occupied while they await adoption.
Another group spent the morning at Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth, baking cookies
and other desserts for families staying there. They also spent time getting to know
and learn from RMDH staff members.
At the Tarrant Area Food Bank, the impact of that effort became especially clear. One group of Honors volunteers packaged 10,538 pounds of food, creating 8,731 meals for families in need.
“A lot of times, service work can feel unseen,” Cantrill said. “But when they announced those numbers, everyone cheered. It was a moment where our impact was visible.”
Cantrill said the event reflects a central part of the Roach Honors experience.
“Events like this matter in Roach Honors because they represent the college’s mission and values in action,” he said. “They give students the opportunity to take what we learn in the classroom and apply it through service and leadership in the community.”
Organizers hope the inaugural event will become an annual tradition.
“This experience reinforced for me that service is about building community,” Cantrill said. “When we come together with a shared purpose, we can accomplish something much greater than any of us could alone.”