Last year, second-year neuroscience student Will Mendanha spent a day cleaning up the Pomona Wetlands for Community Service Day.
Though the experience only lasted a few hours, Mendanha said he left with the determination to become more involved in the community. This year he joined the programming committee for the Community Service Commission.
On Saturday, the commission is hosting the eighth annual Community Service Day in hopes that students like Mendanha will be inspired to make a long-term commitment to serve.
Based on estimates from past years, about 400 students are expected to take part in service projects like making care packages for the homeless or planting trees, said Jamie Yao, Community Service commissioner.
This year’s organizations include Tree Musketeers, Kitten Rescue, Children’s Hunger Fund and Pomona Wetlands.
After volunteering, students can attend a service fair at UCLA and learn about on-campus organizations that participate in service projects year-round.
“We want to emphasize opportunities for students to get involved in continual, long-term service so they can build relationships with individuals in the surrounding community and be able to make a greater impact,” Yao said.
Unlike the UCLA Volunteer Day in September, Community Service Day is not restricted to only incoming students.
Student volunteers can choose which organization to work with, allowing them to work closely with a group that holds personal importance to them.
Internal Programs director for the Community Service Commission, Hannah Wu, said the commission chose to host the event near the end of the quarter in the hopes that students would be better settled into their academic life and more open to making a commitment to community service.
“In the beginning of the year there is so much going on, and many students, especially freshmen, can feel overwhelmed. By the middle of the quarter, most students have settled down and are looking to join an organization,” Wu said. “For some, it may even spark off an interest in making a more long-term commitment to service.”
Mendanha said he recommends that students attend, regardless of whether they have the time to make a long-term commitment or not.
“I met so many new people and really bonded with them during the trip. When you do community service with someone, you get to know that person on an entirely different level,” Mendanha said.
Even if students decide not to make a commitment to community service, Yao said the ultimate goal of the event is to inform students of the needs of surrounding communities.
“At UCLA, we can sometimes get stuck in a bubble, and this event is an opportunity for students to get off the Hill and out of Westwood and see what issues the communities around L.A. are facing,” Yao said.
Students interested in participating in Community Service Day can sign up at communityservicecommission.org. The deadline to sign up is today.