The Community Service Commission (CSC) offers community service opportunities throughout Los Angeles with a variety of different areas of focus and client populations. Brief descriptions are shown below. Where possible, information about specific requirements for volunteers has been provided. For more detailed information about any project, please see the CSC website under the "CSC Projects" Section. Amigos de UCLA Amigos de UCLA functions as an after-school enrichment program; the first hour of site features homework assistance, working to improve fundamental math, reading, and writing skills. The second hour engages students in an art or science activity that allows them to hone their creativity, curiosity, and cultural awareness-skills that are as important as academic excellence. (We usually have orientation training sessions first week and then we go to site on either Wednesdays or Thursdays weeks 2 - 9. Volunteers to commit for the quarter (since we try to pair them up with the same child each week). Volunteers that are interested MUST email amigosdeucla@yahoo.com to begin work at the beginning of the quarter.) Asian American Tutorial Project (AATP) For over thirty years, AATP has tutored immigrant children at Castelar Elementary School in Chinatown, providing them with the skills and guidance necessary to gain access to higher education. As one of the oldest volunteer programs, AATP has been at the forefront to meet the educational needs of the immigrant youth population in the Chinatown community. (In order to become an AATP tutor, you must attend one mandatory training session, held at the beginning of the quarter. The training session will introduce you to AATP and provide information about how we work. (This is only required for new tutors). Site is at Castelar Elementary in Chinatown, Los Angeles. Contact recruitment director Rebecca at aatpbec@gmail.com.) Best Buddies Best Buddies provides UCLA students an opportunity to develop a one-on-one friendship with people with intellectual disabilities ranging from high school students to adults. It offers people with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to interact with non-disabled people in a non-classroom setting while developing their leadership potential, improving social skills, and boosting self-confidence. BruinHope BruinHope seeks to acknowledge the dividing wall of privilege and to engage and challenge ourselves to serve toward lasting change. The grassroots of this project have been sprouted with the desire to see lasting change in communities through acknowledging the origin of privilege by way of cultural education. (Two to three times a quarter we go to Hogar Infantil (an orphanage) and Centro de Comunidad (Community Center) in Tijuana, Mexico. We spend time with the orphans mentoring them, doing activities and building memories. We renovate and improve the physical conditions of Hogar Infantil and Centro de Comunidad. We provide donations as well. Contact bruin_hope@yahoo.com.) Bruin Partners The unique structure of Bruin Partners provides the opportunity for a UCLA student to build a strong and lasting one-on-one bond with a middle school student. Each UCLA volunteer is paired up with an individual sixth grade mentee at the beginning of the school year, and the pair continues to meet each week to discuss schoolwork, family matters, and other important issues. (The project works with 6th graders at Marina del Rey elementary school. Volunteers participate in site visits one day each week, Mondays-Thursdays in the afternoon. Transportation is provided. Volunteers are asked to commit for more than one quarter. Visit the project site at www.studentgroups.ucla.edu/bp for more information.) Casa Heiwa and Angelina Mentorship Program (CHAMPs) CHAMPs provides mentoring and tutorial support for children (grades K-12) of two low-income housing complexes (Casa Heiwa and Angelina) in Little Tokyo and Echo Park. The program strives to provide the necessary attention and support needed to make children more successful in achieving their aspirations. (Site visits are on Saturdays. No formal training, no “deadlines" for starting with the program. At least a one-quarter commitment is preferred because of the tutor/tutee relationship.) Glendale Learning Program The Glendale Learning Program (GLP) is a UCLA sponsored, student-run community service program designed to provide academic assistance to students in the Glendale area. The primary goal of GLP is to target students who are falling behind academically and provide them with an opportunity to "catch up," meanwhile equipping them with the confidence and learning skills needed to be better learners in the future. (Site visits are Saturday mornings. Some training is provided. GLP requests regular attendance because of the tutor/tutee relationship, but says they are “always looking to find tutors.")
Hunger Project Hunger Project is dedicated to fighting poverty by combining direct service, advocacy, and education. It provides services to homeless and low-income individuals in helping to meet their immediate and long-term needs. Volunteers deliver food, serve meals, provide job assistance, volunteer at the Los Angeles Mission Community Clinic that serve mainly the homeless, and deliver donated clothing and furniture. Kids Korner Kids Korner / Teen Korner is dedicated to enhancing the opportunities for underprivileged children and teens living in two North Hollywood housing complexes. By supplementing their education, providing enriching projects, and being supportive friends for these amazing kids and teens we seek to develop their social and intellectual skills and broaden their prospects for the future. (Volunteers attend site weekly to tutor and mentor the residents of the apartment complexes. New volunteers must come to our info meetings during Week 1 and 2 of each quarter. Specific dates can be found on our Calendar page. If you can't make it, email us to get the orientation manual and volunteer form, fill it out and bring it to site on your first visit. Meet us on Sundays at 11:45 am at Ackerman Turnaround. Transportation will be provided and we will return to campus by 3:15pm. Contact thekorner@gmail.com.) Pilipino Recruitment and Enrichment Program (PREP) Pilipino Recruitment and Enrichment Program (PREP) is a peer mentorship program that outreaches to high school students in the South Bay, Long Beach, LA and Orange County areas. PREP's four main goals are to raise community consciousness, increase cultural awareness, foster leadership & promote higher education. Project BRITE Project BRITE (Bruins Reforming Incarceration Through Education) provides tutorial services to incarcerated youths and aims to reach young offenders at an age where they still have a chance to turn their lives around. Through weekly visits, tutors provide motivation and friendship to these youths. Come tutor someone who really appreciates your time, for 2 hours each week. (Orientation sessions are held during Week 2.) Project Literacy Prolit's mission is not only to enrich the education of children and adults through reading comprehension and writing, but also to provide mentorship, establishing meaningful ties with the families in our surrounding communities. Lastly, with over 100 student volunteers, Prolit aims to provide UCLA students with a deeper awareness and understanding of the social problems of our times. (Prolit is “always open to receiving more tutors.” For application forms, go to Kerckhoff 408. Forms are in a flap on the bulletin board, and applicants should complete the form and place it back in the flap. Site visits occur on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This will be a 3-4 hour weekly commitment. All of our information is on our website - http://students.asucla.ucla.edu/csc/literacy/.) Project MAC Project MAC tutors at-risk children in the greater Los Angeles Area, at our current site, Free Arts. We also aim to continually educate the UCLA community and the Los Angeles community about child abuse and neglect. Project MAC seeks to educate society about the causes and effects of child abuse and how to combat it. It is only through continual advocacy and education to others that this terrible social ill can be remedied. Project WILD Project Working for Immigrant Literacy Development (W.I.L.D.) is a community service organization that focuses on facilitating English language acquisition for first and second generation middle school students. (Site visits are on Saturdays. No formal training is required. A time commitment of at least one full quarter is requested because of the tutor/tutee relationship.) (Site visits are on Saturdays. No formal training is required. A time commitment of at least one full quarter is requested because of the tutor/tutee relationship.) Special Olympics The Special Olympics at UCLA is an entirely student-run year round athletic program for sunder-served communities in South Los Angeles. Our athletes are primarily African-American and Latino and we target developmentally disabled athletes over 18 years old. We attempt to rectify a lack of programs for developmentally disabled adults, especially those without access to other resources due to economic disadvantage. (Special Olympics does its main recruiting in Fall quarter.) Vietnamese Language and Cultures (VNLC) Founded in 1994 to preserve and promote Vietnamese culture, VietNamese Language and Cultures (VNLC) has grown to encompass serving the greater community in our mission statement. To realize our goal of community outreach and sharing the Vietnamese culture, we run several tutorial and cultural projects. (There is no orientation and no formal training sessions, but volunteers MUST HAVE a good knowledge of the Vietnamese language.) Watts Tutorial Program WATTS UP?!? Watts Tutorial has been serving the Watts Projects for over 10 years! Join fellow Bruins in the commitment to educate, promote tolerance, and serve as positive role models to the underprivileged and under-represented children of the Watts and William Mead Projects of Los Angeles. (Tutoring sessions are held on-campus every Wednesday from 5 to 8pm. Tutors are required to attend every session. At least a one-quarter commitment is required, and longer-term commitments are encouraged.) Women and Youth Supporting Each other (WYSE) Women and Youth Supporting Each other (WYSE) is a curriculum based mentorship program devoted to providing resources, information and support to young women in middle school by facilitating discussions about their personal identities, sexual decision making, future options, and community action. (WYSE is a yearlong commitment and does recruiting during the spring quarter of the prior year and at the very beginning of the year.) Other Volunteer Opportunities MAPS (Mentors for Academic Peer Support) MAPS focuses on tutoring and mentoring youth at Jordan High School in Watts and Al-Hibah (charter school) in Crenshaw, and we go to site Monday through Friday in the mornings and afternoons. We ask that volunteers attend site once a week (2-3hrs), and become a tutor as well as a peer mentor for the students that we work with. Please let me know if you would like more information or know of anyone who would be interested. Thank you! Project Angel Food Project Angel Food's mission is to nourish the body and spirit of men, women and children affected by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. From our kitchen, Project Angel Food staff and volunteers cook and deliver free and nutritious meals prepared with love. See website for information about volunteer opportunities: http://www.angelfood.org/ Service Opportunities for Graduate Students recommended by GSA Teach for America Katie Brown, Graduate Student Recruiter, kathryneganbrown@gmail.com Camp Ronald McDonald Marisa Materna, Special Events Coordinator, Marisa@campronaldmcdonald.org, (310) 268-8488 (Southern California) Camp Okizu Suzie Randall, Coordinator,suzie@okizu.org, (415) 382-9083 (Northen California) SEED Mentoring Project Kathryn Fitzmaurice, UCLA School of Law SEED Director, kfitzmaurice@gmail.com Make a Wish Foundation Brooke Dafesh, Events Manager, bdafesh@wishla.org, (310) 788-9474Union Station Marisa Albanese, Volunteer Coordinator, malbanese@unionstationhs.org, (626) 240-0720 Union Rescue Mission (medically and non-medically-trained volunteers needed) Alex Cornejo, Volunteer Department, (213) 347-6300 extension 1149, email csc@gsa.asucla.ucla.edu for volunteer information and documents LA Family Housing Cecilia Ribakoff, (818) 982-4091 extension 129, info@lafh.org School on Wheels Contact the main office at (310) 589-2642 for information, email information@schoolonwheels.org, website www.schoolonwheels.org Heal the Bay Contact the main office at (310) 451-1500 or (800) HEAL-BAY, www.healthebay.org Project Angel Food Contact the main office at (323) 845-1816, website www.angelfood.org One Legacy (Transplant Donor Network) Stephanie Schmitz, Volunteer and Community Events Coordinator, (714) 961-1356, sschmitz@onelegacy.org Students Run LA Nikki Carelli, Program Director, (818) 654-1620, nikki@srla.org Challenge for Charity (Anderson) Project Echo, Reading to Kids: Erica Colon, Challenge for Charity Director, erica.colon.2009@anderson.ucla.edu EGSA SAT Prep Program Christiane Abouzeid, GSA CSC Director, csc@gsa.asucla.ucla.edu Tree People Lisa Sotelo, Volunteer Coordinator, (818) 753-4600, volunteer@treepeople.org |
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