UCLA’s 2nd annual Volunteer Day sends 5,000 students to serve in L.A. communities Sept. 21

In the biggest student volunteer event of its kind in the nation, UCLA will send some 5,000 incoming freshmen and transfer students into communities throughout the greater Los Angeles area on Tuesday, Sept. 21, to paint, garden, clean up and otherwise improve 22 sites.

An additional 1,000 staff, faculty, alumni, upperclassmen and other volunteers are helping to organize and oversee the effort.

The campus’s second annual Volunteer Day comes just weeks after UCLA was honored in the Washington Monthly’s annual rankings as the nation’s top university in community service participation. The campus ranked third in the country in overall commitment to the public good.

More than half of UCLA’s undergraduates participate in some form of community service, from tutoring young people and combating poverty and homelessness to providing legal, social, medical and educational assistance to others.

“Community service, volunteer work and engaged scholarship have been major parts of the UCLA student experience for many years,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said. “Volunteer Day emphasizes to students, before they even set foot in the classroom, that engaging in Los Angeles and improving the quality of life for our community are integral to their UCLA education.”