UA News

Jaime Gutierrez and Holly Altman received an award from the Tucson Urban League for their leadership of the Cats in the Community Day UA volunteer project.

Two University of Arizona employees will be honored Friday with a community service award for their leadership of Cats in the Community Day, the UA's annual volunteer project.

Jaime Gutierrez, the UA's associate vice president of community relations, and Holly Altman, director of outreach and community partnerships in the Office of Community Relations, will receive the Tucson Urban League's Henry Quinto Founders Award, named for the organization's founder.

The award, given annually, recognizes people who are dedicated to improving their communities, said Sheri Ramirez, director of development and public affairs for the Tucson Urban League.

Gutierrez and Altman earned the award in recognition of their work on Cats in the Community Day, a service project led by the Office of Community Relations that deploys hundreds of UA volunteers to aid a local nonprofit organization in need.

This year's Cats in the Community Day partner is the Tucson Urban League's Project YES, or Youth Enrichment Services, where campus volunteers this weekend will work to make over a child mentoring and tutoring facility in South Tucson. 

The after-school mentoring and tutoring program serves about 100 South Tucson elementary and middle school children, most from low-income families.

On Saturday, about 400 volunteers from the UA community will head to the Project YES site, 100 W. 37th St., and undertake projects such as painting, yard work, building picnic tables and more. Work on many projects, like collecting books and computers for the facility, has already begun.

"One of the great things about the project is how the UA community comes together to get to know a nonprofit, learn about what they need and work together to help address some of those needs," Altman said.

Ramirez said Cats in the Community has generated a lot of excitement in a needy neighborhood.

"We picked them for the Henry Quinto award because they're reinventing the community," Ramirez said. "We give it to people who have a vision of how to positively impact the community and make change. Cats in the Community does that."

This year will mark the second annual Cats in the Community Day. Overwhelming UA involvement in the past with the United Way's annual Day of Caring volunteer event made apparent the need for a signature UA event, Altman said.

"I want to share the award with so many incredible people at the UA who put their time, energy and talent into making Cats Day a success," Altman said. "I am forever amazed by the generosity of the UA community."

Altman leads a number of University-wide charitable outreach programs including UA Cares, UA4Food and the Daughters on Campus Outreach Program.

Gutierrez, a UA alumnus, was an Arizona state senator for 14 years and has worked at the University for 15 years. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Tucson Community Food Bank and the Hispanic Women's Corporation and is a member of the Arizona State Retirement System Board of Trustees.

"This award is really a validation of the efforts of The University of Arizona to continue to be a part of this great Tucson community," Gutierrez said. "It is also an endorsement of the work of the Office of Community Relations and the outstanding staff that work there."

Gutierrez and Altman will each be presented with a glass trophy bearing their names during the Tucson Urban League's 38th annual Grand Gala fundraiser Friday at the Doubletree Hotel Tucson at Reid Park, 445 S. Alvernon Way. Tickets to the event are no longer available.

Tucson City Councilman Steve Leal also will be honored at the gala for his years of community service with the league's Whitney Young Humanitarian Award, named for the former civil rights leader and national director of the Urban League from 1961-1971, Ramirez said.

To learn more, visit the Cats in the Community Web site. Today is the last day to register to volunteer.