Thousands Of UCLA Students Take Part In Volunteer Day
WESTWOOD (CBSLA.com) — An army of UCLA students hit the streets of Los Angeles Monday to do good deeds.
Volunteer Day, organized by the school's Volunteer Center, is part of Chancellor Gene Block's agenda for making UCLA known for its involvement in the surrounding community and greater Los Angeles area. About 6,500 students are participating, according to a spokesperson.
Incoming freshmen and transfer students, plus staffers, parents and alumni, are sorting food donations, helping veterans and senior citizens, distributing donated school and dental supplies, cleaning up hiking trails and painting and patching up public buildings and parks, among other good deeds.
UCLA freshman Hannah Connery, who was with a group sanding benches and chairs to prepare them for staining, said she and dozens of her fellow students hopped on a bus to come help out in various areas.
"I think its great, first of all, to not only connect us as a campus, but connect us to the city around us," she said.
More than half of the university's undergraduates participate in some form of community service, a spokesperson said.
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