The UTSA RoadRunner are engaged in the community. Pictured above are students working on their school food pantry during the university’s volunteer days. And below, @SAISD librarians were sworn in as deputy voter registrars, paving the way for libraries to become a hub for political engagement in their high schools.
Every week we publish this roundup of compassionate news. If you want to get it as it happens, follow us on Twitter @compassionNET1. And don’t forget: you can use the hashtag #compassionateSA.
Found in the Rivard Report, 22 August, 2018
Most San Antonio Residents Don’t Have Easy Access to Parks
Park access is linked to public health outcomes, especially among youth who seek spaces to gather free of charge.
Seen on KENS 5, 22 August, 2018
Free street skills class to teach bike, scooter safety
While the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization wants more eco-friendly commuters, they don’t want more accidents.
Seen on WOAI 4, 22 August 2018
New program aims to reduce 911 calls, transports from Haven for Hope
The Acute Care Station provides residents with an overnight paramedic. “We have already made a huge dent in the costs to EMS, to the hospitals and more importantly, perhaps, we’re going to get people healthier.”
Seen on KSAT 12, 22 August 2018
Catholic Charities helps refugee families start over
It’s important that Americans understand that “no one chooses to be a refugee.”
Seen on KENS 5, 22 August 2018
NEISD launches “Meals for Shields” program
Law enforcement officers are invited to schools for free lunch and conversation any time they want in hopes of creating role models.
Seen on KSAT 12, 22 August, 2018
The ‘Big Yard’ helps ACS find homes for overlooked dogs, cats
The area has a mobile shade canopy, pop-up umbrellas and doggie pools and is available for viewing live online in hopes of getting the community engaged and encouraged to adopt.
Also read in the Express-News, 23 August, 2018
New yard provides space for San Antonio’s ACS staff to socialize dogs for more adoptions
“We’re able to give dogs that would have been very shut down in their kennels a chance for people to see their true personalities.”
Seen on Spectrum News, 22 August, 2018
Calendar features local amputees to raise money for nonprofit
“We want to show people that amputation is not the end of the world and our folks are strong and confident.”
Found on FOX 29, 22 August, 2018
City proposes youth re-engagement center on the West side
Right now, about 35,000 people between ages 16 -24 don’t have a job or aren’t going to school.
Also seen on KSAT 12, 23 August, 2018
Re-engagement program aims to replace jail time for mischievous youth
Wayward juveniles would be taken to Frank Garrett Center instead of magistrate.
Seen on KENS 5, 23 August, 2018
Inspiring messages in an unexpected place
13-year-old Skye and her mother spent the summer painting messages on the girls’ bathroom stalls at Warren HS to “inspire girls to make them feel better about themselves when they’re feeling down or insecure about the way they look.”
Seen on KENS 5, 23 August, 2018
San Antonio man promises free mow in exchange for helping the homeless
“There’s always people that need help. And honestly, it does make you a better person.”
Seen on KSAT 12, 23 August, 2018
Witte Museum hosting Sensory Sunday event featuring dinosaurs
Guests can explore sections of the museum in an extra-accessible and more comfortable environment, with less crowds, light and sound reduction and a designated Chill Zone for extrasensory-friendly activities.
Found on Spectrum News, 24 August, 2018
Councilwoman combating ‘aggressive panhandling’ on South Side
The addition of church groups assisting the homeless with obtaining identification cards has been part of the solution to get people off the streets.
Found on the Rivard report, 24 August, 2018
Scholarship Program for Health Care Careers Targets Low-Income Students
The scholarships will help students continue in the health care field and inspire them to “work hard and be the change.”
Visto en KWEX 49, 24 de agosto, 2018
Organización exige más recursos para que personas tengan representación legal adecuada [The Organizers demand more resources for people to have adequate legal representation]
El condado de Bexar tiene obligación de proveer representación legal, pero muchas personas de bajos recursos se quedan sin esta posibilidad. [Bexar County is required to provide legal representation, but many low-income people are left without this possibility.]
Found in the Express-News, 24 August, 2018
Inclusive San Antonio water park named one of the ‘World’s Greatest Places’ by Time Magazine
It’s the world’s first water park made to be “ultra accessible.”
Also read in People Magazine, 24 August, 2018
Theme Park Built by Dad for Daughter with Special Needs Named One of TIME’s ‘Greatest Places’
There are signs the country is moving to a more inclusive society, Hartman says, and he hopes to see more communities incorporate the needs of people with disabilities into the design of their public places.
Found on Texas Public Radio, 24 August, 2018
UTSA Staff Recipes Preserved In Special Collections
“It’s important to give an opportunity for folks like our housekeepers to express their identity, their stories, their histories, their culinary traditions and preserve them for the future.”
Found in the Rivard Report, 25 August, 2018
Honoring Eastside Legend, Mel Waiters Way Celebrates Grand Opening
Mel Waiters Way is only the second street in San Antonio to be named after a black male; when kids walk to school, he said, they’ll see Mel Waiters’ name and learn about his legacy.
Found in the Express-News, 26 August, 2018
Community policing and ‘by the book’ not incompatible
Chief McManus: “I’ve never known the victim of a violent crime not to appreciate an empathic and compassionate officer or detective.”
Seen on KENS 5, 26 August, 2018
Rescued Hurricane Harvey dog serves new role at San Antonio rehab center
“It’s so neat to watch them understand that while she has a history, she has a past, and has been treated horribly in her past, that she can turn around and pour out love and pour out understanding and forgive. And they can do the same thing.”
Found on Spectrum News, 26 August, 2018
South San opens ‘Choice Academies’ to keep students intrigued at middle school level
“We are trying to get them to say, ‘How can you better your community?’, and stay in this area and make it grow.”
Visto en KWEX 49 el 26 de agosto de 2018
Baby Café, un programa para mujeres embarazadas y lactantes [Baby Café, a program for pregnant & lactating women]
Janet Burguete de Metro Health invita a las mujeres a este lugar donde comparten información sobre la lactancia materna, los primeros días del bebé y más. [Janet Burguete of Metro Health invites women to this place where they share information about breastfeeding, the first days of the baby and more.]
Heard on Texas Public radio, 26 August, 2018
City Proposes Raising Prices On Larger Garbage Carts To Encourage Recycling
“If you’re filling up your larger cart right now, we’re estimating that about more than 40 percent of what’s in the large cart right now can go into the blue cart.”
Seen on KENS 5, 26 August, 2018
Camera catches neighbors jumping into action to help put out two house fires
“We all watch out for each other. That’s one thing that we all do. We all take care of each other.”
Seen on KENS 5, 27 August, 2018
Manu’s class and character helped to define the ‘Spurs Way’
Manu treated everybody with respect, regardless of their station in life. Whether you were a fan, reporter or custodian, he saw value in you as a person and respected what you did to scratch out a living. He didn’t have to tell you. You just sensed it.
Seen on KSAT 12, 27 August, 2018
NEISD newcomer program welcomes refugees, new arrivals
“We might speak a different language. We might look different, but we’re all the same.”
Found in the Rivard Report, 28 August, 2018
Magik Theatre Plans Renovations for Increased Accessibility
Beyond accommodating people with physical challenges, the theater started sensory-friendly shows for children on the autism spectrum and with other sensory sensitivities in 2015.
Seen on KSAT 12, 28 August, 2018
South Texas PRIDE: Fiesta Youth expands support program for LGBTQIA youth
This fall, the nonprofit will begin a partnership with the YMCA of Greater San Antonio and expand its program with San Antonio public libraries to offer more locations throughout the city for its weekly support groups.
Heard on WOAI Radio, 29 August, 2018
Does Your Child’s School Lunch Help Determine Success in Class?
“We’re doing MRI scans to see if the synapses are working properly before and after a whole food organic diet.
