Texas State Technical College (TSTC) Waco students, faculty and staff will set aside their lessons on Saturday, June 23, to spend the day giving back. The focus of their efforts is Waco’s Family Abuse Center (FAC), the largest emergency shelter in McLennan County.

“TSTC Waco has been fortunate to have had tremendous support from the community for nearly 50 years, and we wanted Waco to know how very much we appreciate it,” said TSTC Waco President Dr. Elton E. Stuckly Jr. “When we learned of the needs at the Family Abuse Center, it was an easy decision to select the Center as our project. There isn’t a more worthy facility.”

The TSTC Community Service Day is a statewide project of TSTC’s Women’s Leadership Institute (WLI), an intensive yearlong leadership program for faculty and staff. Students within the Institute select a class service project each year. This year, the WLI class elected to hold a Community Service Day within the host community for every campus within the TSTC System to include Abilene, Breckenridge, Brownwood, Harlingen, Marshall and Sweetwater.

On Saturday, TSTC volunteers will work to improve the outside grounds and recreation areas at the FAC to include the playground, garden and relaxation areas. In addition, TSTC will host a barbecue cook-out for FAC staff and clients.

The FAC serves men, women and children who find themselves temporarily homeless due to abusive or violent family situations. The center provides its services free of charge to its clients. The FAC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization supported by charitable funds.

“The TSTC Waco Community Service Day is jointly sponsored by the TSTC’s Women’s Leadership Institute and the Bellmead Home Depot,” said Stuckly. “We greatly appreciate the support of Home Depot and its employees, as well as so many others who have helped with advice, contributions and logistics.”