CHAPTER 16 (Directing Your Own Development), PAGE 240, INSERT THIS ENTRY AFTER THE SECTION "How to Make Changes in Yourself" (because that chapter discussed the power of the group versus the individual, and volunteerism can be strongly motivated by group experiences in volunteering, as the UCLA Volunteer Day demonstrated)
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On September 22, 2009, an army of 4,300 UCLA freshmen and transfer students swarmed into various sites in Los Angeles: not to fight in war........but to do community service. Funded by a charity grant from Hollywood's Entertainment Industry Foundation, this UCLA Volunteer Day was the largest-ever volunteer day of any university in the nation. From beach cleanup in Malibu, to trail repair at Griffith Park, to beautification of various Los Angeles middle schools, this large-scale community service day builds upon President Obama's call-out for increased national service initiatives, brandishing the logo of "building a community of heroes," and has received a plethora of local and national media attention.
As an RA with the UCLA Office of Residential Life, I was in charge of leading the seventy or so freshmen and transfer students on my floor to paint the decaying walls of Gompers Middle School. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, along with UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, also paid a visit to the school and did a bit of painting themselves. I was truly moved by how many eager students were willing to wake up at 7am in the morning to do volunteer work, and as a result I'm motivated to do even more community service work myself. Additionally, I started an initiative with my residents where I will be going with them every month during the 2009-2010 school year to a different site in Los Angeles to engage in volunteer work.
The ethical values embodied in the UCLA "True Bruin" statement are accountability, respect, excellence, integrity, and the newly added value of service. As community service is becoming more and more of a national priority, I would argue that a college student doesn't have to be a student at UCLA per se to discover the joy and value of engaging in community service. Any college student in the nation has the choice to give back to the community by participating in meaningful service. From UCLA-specific websites such as Volunteer.ucla.edu, to national websites such as VolunteerMatch.org and Serve.gov, there are countless opportunities for all students in the U.S. to search for ways to be involved.
As college students living in a globalized world, we are tremendously privileged to have access to higher education, an opportunity that most people in the world do not have. There is much more to college than just getting good grades or partying until 2am on Thursday nights, as inevitable as those are to the college experience. We have a responsibility as global citizens to help those who are less fortunate than us, and volunteering is one of the most meaningful ways to do so. Together, let's work to build a community of heroes.