Day of Service to Honor César Chávez
By Christine Vaughan
Students, faculty and staff will join together on Monday, March 31 for a special all-campus community service day to honor the life and legacy of civil rights activist César Chávez.
CSUSM’s César Chávez Day of Service will coincide with César Chávez Day, a state holiday held in remembrance of the late founder of the United Farm Workers Union and pioneer in the struggles for fair wages and humane working conditions for farm workers and their families. Chávez is revered as one of the greatest American civil rights leaders.
March 31, which often falls during CSUSM’s spring break and is a holiday for all CSU campuses, commemorates Chavez’s birthday.
“César Chávez and his work hold great meaning to our campus,” said Anna Fleming, service partner liaison. “A lot of what he spoke about anchored on the fundamental idea that as a community we need to help others and be of service to our neighbors.”
We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community...Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.
“Our University and many of our sister CSU campuses honor his life and what he stood for by spending the day in service to our local communities,” she added.
Day of Service
Students, faculty, staff and their families are invited to volunteer for the inaugural CSUSM Day of Service.
Participants will be transported by bus at 8:30 a.m. to the service sites and spend nearly four hours volunteering for local service agencies, including North County Lifeline, the City of Oceanside’s Neighborhood Services and the Vista Community Clinic. Projects vary from beautifying a community garden to painting a building.
Each site will offer an educational talk, sharing with participants about the needs of the community and the services provided by the respective agencies. After the projects are completed, teams will return to campus for a free lunch, followed by a reflection activity.
Register to Participate
Participation in the Day of Service is free, although registration is required by Wednesday, March 26. Participants will receive a complimentary T-shirt and a free lunch.
To register, visit the César Chávez Day of Service webpage or contact the Office of Civic Engagement.