WESTWOOD—Thousands of UCLA students were scattered throughout Los Angeles over the weekend as part of the annual UCLA Volunteer Day.
Over 3,500 freshman and new transfer students mobilized on Saturday, October 7 to volunteer across the region. They were led by over 400 additional UCLA Bruins including alumni, returning students, staff, faculty, parents and community members. The volunteers will be distributed throughout the city by a fleet of 60 school buses.
The annual event sends Bruins all over the city, working on projects in K-12 schools, parks, food banks, veterans’ services centers, and senior and neighborhood sites. The projects include helping move supplies, clearing brush, pulling weeds, tutoring younger students and painting murals to support schools.
Los Angeles Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, California Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, Los Angeles Unified School District Board member George McKenna and UCLA Chancellor Gene Block are coming together to visit Horace Mann UCLA Community School, where they will help about 200 other Bruin volunteers work on different projects around the school.
The volunteer event began in 2009 as the largest community participation event for new students in history. It has served as a model for other similar programs in other parts of California and the United States.
UCLA is one of the leading public schools in the nation, which represents itself with three pillars: education, research and service. Volunteer Day promotes and represents the service pillar, giving students the tools and transportation to support the community around them.
