Cal State Long Beach students repainted the walls of the Eastman Fairfield Boys and Girls Club of Long Beach for the 20th anniversary of “Make a Difference Day” Saturday.
Many CSULB student organizations paired up with Rebuilding Together Long Beach, or RTLB, to help the Boys and Girls Club, which experienced water leakage from last year’s rain.
The rain came down Saturday, too, while the volunteers painted.
Evelyn Guevara, sophomore human development major from Sigma Alpha Lambda National Honor Society, said, “Everyone here is down for helping out, so the rain doesn’t really make a difference.”
President of RTLB and assistant director of the CSULB Learning Alliance Mary Anne Rose said RTLB sets aside 100 spots for CSULB student volunteers every year for “Make a Difference Day.”
The Boys and Girls Club was one of six sites worked on in Long Beach. The volunteers applied coats of sealant and paint to the back wall of the club to prevent water intrusion that could ruin the gym floor.
Psi Chi is a psychology association at CUSLB and a participating volunteer club. Christina Siu the president of Psi Chi and senior psychology major said the purpose of Psi Chi organization is to help prepare students for jobs and graduate school, but they also try to do volunteer work.
“We’ve actually been having a good turnout this year,” Siu said.
Tyler Story, senior psychology major and president of the Psychology Student Association, said he and other members were not aware that the volunteer work was going to be at the Boys and Girls Club, but they were glad to be working there.
The Eastman Fairfield Boys and Girls Club is next to the Carmalitos Housing Project. According to Oscar Hernandez, director of Operations at the Boys and Girls Club Long Beach, property is usually at 90 to 95 percent capacity, which is about 120 to 130 children from ages 6 to 18.
“It provides a safe place where young people can go after school and keep out of the streets,” Hernandez said. “We provide opportunities to participate in productive programs to learn life skills.”
“Make A Difference Day” is annually on the fourth Saturday of October.
Waterfield said much of the funding for this event comes from students in an advanced programming recreation class. The students help with planning the event, recruiting volunteers, marketing and collecting donations.
Despite the mud covering her shoes, Guevera said she was glad she came out.
“I wanted to be more into the community,” she said. “I’ve met and became friends with new people and got closer to people I already knew.”
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