From one busload at a time to the thousands of individuals involved in Volunteer Day, the UCLA Volunteer Center organizes Bruins to serve both UCLA and the larger community.
Service is at the heart of being a UCLA Bruin. That’s why new students start the academic year with Volunteer Day. More than 7,000 students and task managers fan out across more than 40 locations in Los Angeles County.
Some will repair benches or tidy trails and beaches. Others will plant gardens, paint murals and create playground maps of the U.S. Some will use their heads and hearts as well as their hands, teaching technology to the elderly or mentoring school children.
But Volunteer Day is only the beginning. All year long, the Volunteer Center offers opportunities for service, matching programs to skills and availability. “One Bus, One Cause” gives students a chance to try out different kinds of volunteering, from taking part in AIDS Walk Los Angeles to working at local schools and parks.
“Project SPELL” — Students for Progress in Employee Language Learning — matches volunteer tutors with UCLA employees who are non-native English speakers seeking to improve their reading, writing and/or speaking skills.
“Operation Gratitude” recruits volunteers to put together care packages and write letters to military service members and veterans.
The Volunteer Center provides group opportunities – for instance, sorting donations at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank – as well as individual opportunities on campus, in the volunteer’s neighborhood, and internationally. And volunteering isn’t just for students: there are opportunities tailored to staff, faculty, retirees and alumni, too.
Because being a UCLA optimist isn’t a mindset. It’s a call to action.