All For One, One for All
All For One, One for All
UCLA Anderson community comes together for a day of volunteer service
April 26, 2024
On April 5, 2024, the UCLA Anderson community undertook its first One Anderson Service Initiative. The event involved Anderson students, staff and faculty who volunteered their time and efforts to deserving causes across four Southern California locations.
The impetus for the initiative is rooted in the school’s strategic plan. The concept of “One Anderson” brings together the various elements of the school’s community and represents a concerted effort to integrate Anderson with and influence the greater Southern California community at large.
“One of the components of UCLA’s and UCLA Anderson’s mission is service to our community, and our first One Anderson Day of Service was a great opportunity to deliver on that value,” said Jill Hisey (B.A. ’87, ’95), Anderson’s executive director of strategic partnerships. “Our partnerships with these exceptional nonprofit organizations allowed us the opportunity to give back, as well as the chance to really learn how each of us can make an impact in our community. It was wonderful to see the great response from the UCLA Anderson community, and even more exciting that everyone is looking forward to coming back for our next Day of Service!”
The initiative, which is intended to become an annual event, sent Anderson volunteers to four locations across the region: Dockweiler State Beach, the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, the Sage Hill at UCLA Native Plants & Wildlife Habitat, and Junior Achievement of Southern California. At Dockweiler, volunteers learned about plans to rejuvenate the beach while collecting 192 gallons of trash. Combatting food insecurity, Anderson helped the Los Angeles Food Bank prepare 756 boxes of food for distribution.
At Sage Hill, which is the last area of undeveloped land on the UCLA campus, volunteers pulled 3,500 square feet of invasive weeds from native plant habitat and new restoration plantings. Dean Tony Bernardo joined others at Junior Achievement’s Finance Park, assisting nearly five dozen high school students as they navigated the world of personal finance through a new and engaging software program. Sustainability and access to business education for all are key planks in the school’s strategic plan.
“The experience was really worthwhile,” said Paul Feinberg (B.A. ’85), a longtime member of Anderson’s Office of Marketing & Communications who spent the morning with the group cleaning up Dockweiler State Beach. “I’ve lived near the beach for over 20 years but was unaware of the efforts to not only clean up the beaches but rejuvenate them with native plants and animals. While the main goal was to pick up the debris littering the sand, getting to spend time doing something for the community alongside fellow staff and students was rewarding as well.”
Sage Hill at UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.