Bruins fan out across L.A. to serve the community on UCLA Volunteer Day

On Saturday, Oct. 5, the newest Bruins on campus were introduced to UCLA Volunteer Day, the annual fall tradition that has become a cornerstone of the UCLA experience. The citywide day of service, which occurs during True Bruin Welcome, is one of the campus's largest community service events and supports UCLA's strategic goal of deepening the university's engagement with the diverse communities of Los Angeles.

This year, the 16th iteration of Volunteer Day, approximately 2,000 people - new and continuing students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and community members - fanned out to nearly 40 sites across the region, from the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Westwood, where hundreds of volunteers honored veterans by helping clean headstones, to the downtown Union Rescue Mission, where Bruins prepared and served meals. Other projects included painting and beautification at schools and parks, the distribution of free clothes and school supplies, and gardening and sustainability efforts with community partners.

Launched by the UCLA Volunteer Center in 2009, the large-scale event has to date contributed nearly 355,000 hours of service to Southern California and beyond, involving approximately 60,000 volunteers.