The Project
The Project is the University of Texas at Austin's largest annual day of service and a longstanding tradition connecting Longhorns with Austin communities through meaningful volunteer engagement. Since 1999, thousands of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members have collaborated alongside neighborhood partners to support locally identified priorities through hands-on service projects.
Organized by Volunteerism & Service-Learning within the Office of the Dean of Students, The Project is more than a single day of volunteering. Through year-round planning, community partnership development, and student leadership opportunities, The Project aims to strengthen relationships between UT Austin and surrounding communities while fostering civic responsibility, leadership, and lifelong service.
Areas of service include:
- Neighborhood beautification and public space improvement
- Sustainability and environmental initiatives
- Education and youth engagement
- Food access and basic needs support
- Community events and resident-led projects
- Nonprofit and neighborhood partner priorities
What is The Project?
The Project is an annual service initiative designed to connect the UT Austin community with neighborhoods, organizations, and community partners throughout Austin.
Grounded in reciprocal community engagement practices, The Project prioritizes listening, relationship-building, and responding to locally identified needs. Service projects are developed in collaboration with community partners to support meaningful and mutually beneficial experiences. The program also serves as a leadership development opportunity for students who coordinate event logistics, build partnerships, facilitate volunteer experiences, and contribute to long-term program planning.
At its core, The Project seeks to answer an important question: How can service strengthen communities while helping students grow as engaged, active citizens and leaders?
How The Project Takes Shape
Although many participants experience The Project through one annual service day, planning and relationship-building occur throughout the year.
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Student Leadership Opportunities
The Project provides a variety of ways for students to get involved and build practical leadership skills while contributing to community engagement efforts.
Project Planning Team
Students on our student-led planning team have the opportunity to support and execute important aspects of The Project such as volunteer engagement and recruitment; community outreach and partnerships; finance and resource development; special initiatives; event logistics; and more! The Project Planning Team helps shape participant experiences while developing critical skills in project management, collaboration, communication, and leadership.
Members of the Project Planning Team are active members of the Community Engagement Collective (CEC), an organization for UT students who are passionate about service and community engagement. For information on how to join the CEC and recruitment dates, visit our website!
Team Leads
Team Leads support our planning team to execute all day-of operations as well as support volunteers throughout their experience. Responsibilities can include managing logistics and safety at project sites, distributing tools, outreach and content capture, supporting sustainability efforts, facilitating the Project Kick-Off event, and more.
Team Lead recruitment begins at the beginning of the Fall semester and is open to any student. Students who apply to become a Team Lead will also be required to attend mandatory trainings to further their leadership development as well as prepare them to perform their responsibilities as it relates to The Project.
Volunteer
Register as an individual or with a group. Any Longhorn – student, staff, faculty, or alumni – is encouraged to spend their day with us! Volunteers can sign up for either a morning or afternoon shift.
For more information about the types of involvement or expectations about what each role consists of, visit utproject.org.
Whether you are a volunteer or behind-the-scenes, The Project is a hub for student development to occur in any capacity.
Community Partnerships & Collaboration
The Project is built on the belief that meaningful service begins with relationships and is most impactful when informed by the experiences, priorities, and expertise of local residents, organizations, and neighborhood leaders. Rather than creating service opportunities independently, The Project works alongside community partners to identify goals, understand community priorities, and support existing efforts. Partnerships can include neighborhood associations, schools, nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations, community centers, and much more. Through these relationships, The Project seeks to support community-driven priorities while creating opportunities for students to engage thoughtfully with Austin communities.
Interested in Partnering with The Project?
We'd love to get to know you! Community organizations, neighborhood groups, and local leaders interested in exploring future collaboration opportunities are encouraged to connect with our Community Relations team. Your experience helps ensure our work is meaningful, responsive, and mutually beneficial, so let's start a conversation!
Please email theproject.cr@austin.utexas.edu for more information.
Support The Project
Without the generous donations and support from those around us – family, peers, alumni, campus partners, donors, and of course, our community – much of what The Project does would not be possible. To help us continue creating positive impact in the Austin community, we encourage you to click the button below and leave a donation! All proceeds go directly towards event planning, logistics and operations, and leadership development for our student leaders.
For sponsorship or large donation inquiries, please email theproject@austin.utexas.edu.
Make a Contribution