The Spring Team kicked off third term with the Caltech Y’s annual Make-A-Difference Day. On Saturday, April 9, 265 eager volunteers gathered to participate in a variety of community service projects on one of 12 different teams. Thanks to our sponsors TIAA and the Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union “Make-A-Difference Day 2018” t-shirts were distributed, breakfasts were provided, and sack lunches were made available. The teams were also welcomed back to campus with an ice cream social. It was another successful volunteer effort. At the sites:
Seven students, under the direction of Zoila Jurado Quiroga, got their hands dirty gardening at the Boys and Girls Club in Pasadena.
Ten volunteers got active playing sports with children at KEEN (Kids Enjoying Exercise Now) led by Gloria Ha and Chloe Hsu.
At the LA Arboretum, 15 volunteers including students and alumni under Jenny Hsin and Evan Yeh, worked hard on weeding and cultivating.
At Kids Reading to Succeed 7 students led by Kavya Sreedhar and LC Chen read to children.
Hazel Dilmore and Nicholas Hutchins led a group of 14 students that traveled to downtown Los Angeles to the LA Regional Food Bank to sort and pack food. F
Five students cleaned out cages at Lifeline for Pets with Michelle Zhou and Noah Huffman.
Twelve student volunteers did trail maintenance, followed by a short hike, in Monrovia Canyon with Ben Herren and Janice Jeon.
A team of 5 – with regulars Katherine Guo, Anushka Rau, and Miranda Schwacke – mentored youngsters with Robogals.
Ten students went to work at Ronald McDonald House led by Sunny Cui and Sirisha Gudavalli.
In an exciting new twist, members of TIAA (one of our sponsors) joined students and alumni to form a group of 26 that assembled tiny libraries for PUSD under the direction of LA Works.
In what has become a tradition for Make-A-Difference Day, our largest group of volunteers, 144 students, alumni, and staff helped with the State Science Olympiad tournament right on the Caltech campus. We would like to thank our MAD Day sponsors, the Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union, the George Housner Fund, and TIAA for their support. Of course, let’s not forget our central team of volunteers, coordinating registration and transportation, our team of 14 from the Y staff and Y Board who held down the fort at the Y office. Once again, the efforts of enthusiastic Y volunteers truly made a difference among participants and within the community.
