ServeFest event to encourage student interest in volunteering
Students will be able to attend ServeFest, an event that UCLA officials will host after Volunteer Day Saturday in Sunset Village, to get involved in community groups while at UCLA. (Austin Yu/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Hannah Rosson
Sept. 25, 2015 6:57 a.m.
Students can attend a community service fair on the Hill Saturday evening intended to introduce them to different ways they can get involved in volunteerism at UCLA.
ServeFest, an event hosted by the UCLA Volunteer Center, the Community SerEvice Commission and Residential Life, will take place from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in Sunset Village, following Volunteer Day festivities that morning.
Community Service Commissioner Zack Dameron said he hopes ServeFest becomes an institutionalized part of Volunteer Day each year so students can follow up on their potential interests in volunteerism.
At ServeFest, students can visit different booths representing registered community service organizations at UCLA and find out how to get involved. Dameron said more than 60 registered community service organizations, whose missions aim to address issues ranging from homelessness to education in underserved communities, are scheduled to attend the event.
Dameron said each organization will have its own recruitment process. Some organizations may require applications and interviews, but students will be able to learn about the various requirements at ServeFest.
At the fair, students can also have dinner and watch the UCLA football game against Arizona and eat at the event. Students who visit at least four service booths will receive pizza from Papa John’s or sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s Subs.
Andrew Yap, a first-year mechanical engineering student, said he does not think ServeFest is necessary because students who are genuinely interested in volunteerism will seek out those opportunities on their own.
Sujith Cherukumilli, a third-year economics and international development studies student, said he thinks the event will be helpful to first-year students, because many students seem interested in pursuing community service but are unaware of how to do so.
Shannon Hickman, director of the Volunteer Center, said the cost of the event is minimal because most organizations will provide their own materials. ServeFest sponsorships and donations will cover the cost of food.
“Service is the one True Bruin value students don’t (utilize often) at UCLA,” Dameron said.
Students who don’t live on the Hill are also welcome to attend the event.
