Band Jam 2012

Let’s Get Ready to Rock n’ Roll!

Are you tired of poring over textbooks on a Thursday night preparing for finals?  Are you looking for somewhere to head with friends before going downtown?  Do you need a break from your stressful life? Then why not head on over to the Blind Pig down on 6^th Street, Thursday the 29^th of November and help support Texas Spirits and their two wonderful philanthropies: The Make-A-Wish Foundation and The St. Louise House.  Not only will there be libations for purchase but there will also be four, that’s right FOUR, bands playing their hearts out for the hearts of others!  Featuring Sip Sip, Cole Burris, Ryan Harkrider and the Night Owls, and Little Radar, this is not an event you want to miss!

The event is age 18 and up and tickets only cost $10, all proceeds going directly to the philanthropies.  The festivities start at 8pm and will continue late into the night for you night owls, ending at 12am.  Tickets can be purchased at the door, online at www.texasspiritsbandjam.com, or from a spirit on campus!  There will be raffles and t-shirts for purchase.  (You will be the hottest thing on campus wearing this shirt, promise!)  And who knows, we may even have a special guest in attendance.

Be sure to come early, stay late, be loud, and support Texas Spirits! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @bandjam2012 and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TXSpiritsBandJam!

Wishes and Wells

Well folks, it’s that time of year again for TEXAS SPIRITS BAND JAM!  To get the ball rolling, Spirits hosted a philanthropy event on the 8^th of November.  Love Goat was gracious enough to open their facility for a fundraising event for the St. Louise House and the Make-A-Wish foundation by offering some thirst quenching drinks and entertainment from our two lovely singers of the night; Jessie Neuendorf and Namanda Musoke!  These ladies know how to belt out a note or two!  Raffles, including neon signs and other goodies, went towards the two philanthropies and were a huge hit with the attendees.  Overall, Wishes and Wells was a great time and if you weren’t there, then sadly you were square.  But fret not!  Spirits is hosting BAND JAM tomorrow!  Be at the Blind Pig on 6^th St, at 8pm on the 29^th of November to listen to four great bands and support a great cause!

Saint Louise House Halloween Festival

On October 30, 2012, Texas Spirits went to the Saint Louise House to throw a Halloween Party! They dressed up in costumes, such as kittens, mice, and dragons, and made Halloween bags for the women and children of Saint Louise House. One Texas Spirit, Kelcey Bacon, was even a fortune teller! There was coloring pages, cookie decorating, candy, and lots of Halloween fun! One of Texas Spirits' pillars is service and they love helping out the Austin community. Saint Louise House is one of Texas Spirits' newest philanthropy organizations and they wanted to make the Halloween holiday as special as possible for these women and children.

Longhorn Run: Runners and Volunteers

The morning of Saturday, April 14^th marked the second annual Longhorn Run, and Texas Spirits found themselves involved as both participants and volunteers. Many Spirits chose to run and participate in either the 2-mile or 10K race. In addition to running, Spirits also volunteered and hosted a water station with the Texas Wranglers. There was competition to determine the “Most Spirited Water Station”, and it was no doubt that our water station was victorious! Dressed up as minions from Despicable Me with signs in hand, our station could be heard from blocks away cheering on runners at they passed. Congrats to all the girls who ran as well as our “spirited” volunteers at the water station!

Weenie Service Project

Traditionally, every Texas Spirits weenie class is assigned the task of setting up a service project. Service is one of our main pillars, and because of that we encourage every Spirit to really connect with one another while giving back to our community. While finding a venue for 25­eager young women to participate in all at once always proves a bit taxing, the Spring 2012 weenie class found the perfect place, The Austin Zoo.

The Austin Zoo is an Animal Sanctuary is a private, non-profit zoo that rescues animals providing them with a safe and caring environment. The girls helped cut up fruits and vegetables for animals, cleaned cages, help with laundry and by the end of the day were able to go into many different animal cages just to play! “…It was so funny watching each other freak out when some off the animals we were warned about being a ‘little grumpy’ came near! It started pouring rain but it didn't matter we were still out there having great time,” Anjali reported. Overall the Spring 2012 class had a blast getting to know more about each other and snapping some really great shots with some beautiful animals. The Austin Zoo really appreciated their good-sportsmanship and general love for service. These ladies make us so proud!

Service Lately

Spring semester service projects are in full bloom. Dozens of opportunities have kept the Spirits busy and made a big impact around campus and the Austin community.  Early in the semester Spirits joined the American Red Cross in the East Mall for the spring blood drive. UT students were excited to donate, so much so that the first day alone the Red Cross surpassed their goal with thirty-one donations saving ninety plus lives. Two young ladies, Spring ’11 weenie, Lauren Gray and Spring ’12 weenie, Jordan Kohler were enthusiastic about donating. 

            “I think giving blood is one of the easiest ways to give back to the community. Just by giving an hour of your time, you can help save three lives. I loved that I got to be with fellow Spirits while donating, especially Jordan! It was her first time, and that made it extra special,” Lauren said. 

            Another exciting happening occurred on the opposite side of the tower as Spirits handed about baked treats in the West Mall for Make a Difference Monday. Fall ’11 weenie, Nicole Martinez enjoyed earning her service hours in such a hands on way.         

            “I love the smiles people can’t help but show when they realize they’re getting a little gift for free just because its a Monday,” Nicole said. 

            Make A Difference Monday takes place one Monday every month, and during the month of April, Spirits were handing out Easter candy. 

            Finally, Spirits had an exciting opportunity when Make-A-Wish, along with spring ’09 weenie, Emily Slattery, joined them at their weekly meeting for a presentation. The purpose was to link Spirits and Make-A-Wish more closely and see what sorts of impact their fundraising really makes.   

            “It was really a game-changer to see Make-A-Wish make the effort to show us how much we really do for them. It makes giving your time and raising funds so much easier when the impact you've made is clearly visible and moreover, close to home,” Fall ’10 weenie and Spirit Haunt, Dionne Dias said. 

            Make-A-Wish screened a video of a family who was granted a wish of a trip to Hawaii, talked about ways Spirits could get more involved by attending wish granting parties, and finally presented the $17,600 check for Make-A-Wish that Spirits raised from last year’s Band Jam.  

Continuing the Trend: Micah 6

Texas Spirits has been volunteering at Micah 6 food pantry on Saturdays for some time, but this semester they decided to volunteer on Thursdays as well. Micah 6 is a place that allows people who cannot necessarily afford their own groceries to come in once a week and pick up food. What makes Micah 6 different from other food pantries is the fact that the people are allowed to shop for their own groceries and pick what they would like instead of being handed a box of food pre-chosen for them. Typical tasks for Texas Spirits at Micah 6 include helping people carry their groceries and putting them into grocery bags. Volunteers are an integral part of what keeps Micah 6 running every week and Texas Spirits really enjoys serving this part of their Austin community.

Texas THON!

On Saturday February 25, Texas Spirits joined numerous other organizations to fundraise for Dell Children’s by pledging to remain standing for 12 hours at the tenth annual Texas Thon, formally Dance Marathon. Spirits alone raised over $1500 and in total a record breaking $50,839.51 was donated to Dell Children’s from UT student fundraising. The day was both exhausting and moving for the twenty-six Spirits participating. 

The day began with breakfast and team building among the new teams made for the day. Activities like What Not to Wear, dodge ball, box car relays, karaoke, a performance from Gigglepants, and presentations from three families of Dell Children’s miracle children filled the time, but the urge to sit down came early and often for most Spirits and participants. All the thon dancers learned a Morale dance that took nearly all day to learn but the result was well choreographed. Between learning a dance and all the other exciting activities dancers snacked on some great food from local Austin donors.   

The most moving part of the day came with about thirty minutes left in the day. Three miracle children from Dell Children’s walked around the entire court in Gregory Gym to all the thon dancers and removed a hospital bracelet with the name of a child on it from each of their wrist. This was to represent the release from thon and the commitment dancers made to stand For the Kids. The entire day was an inspiration and the final reveal of the total funds raised was incredible. Thon earned almost twice what they earned in 2011. 

Maya Brown Spring ’12 Weenie, Mayté Salazar Spring ’11, Caitlin O’Brien Fall ’11, Jacqui Bontke Fall ’11, Anjali Sethi Spring ’12 Weenie, Emily Lamon Fall ’11, Ashley McAdams Fall ’11, and Namanda Musoke Fall ’11 after twelve hours on their feet! 

Thon Committee presenting the record breaking total of $50,839.51 donated to Dell Children’s 

 

Project 2012

This Saturday, February 25, 2012, Texas Spirits participated in Project 2012. This event is put on by the University of Texas at Austin to be a day of service involving a large portion of the UT community.

A group of Texas Spirits signed up to help clean up a youth center in South Austin. However, the site had more volunteers than it needed, so the Spirits were relocated to another project site. Our new task was removing debris from abandoned houses in the Austin community and helping residents with gardening projects.

The first house the Spirits visited was very eventful! This house had been abandoned and had lots of leaves and large branches in the yard. Spirits worked with other volunteers to help clean up the house’s yard. In the backyard, they stumbled upon a wild chicken! After a mild panic, Spirits decided to work around their newfound friend while they raked up all the leaves and collected all of the large branches from the backyard. After finishing their work, they all agreed that the house looked so much better and named their “mascot” chicken Hubert.

The next two houses that the Spirits visited were homes to residents of the Austin community. The families greeted the Spirits with sandwiches, chips, and sodas upon their arrival. Lunch is not something that the residents are required to provide so the consideration and hospitality of the families made the Spirits feel very welcome. The families’ toddlers even decided to lend a helping hand as the Spirits planted flowers and bushes and spread mulch.

This day of service was such a fun and rewarding experience for the Texas Spirits. Weenies got to meet a couple more Actives and bond with each other! As one of the Project 2012 volunteer leaders said to us, “I hope you all learned a valuable lesson today. That it’s awesome to do good.” 

Girls Night Out!

After a long day filled with stress, textbooks, and classes, a girls' night out with your Spirit sisters definitely sounds ideal! On Thursday, January 26th, Spirits gathered at "The Local" to enjoy some 90's music, grab a bite, and catch up after the winter break. First-round applications for the Spring 2012 class had just been distributed a day prior, which meant the semester was well underway! All of the wonderful ladies in the recruitment process were invited to take a break from their applications and spend some time with our organization.

Service Haunts, Jocelyn Matyas & Mayte Salazar, were the hosts of the night. They set up multiple games so that prospectives and actives could mingle in a pressure-free environment and get to know each other. Games included "Find Your Pair," which allowed prospectives to meet multiple actives until finding her match, and "What Am I?" which encouraged girls to get creative with their questions and attempts to guess the person or character taped on their back. Aliyah McRoberts, a Fall 2011 Weenie and one of our newest JI's, found the environment to be much more casual and relaxing than the usual, hectic Meet & Greets. "I was able to talk to more girls for longer periods of time," proving beneficial for all actives getting to know the many prospectives! Alysse Fisher, Spring 2012 Weenie, found GNO to be a great opportunity for Spirits and prospectives to let loose, hang out, and have fun.

As Jocelyn and Mayte recount the success of the night, they proudly said, "Overall, we think the event went really well!" This was the first Spirits event organized by our newest Service Haunts and it went wonderfully! Girls Night Out is the newest addition to the recruitment process and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  We hope that it becomes a regular event each semester!  

To add the icing on the cake, a percentage of the night's sales went directly to Texas Spirits' Texas THON goal! (More blogs on THON to come!) Great work, Ladies! 

Prospective Service Project: Waller Creek Clean-Up

            Dozens of Spirits and prospectives made their way to downtown Austin on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The fifty-five degree weather made for a perfect day to clean up Waller Creek. Dressed in work gloves and rain boots, actives and prospective worked together to beautify the creek while getting to know one another. Service Haunts, Jocelyn Matyas and Mayté Salazar organized the event to show the prospectives just what spirits means to them.

            “Not only did we get down and dirty doing some real work picking up trash, but we also had an environment where it was easy for girls to talk and get to know each other. At the same time, we wanted to do it somewhere special, and so, we thought of Waller Creek,” Mayté Salazar, Spring ’11 weenie, said. 

          Spirits and prospectives were not afraid to get their hands dirty in the creek. Ladies trekked through the mud and shallow water along a mile and a half stretch of the creek picking up trash and even deaf fish. The city of Austin has begun work on developing Waller Creek of the next twenty years to make it more resident friendly, so Spirits was proud to help with their efforts.
          In addition to cleaning up Waller Creek, ladies at the event could take pictures and write notes and jokes for Spirits’ own Maysie Ocera’s sister Emma, who was recently diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor called an ependymoma. Over the winter break, Maysie sought out Spirits to submit pictures with hats on, jokes and notes of love and encouragement to a Facebook page titled, “Hats On For Emma.” Lots of silly pictures were taken for a scrapbook that Spirits plans to make for Emma along with plenty of jokes, which are Emma’s favorite.

            Mayté added, “What better way to show prospectives what service means to us than to do service for one of our own?”

            Our 66 prospectives enjoyed working along side the actives and could definitely see the love and friendship present among us.

            “Volunteering with a group of people who enjoy each other and are all excited to be serving the community really took it to the next level! It was great being around people who truly care,” Jordan Kohler, spring ’12 prospective, said.

            The prospective service project in Waller Creek was a definite success, both in reaching out to the Austin community and getting to know their potential weenies.    

           

Band Jam 2011

After months of planning and fundraising, all of the hard work by Texas Spirits actives was paid off as Band Jam 2011 was a complete success! It was a beautiful night on the rooftop of the Blind Pig on 6th Street where the event showcased some great musical acts. 

With a packed house, the night started off with our very own, Texas Spirit Break Leal, who put on a fabulous show. Attendees then got to get up out of their seats for dancing to the wild beats from Neiliyo, followed by a great set from the Ben Baxter Band. The night was then capped off with a talented performance by The Casey Hubble band. 

While still completing additional fundraising efforts, overall as an organization we were able to proudly raise over $16,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation. A big thank you to all who participated and donated to this wonderful cause, especially our generous sponsors. Also, great thanks to our Service Haunts Ana Hernandez and Nicole Dietze for all their hard work in making this a spectacular night.

Even though this year’s Band Jam is over, we are excited to see what the next year’s brings.

Great Hills Halloween Carnival

Texas Spirits recently ended October off on a high note by volunteering at the Great Hills Halloween Carnival. The carnival was put on by the Great Hills Park Neighborhood Association which invited the area families to participate in some Halloween fun.  

Spirits had the opportunity to paint faces, hand out Halloween candy, and play many different games and activities with the children. We saw some great costumes and had a blast interacting with many local families. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday, as well as get involved with the community. 

Hook the Cure

Fall ’10 Weenie and President of UT’s Hook the Cure, Kelly Bahng, is changing the world one step at a time. Bahng participated in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Walk for the Cure this Saturday with Texas Spirits and other members of Hook the Cure. Hook the Cure is involved in the walk every year and Bahng wanted to extend the cause to Spirits. The JDRF raises money to research a cure for Type I diabetes, which is more prevalent in children. About 10 Spirits participated in the two mile walk.

“Research in this field is urgent and necessary because unlike Type II diabetes, which can be prevented by diet and a healthy lifestyle, individuals are quite powerless to prevent Type I from happening because it's autoimmune,” Bahng said. “We are a group of passionate leaders and educators in diabetes awareness and I wanted Spirits to get involved so we could share some of that passion and provide a service opportunity as well.”

Bahng wants people to reduce their chances of getting Type II diabetes by living a healthy lifestyle and being good to their bodies. Hook the Cure is celebrating Diabetes Awareness Week by holding daily events. For more information, visit http://texashookthecure.weebly.com/officers.html.

Horns Give: Bastrop

This past Sunday, a group of Spirits took part in Horns Give: Bastrop. This event, arranged by Student Government, allowed for UT students and organizations the opportunity to travel out to Bastrop and work on the scene of the recent wild fires. The girls had the opportunity to help homeowners remove debris and search through the rebel where their homes once stood. 

Alexa Pawlowski, Spring ’11 said, “It was so great that many different UT organizations could get together and help out with the relief efforts on a tragedy that hit so close to home. Helping out was a very rewarding experience.”

Thank you to all the girls who came out to help out this great cause!

Band Jam Fundraising

Band Jam fundraising has reached new heights this year from profit shares with local vendors. Businesses around campus, including Spicy Pickle, Cornucopia, and Pita Pit have already participated in profit shares where various amounts of proceeds from Texas Spirit’s sales go directly to Make-A-Wish. Red Mango, Austin’s Pizza and Schlotzsky’s have also agreed to partner up with us to grant some wishes. Band Jam committee member and Fall ’09 weenie Sharilyn Stone has been working hard to make this the best Band Jam yet.

“I was a little nervous when we began contacting different businesses to help our cause, but when I made my first call to Spicy Pickle, they were so awesome!” Stone said. “Everyone is so wiling to help out. Profit shares are definitely a win-win situation for everyone!”

The Texas Spirits Bake Sale in front of Gregory Gym on Monday, October 31 will have Halloween themed goodies for sale. All profits will to straight to Make-A-Wish.

Tickets for the 16th annual Band Jam go on sale this Wednesday, October 19. For more details, visit http://www.txspiritsbandjam.com/.

Micah 6

This past Saturday, a group of Spirits helped out at Micah 6, a local food pantry helping the homeless and impoverished in the Austin area. On many Saturdays throughout the year, you are sure to find Spirits there helping out this great cause. It is a very rewarding experience and something we all look forward to. 

During our time at the pantry we have the opportunity to distribute food to the patrons, help them bag up their goods, as well as mingle with some wonderful, hardworking people. 

Helping at Micah 6 is not only a great way for us to give back to the community, but a delightful way to start off our Saturday's!

Open Mic Night

Service Haunts Ana Hernandez and Nicole Dietze put on another successful event on September 1st. Open Mic night was held at JAX Neighborhood Café on 29^th and Rio Grande. Local artists performed, including Zachary Caballero, AUX and Spirit’s own musical geniuses Katie Koehler, Jenna Fahle, and Gabe Dobbins, as well as a Texas Iron Spike's brother Nick Joseph.

“Open Mic Night was in full swing with great performers and great company,” Spring ’11 Weenie Kendall Connolly said. “It was so fun to see my fellow Spirits showcase their amazing talents!”

Current Spirits, perspective Spirits, UT students and Austinites came out to support a good cause. A portion of all drink sales went to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

 “I loved how it just brought so many different people together for one cause,” Spring ’11 Weenie Jenny Feng said. “It was so much fun mingling and just getting to know prospective and other people from organizations!”

Open Mic Night gave us a good taste of what Band Jam will be like in the fall and got us excited for all the amazing things to expect from Ana and Nicole this semester.

Chief Haunt, Katie Koehler

“There are few things better than sitting and enjoying the night with friends while listening to talented musicians and supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation all at the same time,” Service Haunts Ana and Nicole said.

Make A Difference Mondays

Do YOU have a case of the Mondays? If so… you can stroll around campus and find Texas Spirits making a difference!

Make-A-Difference Monday was started by the 2009 Service Haunts, Allie Elko and Gloria Chan. The intention was to spread kindness to fellow UT students and hope that they would, in turn, pass it forward.

Several Mondays out of the semester, the Service Haunts will put together goodies to hand out around campus. Last semester we extended the kindness to the hard-working, lovely UT bus drivers. Spirits gave them bottles of water and granola bars, along with a big smile and a heart-felt “Thank You.” Other Make-A-Difference Mondays have included candy and school supplies.

This week, Spirits will be handing out Ice-Pops in the West Mall to beat the blazing heat!

So remember… Be Kind & Pass it on. Have a great Monday! 

Pancakes for Parkinson’s

The Texas Round Table (an organization on campus comprised of fourteen Spirit organization current and former presidents and currently headed by past Texas Spirit Chief Haunt Melanie Torre) honored Dr. James Vick, former Vice President for Student Affairs and a current Plan II Math professor, and all others who are fighting Parkinson’s disease by hosting a pancakes fundraiser on Wednesday, April 20^th, at The University of Texas at Austin in front of Gregory Gym. The pancakes were handed out free of charge, but people were encouraged to give a donation of their choosing with all raised funds sent to the Team Fox Foundation to help fund Parkinson’s disease research. Thousands of pancakes were made and an incredible amount of $56,863.11 was raised for the cause as of April 20^th. 

Texas Spirits joined other volunteers from Spirit groups to talk to people, make pancakes, and clean tables. This event united the school and even brought President Powers to make an appearance. To learn more visit this link.