Texas State University’s largest collective day of volunteer work for the community, Bobcat Build, was canceled for the first time since its creation in 2001.
Thousands of volunteers and workers for the event were forced to cut their day short due to the severe weather in the area.
The event was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 13 but was delayed until 9:30 a.m. due to severe thunderstorms in the San Marcos area. Everything was happening as planned; however, at about 11:30 a.m., student volunteers and jobsite hosts received an email stating that all volunteers were to immediately stop all work being done at jobsites and return their tools to Strahan Arena.
Volunteers do a variety of services at the job sites from weeding and digging garden plots to scraping paint and restaining wooden decks, like these three volunteers during the 2017 event. Submitted photo
Laura Arsto, senior biology major at Texas State University and codirector for Bobcat Build, said the staff was a little bummed that the remainder of the event was canceled, but she was thankful that they had each other to work with all year.
“We start planning for Bobcat Build in August and just make sure all the staff knows everything there is to know about the event,” Arsto said. “Just seeing their hard work and dedication, it made me feel confident leaving it in the hands of these great people when I graduate in May.”
Arsto said Bobcat Build was partially created as a way to say thanks to the community from Texas State students. She said it was a way to bridge the gap between students and the community and show that not all students are the same.
“Bobcat Build was kind of a way to show San Marcos and its residents that not everyone is like that,” Arsto said.
2017 Bobcat Build volunteers hold up a “What goes here flows here” sign after picking up trash that would have otherwise become stormwater pollution. Submitted photo
Not only did the weather affect the staff and volunteers, but it also affected the hosts of jobsites. Sandra Ellison, 55, a San Marcos native and Texas State alumna, said she is always surprised at how many people are willing to help in the community.
“It just always shocks me to see how many students care enough to volunteer their time and effort for those of us who can’t maintain the exterior parts of our home anymore,” Ellison said. “It just means so much to me, and my neighbors, who have lived here our entire lives to see the students giving back to the community.”
Student volunteer and political science major Anna Sweeney said she was anxious about Bobcat Build being canceled because of the weather.
“I just remember on Friday being so scared that it was going to be canceled because of all the severe thunderstorm predictions,” she said. “It was going to be the first one I’ve volunteered at with my sister, and we were just so excited to get to do it together.”
Fortunately for the Sweeney sisters, they didn’t see the email to return back to check-in for Bobcat Build until the rain had already stopped, resulting in a completed jobsite for their host.
Volunteer Kristin Olansen displays the microlitter she collected from the corner of San Antonio and Guadalupe streets in downtown.
This year Bobcat Build included over 4,700 student volunteers and had 275 jobsites registered in the San Marcos community. The event, although officially canceled on behalf of the committee that runs Bobcat Build for this year, will happen as planned next year.
Bobcat Build was created 17 years ago, inspired by Texas A&M’s program called “The Big Event.” According to the frequently asked questions page on the Bobcat Build’s website, Texas State serves as the second largest one-day community service project in the state of Texas.
