Spring Branch ISD Featured News

Nineteen years ago, two Texas A&M alumni, Freddie Wong and Sammy Williams, brought a proposal to the Houston A&M Club to start a non-profit operation that would honor the Aggie Code of Honor core value of Selfless Giving through mentoring disadvantaged children.

As a result, the Caring Aggies Mentoring Program, named C.A.M.P. Aggie, was established with a mission to mentor groups of students from third grade through high school and inspire them to pursue higher education. Mentors are primarily Aggies or other interested individuals who volunteer their time and sometimes money to take groups of students on monthly Saturday field trips designed to:

• Reinforce excellent academic standards
• Build confidence
• Grow leadership skills
• Provide fun, life-enriching experiences
• Model qualities and characteristics of success

The organization’s first cadre of third graders in Spring Branch ISD (SBISD) started in the fall semester of 2006. Some of these students, and others from the early groups, have now graduated from college!

“The point of continuous mentoring from third grade through high school is to create and nurture a bond of trust and respect, and even friendship,” said Steve Loomis, current planner and organizer with the C.A.M.P. Aggie group. “That bond is the conduit for advice and wisdom that is critical to our mission.”

After an interruption of the programming during Covid and some attrition, SBISD’s C.A.M.P. Aggie program now consists of a group of eighth and eleventh graders. Loomis and other volunteers collaborate with Alida Harville, counselor at Landrum Middle School, to reserve district transportation and arrange for staff chaperones to accompany the group.

Usually, about five mentors show up to enjoy an outing with the students to places beyond the bounds of the Spring Branch area. Outings are designed to open the young people’s eyes to a variety of post-secondary and career possibilities.

“We try to gently pull them out of their shell,” said Loomis. “It’s just once per month, but over the years, they have become more comfortable with us.”

Through donated funds from the Aggie group, the students’ entrance fees to some of the venues and lunch are provided at no cost.

Some of the notable places the group has visited over the years include:

• TAMU Galveston Campus
• Houston Livestock Show – VIP Tour
• Houston Zoo
• Houston Arboretum
• Build a Bike at NRG (for disadvantaged children)
• Houston Museum of Natural Science
• Tour of Kyle Field in the spring semester
• Texas A&M Veterinary School
• Texas A&M Physics Festival
• Texas A&M University Galveston – Research Vessel Trip
• San Jacinto Battleground
• Game Day at Kyle Field
• Wreaths Across America

Exploring future possibilities

Field trips provide an opportunity to broaden the horizons of students and help them envision their future. A few special experiences stand out to Loomis, including an attention-grabbing talk by a former astronaut, Colonel Fossum, during a visit to the Texas A&M Galveston campus.

“Last year, at the TAMU Galveston campus, we took a ride on a research vessel, hosted by graduate students,” said Loomis. “The students ate it up!”

A fun surprise

One year, a group of fourth graders helped assemble bikes at NRG Stadium to be given by CYCLE Houston to disadvantaged kids in the city who achieve grade-level reading milestones. Little did the young volunteers in the C.A.M.P. program know that their mentors had collected and assembled 24 bikes for the kids in their group. The principal of the school asked all the students in the program and their families to gather in the auditorium on a special Saturday morning. Loomis talked to the group about their good deeds, selfless service and the positive growth the students had demonstrated – while the curtains on the stage behind the students slowly opened to reveal the 24 bikes. Each student went home with a new bike that day.

“That was fun for all,” said Loomis.

Thank you, C.A.M.P Aggie mentors, for your selfless service and for modeling for students in your program the SBISD Core Characteristic of being Ethical and Service-minded. The partnership between this community group and the district profoundly demonstrates the Collaborative Spirit that makes SBISD a special place to learn, grow and live!!

For two decades, the remarkable mentors in SBISD have been the SpringBoard behind inspiring young minds and shaping lives for the better. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of them.

Click here to learn more about SBISD’s SpringBoard Program.