Service commission celebrates 30 years

Service commission celebrates 30 years

Umbrella organization expands to support 20 varied campus
groups

By Rashmi Nijagal

Over the past 30 years, the UCLA Community Service Commission
has grown from supporting one campus service group, to becoming an
umbrella organization for over 20.

"When the commission first started there was one group and about
30 people," said Saru Jayaraman, community service commissioner.
"Now, 30 years later, there are 24 groups and close to 3,000 people
volunteering."

The first service organization, called Project Amigos, worked in
Tijuana, Mexico, to build houses and playgrounds in underprivileged
neighborhoods. Now the organization is called Amigos del Barrio and
focuses on helping elementary school students in the immediate
area.

Now the largest student-run, student-initiated community service
organization in the nation, the commission is celebrating its 30th
anniversary next Wednesday.

Standing as the largest commission within UCLA’s undergraduate
student government, the commission will be holding a recruitment
fair in Westwood Plaza on Jan. 18, to give students the opportunity
to see and participate in what the different organizations are
doing.

"It is estimated that at least one-third of the student
population at UCLA has volunteered at any one time through some of
the commission’s programs," Jayaraman said. "For most students,
going out into the communities and helping is a better education
than learning about things through textbooks."

There is a range of service organizations that run through the
commission. From providing tutoring to middle school and high
school students, to providing support and mentorship for gay,
lesbian and bisexual teenagers, the organizations’ goals are to
help as many people as they can.

"I started tutoring through Project Literacy in the Watts area,"
said Ruel Nolledo, a fourth-year English and psychology student and
co-director of Project Literacy at UCLA. "Right now, I am tutoring
a 16-year-old boy in 11th grade in Mar Vista. I hope that I can
convince him to go to college."

Over the commission’s history, service organizations said they
have noticed an increase of volunteers in their individual
programs.

"We started about two years ago at UCLA and had seven
volunteers," said Desiree DeSurva, a fourth-year developmental and
environmental studies student and co-director of Women In Support
of Each Other (WISE). "We went to various classes and made
announcements about our group and now we’ve grown to 16
volunteers."

With the commission’s success over the past 30 years, the
service organizations hope that the growth of their programs will
continue.

"I hope that we get more people to be interested in the needs of
the L.A. community," said Nolledo. "I hope more people become
involved and try to make a difference."