Student groups unite for Project Reach Out

Oreo, a medium-sized black-and-white cat, slinked around the fingers of volunteer Doug Carpenter, as Carpenter explained the logistics of running an animal shelter that houses about 90 cats.

"It's a lot of work: cleaning cages, feeding them, taking care of the sick ones," Carpenter said. "The more help we get, the better."

Carpenter got the help he needed on Saturday when about 60 UT students volunteered all day at the Thundering Paws Animal Sanctuary as part of Project Reach Out, a one-day event sponsored by the UT Volunteer and Service Learning Center, which, according to the event's Web site, is meant to unite student organizations for a day of service to help the Austin community.

From preschools to the Austin Lions Club, at least 20 organizations around Austin registered to be assisted by hundreds of UT student volunteers. Tasks included painting walls, coordinating beautification projects and manning desks and phones.

History junior Kayla Gabriel brought her Freshman Interest Group students to the shelter so they could help build cages and clean out a barn.

"I let them choose which things to volunteer for, and they chose this one," Gabriel said as she watched students disassembling cat cages. "I volunteer pretty often, because I feel like I'm getting things done for people."

Pre-pharmacy sophomore Hernan De La Trinidad was painting a wall light blue when he said he was not a fan of cats, but put his dislike for felines aside for Saturday's event.

"I'm OK with cats, but it's more about helping someone out," De La Trinidad said.

Some cats were isolated from the rest because they tested positive for FIV, the feline version of HIV. Some, like a large, old, brown cat named George, cannot be adopted without their siblings for personality reasons, so they must stay in the shelter for the rest of their lives. However, most cats live comfortably in the small shelter in a secluded area of Dripping Springs.

"They do more for us than they realize," Carpenter said of the volunteers.

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