By John McGreey, TJJD Communications

Martin Luther King, Jr. said “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” This especially comes to mind right now as April is National Volunteer Month.

TJJD’s core objectives are to help shape the lives of the youth in our care and thereby build safer communities. Defining this work is easy, but doing it can be hard. The dedicated staff at our secure facilities and halfway houses do this work every day, but more help is always welcome.

That’s where our Volunteer Services Program comes in. Our team reaches out their communities across Texas for volunteers to assist with special events and projects involving music, art, gardening, and more.

Faithful volunteers visit our secure facilities and halfway houses each week to lead religious activities and worship services, as requested by our youth.

Volunteers also serve as mentors, to counsel our youth in any number of matters. Still others work as tutors to help the students earn their high school diplomas or GEDs.

Here are some facts we’re pleased to share:

TJJD currently has over 400 volunteers and 20 interns lending their time and talents.

Our longest-serving volunteer, Leonel Rodriguez at our Evins facility, has been with us for 31 years.

In the year 2022, these volunteers pitched in with 14,825 hours.

That should provide some sense of the great people we have helping provide for the youth.

We also gratefully recognize the many TJJD employees who volunteer their free time for special events and football and basketball games. That level of commitment says a lot about the character of the people who work with our students.   

Everyone who volunteers shows our youth that, in their own way, they matter. Building a connection to their community and seeing the value and personal satisfaction of service through volunteering.

We’re proud to salute the TJJD volunteers across Texas for their meaningful work, and we invite anyone else moved by the spirit of volunteerism to join them.

To learn more, please go to https://www.tjjd.texas.gov/index.php/volunteer-services