Helping Others Together: TLU Bulldogs Join Forces to Give Back

The sun was just rising when a group of some hundred TLU students gathered on the library lawn to grab a quick bite before heading out to spend their Saturday offering their time and energy to the local community. Seguin Mayor Donna Dodgen was on hand to welcome them and give them an encouraging send-off before they left campus to take on service projects all over town-everything from planting, harvesting, and pulling weeds at Emanuel's Lutheran Church's Garden of Eatin' to repairing bikes at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church's Community Cycles bike shop.

The occasion: H.O.T. Dogs Day, a TLU tradition held once a semester and led by the Jon and Sandra Moline Center for Servant Leadership. H.O.T. stands for Helping Others Together, and the event offers students, faculty, and staff the chance to do just that, by serving Seguin and its neighboring communities.

Meanwhile, a group of Austin-area alums also gathered to keep the tradition alive in their own community, spending their time sorting food at the Central Texas Food Bank, helping provide approximately 4,500 meals to those in need across the Austin community.

"H.O.T. Dogs Day 2026 under this year's theme of A Berry Sweet Day of Service is another powerful reminder that when we come together to serve, we create lasting change," said Dr. Pamela Ray, director of Service Learning and the Center for Servant Leadership at TLU. "For the TLU history books once again, H.O.T. Dogs Day proves that service isn't just an event, it's a tradition of excellence."