11/27 Meeting Recap

I hope you all had a restful Thanksgiving break!  We're starting to wind down for the semester, so we just have two announcements for this week:

• Please bring toys and gift wrap to donate for Orange Santa.  You can drop them off at next week's meeting or at various locations on campus.  For more information about Orange Santa, visit the program website.
• Our Christmas party will be from 1pm to 5pm on Saturday, December 8th at Gabe's house.  We'll be relaxing and hanging out before final exams begin.  There's no cost to attend, though you're welcome to bring drinks or snacks!

11/13 Meeting Recap

• Our Murder Mystery Party is this Saturday at 8pm at Bianca's apartment (the address is on the Facebook event page).  You can sign up for a character via the link on the Facebook event page.  Spots are still available, so invite your friends!  The cost is $8 at the door to cover the cost of the mystery kit.  The party is also a potluck, so please bring food or drinks to share.
•  Orange Santa is a campus-wide toy drive for the children of underprivileged staff and students.  Please donate new unwrapped toys, wrapping supplies, gift cards, and cash or checks.  You can bring donations to next week's meeting.
• Our Christmas Party is hesitantly planned for Saturday, December 7th at Gabe's house.  We will announce the winner of the House Cup at the party!  Gryffindor currently leads, followed by Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff.
• Coming up next semester: World Book Night is April 23rd and is dedicated to spreading the love of reading.  We will be co-sponsoring the event with the University Nerdfighters.  Givers get 20 books to give away to others.  Sign up at a meeting to be a giver.

11/6 Meeting Recap

• Our chapter made 450 calls to Maryland voters on Sunday and Monday!
• Our Murder Mystery Party will be Saturday, November 17th at 8pm.  You can sign up on Facebook to be given a character.  Invite your friends!
• We will be having a Christmas Party sometime near the end of the semester.  Date and location are TBA.

10/30 Meeting Recap

• We raised $480 from the Halloween Feast!  Thanks to everyone who helped out.
• If you lent us props for Longhorn Halloween, you can pick them up at any HPA meeting.  If you can't make a meeting, email us to arrange a pickup time.
• The Light the Night Walk, sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, raises money for blood cancer research.  We'll be helping with their kids' activities (our station is balloons!) on Saturday, November 3rd, from noon to 4pm.  The location is Lake Park near the Dell Children's Hospital.  If you would like to earn House points by volunteering for a time slot of one hour or more, email austinhpalliance@gmail.com with your name and the times you are available.  If you have already signed up to volunteer, REMEMBER TO COME!
• We will be phone banking with the international HPA to support the Maryland DREAM Act this Sunday from noon-4pm and Monday from 5pm-9pm.  The winning chapter gets $250 from the international HPA, so please do help us out!
• Our Harry Potter Murder Mystery Party will be on Saturday, November 17th at 8pm in the Rio West Apartment Complex.  The cost is $8 (this covers what we spent on the mystery kit).  Sign-up opens tonight and is first-come, first-served.  Space is limited, so don't wait around!  Characters will be assigned and emailed out by the end of the week.
• Remember to vote!

10/23 Meeting Recap

• Our Halloween Feast (aka "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's Death Day Feast") will be this Friday October 26th from 8pm to midnight in the Quadrangle Room in the Union.  Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.  There will be food, dancing, pumpkin painting (decorated pumpkins will be donated to SafePlace), a costume contest, and other fun activities.  All UT students are welcome, so invite your friends!
•  We are holding butterbeer sales every Wednesday from 11am-1pm on the West Mall.  Stop by, help out, and send people our way.  A butterbeer is just $1, and proceeds go toward HPA events.
•  We will have a booth at Longhorn Halloween on October 28th from 2pm-5pm.  Longhorn Halloween provides a safe, fun environment for the children of UT faculty, staff, and students.  We need volunteers to staff the booth and make this a great event for the kids (1 hour = 3 House points).
• The Light the Night Walk, sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, raises money for blood cancer research.  We'll be helping with their kids' activities (our station is balloons!) on Saturday, November 3rd, from noon to 4pm.  If you would like to earn House points by volunteering for a time slot of one hour or more, sign up at a meeting or email austinhpalliance@gmail.com with your name and the times you are available.
• Our Harry Potter Murder Mystery Party will be on November 17th.
• Remember to vote!

10/16 Meeting Recap

• We will be having butterbeer sales Wednesdays 11am-1pm on the West Mall starting this week.  Stop by, help out, and send people our way.  A butterbeer is just $1, and proceeds go toward HPA events.
• Tomorrow from 5pm-6:30pm in ART 3.408 UT's Visual Arts Studies course will be making 10,000 clay bones to represent victims of genocide around the world.  The bones will be installed on the South Mall on November 13th and shipped to D.C. for a large-scale installation in June.  Sign up or email austinhpalliance@gmail.comif you would like to join other HPA members in helping to make bones for this project. 
• On Sunday, October 21st, from noon to 4pm, we will be phone banking with the international HPA to support marriage equality in Maryland.  The international HPA is making this a House Cup and a Chapter Cup, so the House and Chapter that make the most calls will be recognized.
• Early voting is next Tuesday, October 22nd in the FAC.  We will go as a group after the meeting to vote.  Bring your voter card or ID.
• Our Halloween Feast--aka "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's Death Day Feast"--will be on October 26th at 8pm in the Quadrangle Room in the Union (note room change).  Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.  There will be food, dancing, a costume contest, and other fun activities.  All UT students are welcome, so invite your friends!
• We will have a booth at Longhorn Halloween on October 28th from 2pm-5pm.  Longhorn Halloween provides a safe, fun environment for the children of UT faculty, staff, and students.  We need volunteers to staff the booth and make this a great event for the kids (1 hour = 3 House points). We also need wands, scarves, and hats to use in the kids' activity: if you can lend us any of these items, please bring them to the next meeting.
• The Light the Night Walk, sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, raises money for blood cancer research.  We'll be helping with their kids' activities (our station is balloons!) on Saturday, November 3rd, from noon to 4pm (note time change).  If you would like to volunteer for a time slot of one hour or more, sign up at a meeting or email austinhpalliance@gmail.com with your name and the times you are available.
• Our Harry Potter Murder Mystery Party will be on November 17th.  More details to come.
• Standings in our chapter's House Cup are Gryffindor in first place, Ravenclaw in second, Slytherin in third, and Hufflepuff in fourth.  Help your House move up or maintain its lead by earning House points through volunteering!

10/9 Meeting Recap

• TODAY is the deadline to register to vote!  Hook the Vote is doing a rally from 8pm-midnight tonight at Gregory Plaza for last-minute registrations.
• The Light the Night Walk, sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, raises money for blood cancer research.  We'll be helping with their kids' activities on Saturday, November 3rd, from 4pm-8pm.  If you would like to volunteer for a time slot of one hour or more, sign up at a meeting or email austinhpalliance@gmail.com with your name and the times you are available.
• Our Presidential Debate Party is Tuesday, October 16th, 7pm-10pm, in FAC 21.  We will be playing "debate bingo" with prizes.  Bring money for pizza!
• Our Halloween Feast--aka "Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington's Death Day Feast"--will be on October 26th at 8pm in the Santa Rita Suite (UNB 3.502).  Tickets are $10.  There will be food, dancing, a costume contest, and other fun activities.  All UT students are welcome, so invite your friends!
• Lois Lowry, author of The Giver, will be at BookPeople next Monday if you are interested.