Yesterday I was one of more than 850 volunteer leaders –largely comprised of alumni, UCLA employees and also UCLA educators–that volunteered to work beside more than 4500 UCLA freshman across Los Angeles “for a day of service at 22 destinations, the biggest student volunteer event of its kind in the nation”. It was a glorious day. My destination along with 430 volunteers was James Monroe High School where with paint brushes in hand we transformed the school with semi glossy paint, new shrubs and a great attitude.
During the morning as we worked, the high school students and faculty met us with curiosity and appreciation. I was co-task leader of a group of 20 young, polite and enthusiastic Bruin women. We were also very lucky to have Jeff from Home Depot who volunteered his time to join in. Jeff was instrumental to us in transforming the Engineering Building and making sure we were able to get our work done before the students headed back to Westwood. Jeff did everything we asked of him and more. This was his second year volunteering and based on his attitude and willingness to help, he will be back again next year.
Matthew Fisher, an assistant professor of English who specializes in medieval manuscripts, summed up the day to the UCLA Newsroom, “It’s important for students to see faculty getting their hands dirty. This is the university doing the right thing by the city. It’s an inspired idea to show freshmen that they’ve come to a university that believes in giving back to the community.”
Yesterday was a great example of how a group of people from all different walks of life can come together for just a few hours and transform a community.
You can read more about the day at the UCLA Newsroom.