by Hayley McCullough
Daily Lobo
Not all work-study involves pushing paper or typing up office memos.
Students in the UNM Service Corps work to improve low-income communities, said Sebastian Pais, an intern in the program.
"It's not just picking up trash in the street," he said. "It's more into doing, creating some change in the communities, in the lives of people."
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The corps will have its first fundraiser Friday to raise money for local projects.
The fundraiser will be in the Reginald Chavez Elementary cafeteria, at 2700 Mountain Road N.W., from 5 to 8 p.m.
Pais said the organization makes a difference in the lives of elementary school students.
"(Service corps members) are helping them with homework, but they also plan weekend activities, which can go from science to sports," he said. "The kids get a lot of things that they don't get at school."
Pais said the corps benefits UNM students as much as the communities where they work.
"It's an organization that is helping a lot of the students to gain a lot of skills," he said. "After a year or two, they are so involved in the community that they are not the same person."
The organization works mostly with elementary schools, but students can work in areas that interest them, he said.
"If they are majoring in education, it's better to have them with kids," he said. "Then some other people are more into arts, so they will go to art centers."
Kiran Katira, the program's director, said the fundraiser will showcase projects the corps is working on.
Katira said the event will feature entertainment, including break-dancers, DJs and a local band.
It will also have food as well as arts and crafts sales by local artisans, she said.
"We'll just have donations based on whatever people can afford. That is going to be our main way of raising money," she said. "Nobody is forced to pay if you can't afford to pay."
