Service Initiatives

Brighten the Brazos

Once a semester, the service committee has gathered students from the HRC to help pick up trash on the banks of the Brazos river. One of the best ways we have found to serve our community is through a mix of stewarding the environment and helping to make Waco clean!

Operation Christmas Child

The HRC has annually organized a gift drive to provide Christmas presents for children around the world. Following the gift drive, the HRC community comes together to package the gifts, which also included letters of encouragement! Come and celebrate in a festive and service-driven way in the season of giving!

Recurring Service Opportunities

ACE Tutoring

The Honors Residential College proudly partners with local leaders to serve as tutors in an after-school program with ACE (Afterschool Centers for Education). Our student volunteers mentor sixth to eighth-grade students both academically and personally, growing in friendship with the students of the Waco community and helping students, particularly in the subject of math, spreading a love of learning in Waco ISD.

Caritas

Caritas is a local non-profit organization that fights food insecurity in Waco. At Caritas, students package and share food with those in need. It has been a wonderful outreach as we both grow closer together in service and interact with the underprivileged in Waco. 

STARS Book Club 

STARS book club partners volunteers from the community with elementary students across the Waco ISD system to encourage a love for reading. Partnering with STARS book clubs allows us to help them in their dream of increasing literacy in the greater Waco area. Students meet every week with the same group of 2-3 elementary-age students and read books together. This is an incredible way to be a memorable influence on someone else's life.

Waco Humane Society

The Service Committee, along with a group of HRC students, volunteers at Waco’s Humane Society every Saturday. We take dogs on walks and play with them for an hour to provide relief for the dogs since they are confined in kennels all day. The Humane Society is a great place to volunteer, providing time to relax for students with meaningful acts of service. 

Mission Trips

Each year, the Honors Residential College partners with an established non-profit organization to organize an HRC-specific mission trip in hopes of creating a Christ-centered community that fosters the love of God, love of neighbor, and love of learning. Recent trips have included partnerships with the following domestic and international organizations:

·       Orphan’s Heart to Guatemala

·       Potter’s Heart to Guatemala City, Guatemala.

·       Interfaith Welcome Coalition to San Antonio, TX

·       One More Child to Bogotá, Colombia

·       One More Child to Lakeland, FL