The Office of Multicultural Affairs called for students to quit sitting idly by and get involved, in a revamped MLK Day of Service on Friday, Feb.19 where students were partnered with local nonprofits and given the opportunity to serve.
MLK Day of Service is a nationally recognized initiative to not just take the day off on MLK Day, but to use that time giving back to the community.
Classes at CSU Long Beach don’t begin until after the holiday, making it near impossible to organize a project designed for student involvement, said assistant director of multicultural affairs, Christian Lozano.
“We wanted to create an event that’s also in the interest of many identities coming together for the purpose of serving,” Lozano said.
Lozano made it possible by sending out email blurbs, encouraging recipients to pass on the information, and get students involved. Ultimately about 50-60 students pre-registered on BeachSync, an online resource for CSULB students to stay connected with campus departments and student organizations.
Students were assigned to work at one of three nonprofit locations: The Long Beach Rescue Mission, an organization committed to fighting homelessness through food and shelter programs; Operation Jumpstart, a college mentorship program; and Food Finders, a community based food rescue organization. All organizations aim to better the Long Beach community.
Originally wanting around 20 volunteers at each site, Lozano looked like he was going to come short of his goal. A few days before the registration deadline, only about 15 students had signed up.
Lozano is an alumnus of Phi Kappa Psi Indiana, so to get more volunteers he reached out to the local chapter.
The event happened to fall on the fraternity’s Founders Day, so President Moises Santillan saw it as a fitting opportunity to take a chip out of members’ required volunteer hours.
“Our organization prides itself on the great joy of serving others,” Santillan said. “Being able to serve the community in this way, on our special day, we’re just embodying the principles the fraternity is founded on.”
Santillan and 15 of his brothers registered to help. He discussed the importance of volunteer work not only to the organization he represents, but also to him as an individual.
“When you attend Long Beach State you don’t just join the university, you join the community,” Santillan said. “So being able to leave an impact and leave a legacy for yourself and your actions, it’s important.”
The brothers of Phi Kappa Psi were assigned to Operation Jumpstart for a beautification of the site. Operation Jumpstart specializes in providing college mentorship for high potential, low resource high school and beginning college students in the Long Beach area.
Mentors must be college graduates, which Santillan will be at the end of the semester, and he said he may go back to get involved further with this organization.
“That’s what [MLK] stood for right? Service, and not just selling it to a particular student population,” Lozano said. “This should be something for the entire campus community to take part in.”