Jacinto City "Adopt-A-Street" | Community Environmental Initiative

The Adopt-A-Street Program began as a Keep Texas Beautiful initiative. Many communities have participated in this program to help control litter. The Adopt-A-Street program allows groups and individuals to "adopt" a street or a portion of a street on which to pick up litter and keep clean of debris. Jacinto City would benefit from a program like this, as the program would encourage community organization and involvement. If elected to council, Christopher Ochoa would work hard in getting a program like Adopt-A-Street implemented in Jacinto City.

Young Knights | Community Mentor Program

Young Knights is a mentoring program for school-aged boys designed to promote achievement, academic engagement, individual and collective responsibility, intercultural communication, maturity in conflict resolution, and control and choice in building self-identity. Currently operating in partnership with ICUSP, Young Knights originated from Young Knights Leadership Academy, a national social action program for the national fraternity Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc., which began in 1999. As a freshman and sophomore in college, Christopher Ochoa mentored young men at Martin Middle School through this program. Fraternity members build a meeting structure and curriculum and visit with students each week throughout the school year. In the past, the group primarily served Latino students yet were keen to serve others as well.

The program has many chapters in the Houston area. Each chapter meets weekly under the guidance of trained facilitators. In addition to in-school meetings, the young men participate in field trips to local universities, professional sites and leadership events in the community. They also engage in annual community service projects.

     

Pillars

The Young Knights mentoring program facilitates academic and leadership development among school-aged boys in several schools that are predominantly comprised of African-American and Latino/a students. The mission of Young Knights is accomplished through the promotion of Young Knights pillars.

Young Knights Pillars:

• Education
• Community
• Diversity
• Leadership
• Critical Consciousness
• Identity

Jacinto City Hands on Housing | Home Rehabilitation Project

JC Hands on Housing is an initiative dedicated to providing essential volunteer-based home repair services to the marginalized in our society - the elderly, the poor, the disadvantaged, the disabled. While making such repairs, Hands on Housing volunteers help build relationships across social and geographic boundaries.

How would this program work? Volunteers from Jacinto City donate time, labor, materials and money to help their neighbors in need. The additional support of other volunteers from area businesses, schools and the city of Jacinto City would make this truly a community-wide effort.

Experience. While attending the University of Texas at Austin, Christopher Ochoa participated in several home and school renovation projects sponsored by his fraternity, Omega Delta Phi. With his experience in similar renovation projects, and the help of caring citizens, Jacinto City can truly serve its citizens in need with JC Hands on Housing.