UTO Van Helps Us See The World Beth Garcia, Boys & Girls Club of Terlingua

Terlingua, a very remote and impoverished community in far southwest Texas, formed a Boys & Girls Club in 2005.  With a UTO grant we were able to purchase a 12-passenger van.  The van was to “get our children out of town.” One of the club goals is to show our children other parts of the world. There are no museums, skating rinks, malls, movie theatres, zoos, etc.  Some of our kids had never been more than 80 miles away from home.  None had been to Santa Elena Canyon in nearby Big Bend National Park, or rafting on the Rio Grande.  With the UTO van, our first trips were “local” ones to show our children the wonder and magic of our own backyard, and of the larger world. We have taken our club members to Ft. Worth to attend “Camp of Champs,” a motivational and leadership camp for youth ages 11-18.  We also visited the Ft. Worth Zoo, a first-time experience for all 11 participants!  We’ve been camping in the Davis Mountains State Park (TX) and visited the McDonald Observatory, with one of the largest telescopes in the world, for one of their famous “star parties.” We’ve also done simple local things, like an afternoon hike to a bat cave and a crystal cave, with a pizza party.  We had to make two trips with the van that day, as more than 20 children participated.  Quite possibly, the most important use of our van is in the day to day trips to the Boys & Girls Club from the school. Our UTO van enables our children, who might not otherwise have the opportunity, to attend the Boys & Girls Club of Terlingua, participate in our programs, and have the chance to “get out of town”.  In doing so, we hope they are able to see and learn to appreciate the world around them.