Brightening Lives Together: The Heartwarming Impact of South Texas Frown Upside Down
Story by Nina Alegre
Edited by Abigail Vela
- April 17, 2025
Volunteering is when someone spends unpaid time doing something to benefit others. Most of the time, this should be done without expecting anything in exchange. But for many high school students in the United States, volunteering is something they do to receive volunteer hours to graduate and receive their diplomas.
A study by the University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute found that high school and college students are less likely to volunteer or give to charity today than 15 years ago. Although Texas does not have a statute addressing student volunteerism, many school districts and charter schools across the state have programs and policies that promote community service to their students.
If you only volunteered in high school and never decided to again, that is okay. No one should be forced to volunteer because you are dedicating your time to helping others, and you should only volunteer if you want to. But if you have been volunteering and helping others out when you can, you should also feel proud of yourself because volunteering benefits you and your community in many ways.
In the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), South Texas Frown Upside Down (STXFUD), a non-profit organization, harnesses a passion for community service within others. STXFUD provides opportunities for members of all ages and backgrounds to help various causes, positively impacting on local, national and international levels. Whether you are a high school or college student or someone older, you might want to volunteer with STXFUD if you like helping out in your community and want to make a difference!
Changing The World, Together with STXFUD
So, why should you be interested in STXFUD? Well, because STXFUD goes beyond traditional community service methods, making it more engaging and enjoyable to help others. Ultimately, STXFUD aims to inspire and empower individuals to contribute meaningfully while having fun and building connections.
Hashim Elshafie (he/him), the Founder and President of STXFUD, is a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) majoring in biology. He says his passion is community service and helping people.
Elshafie shared that STXFUD was created in August 2023 as an initiative to be involved and rooted in community service. What started with Elshafie and two other students soon grew to become something much bigger.
“The organization was founded because I was very interested in helping the community and […] I felt there was a disconnect between […] me and a way to help the community, whether it be locally, nationally, or internationally.” Elshafie continued, “I also saw that a lot of my peers would do community service because they had to. They didn’t enjoy it, they didn’t want to, they did it to gain community service hours or whatever it was for [their] resume, but they didn’t enjoy it, and that’s no way to do community service if you’re not enjoying it, because then you won’t do it in the future.”
As of March 2025, STXFUD proudly boasts 400 members, which speaks to the good-hearted and kind individuals in the RGV.
Marbelia Montano (she/her), STXFUD’s Head of Recruitment, is also a 19-year-old UTRGV freshman, but she is majoring in integrated health sciences. Some of the things that Montano enjoys doing are self-development and helping others become the best version of themselves.
As Head of Recruitment, Montano is in charge of looking for students interested in helping the community or willing to participate in STXFUD’s events.
Montano discussed the various types of people currently part of STXFUD, “We have various demographics. […] Most of the majority come from high school because they’re currently looking for hours, and they’re interested in helping out the community as well. But we’re growing with the organization, and we’re working our way to different demographics. As of now, I’m trying to get as [many] college students as I can. I’m trying to get as many adults as well because we cater to everybody with our events and with what we do.”
STXFUD’s demographics range from people of ages 12 to 40. Montano says her mom is also part of STXFUD. Everyone is welcome to join STXFUD, and it’s free of charge, so there’s no excuse not to have fun while working to change the world together!
Take a Moment To Lend a Helping Hand
STXFUD is building community in Brownsville and cities such as Harlingen and McAllen by visiting local businesses in the RGV and helping boost the local economy due to the number of people that attend their events.
STXFUD can be found making everything from cheer-up cards for pediatric cancer patients to hosting paint-and-sip events that step out of the norm by helping educate attendees on advocating for Palestinian children and sharing why it’s essential to have empathy in this day and age.
About STXFUD’s events, Elshafie said, “We try to focus on our causes in our fundraising events. We ensure that we’re talking about the cause that we’re supporting, whether it be the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund [or] a local cause.”
By donating to STXFUD and attending their creative events, you are contributing to a cause. You don’t have to be rich to help. Some STXFUD events require donations from up to three to seven dollars.
For example, in March, STXFUD supported a local non-profit medical center called, Su Clinica, and its Women’s Health Department, with two events in McAllen and Brownsville for a Slime Night. Attendees were able to pay 5 dollars to have fun and make their own slime using Elmer’s glue, liquid starch, borax, shaving cream and various other materials.
Due to Earth Month being in April, STXFUD will support Conservation International with two sculpting events where attendees can use air-dry clay to form all kinds of figures. These events will occur in Brownsville at JuiceUs tomorrow and at Bubbly Brew TeaHouse on Saturday, April 26, so mark your calendars and get creative!
With a severe storm that impacted the RGV region last month from March 26 to March 28, our area experienced a 100-year-old flood that left six people dead. Small local businesses in the Harlingen area suffered greatly due to the floods.
Places special and beloved by the community, such as Cactus Valley Art and Entre Film Center, damaged most of their materials and the insides of their buildings. But the community banded together to uplift each other when help was most needed. This truly shows the value of taking a moment to lend a helping hand to those who need it.
We hope that STXFUD can be just one example of why we should all volunteer, not just during emergencies, but also try to find ways to contribute to those in need whenever and wherever possible!
