Tag Archives: Day of Service

We Took Action: Art Center’s Second Successful Day of Service to the Community

Volunteers Receiving Instruction before working for Arroyo Seco Foundation. Photo Lucia Loiso/Art Center College of Design

Continuing a volunteer initiative launched in celebration of the College’s 80th Anniversary in 2010—and in support of the National Day of Service inspired by the life of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.—Art Center is proud to sponsor its second day of service.

“Art Center Takes Action: A Day of Service in Pasadena” kicked-off at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 18 at the College’s South Campus with a breakfast with College Provost Fred Fehlau and representatives from participating organizations. Volunteers picked up commemorative tee-shirts and mingled with leaders from the community organizations. “Designers, while expressing their own points of view, are also always working in service of others. This day is just an extension of what we as a community do all the time,” Mr. Fehlau told the group at the breakfast.

Moving Mulch for the Pasadena Boys & Girls Club. Photo Lucia Loiso/Art Center College of Design

From there, teams of Art Center volunteers grabbed a boxed lunch and were dispatched to locations around the city to take on such tasks as collecting food, facilities improvement, environmental cleanup, beautification projects and special activities.

Working in the garden of the Pasadena Boys & Girls Club. Photo Lucia Loiso/Art Center College of Design

Working in the garden of the Pasadena Boys & Girls Club. Photo Lucia Loiso/Art Center College of Design

We were reminded of President Lorne Buchman’s remarks at our first Day of Service, “when the Art Center community comes together to participate in volunteer initiatives such as this, we help elevate Art Center’s reputation not only as a good neighbor, but as a meaningful place to pursue an art and design education.”

Volunteers visited with the residents at the Villa Gardens Retirement Community, helped beautify the The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena, removed invasive plant species from near Art Center for the Arroyo Seco Foundation and acquired goods and donations for the AIDS Service Center.

Volunteers came from the ranks of students, faculty and staff. All those involved expressed great satisfaction in being able to help the community in some way.

“In reaching out to local organizations—even more than those that participated in the Day of Service—we’ve already begun to build a volunteer network for future collaborations,” said Dean of Students Jeffrey Hoffman.

AIDS Service Center Food Drive. Photo Lucia Loiso/Art Center College of Design

Pay Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. by Being of Service

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham City Jail

Art Center is closed? What should you do?

There are many things you can do to honor the life and legacy of the civil rights leader while campus is closed in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was first signed into law as a national holiday in 1986 to mark Dr. King’s transformative leadership in advancing civil rights through non-violent activism. Less than a decade later in 1994, Congress further designated Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a national day of service that asks all Americans to actively improve the lives of others in their community.

Check out laworks.com for local MLK Jr. Day volunteer opportunities. This year’s projects includes a group that will be revitalizing the campus of a Title I elementary school in the Los Feliz neighborhood. Volunteers will spend the morning creating colorful murals in the playground space; painting school buildings and grounds; planting flowers, shrubs and landscaping to create an outdoor literacy space; renovating an unused blacktop area to create a community garden; and assisting the teachers in organizing and beautifying the interior classroom areas. Also, back by popular demand, Zumba instructor Wilson Williams will be warming up the volunteers in the morning.

As part of the day, L.A. Works is also collecting toiletries for veterans to donate to the local Veteran Affairs facility. They are asking all volunteers to consider bringing shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes, toothpaste, disposable razors, shaving cream, deodorant, and/or soap with them.

The Warm Coats and Warm Hearts Coat drive, sponsored by Burlington Coat Factory, runs through Martin Luther King Jr. Day. They encourage donations of new and gently worn coats. See onewarmcoat.org for more information and find your nearest story by visiting the Burlington Coat Factory Store Locator.

Visit mlkday.org for other local day of service opportunities.

In addition to serving, there are many celebrations held locally. The Kingdom Day Parade in Los Angeles is held today, beginning at 11 am at Martin Luther King Blvd and Western Ave, traveling west on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd to Crenshaw Blvd, south on Crenshaw Blvd to Vernon Ave and ending with a festival at Leimert Park.

Taking Action Through a Day of Service

On Saturday, June 12, Art Center students, staff and faculty participated in the College’s first Art Center Takes Action: A Day of Service in Pasadena, a volunteer initiative launched in celebration of Art Center’s 80th anniversary.

The day of service kicked off Saturday morning with a breakfast with College President Lorne Buchman and representatives from participating organizations. Sponsors Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market and Autunno Catering provided breakfast for volunteers.

“Art Center Takes Action is the first in what I hope will become a long-standing College tradition of providing service to those in need,” Buchman said at the breakfast.

“When the Art Center community comes together to participate in volunteer initiatives such as this, we help elevate Art Center’s reputation not only as a good neighbor, but as a meaningful place to pursue an art and design education.”

Volunteers visited with the residents at the Villa Gardens Retirement Community, helped beautify and paint the The Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena, collected trash at the Rose Bowl, and acquired goods and donations for the AIDS Service Center.

“Pasadena is a city with a lot of need,” said Ben Sanders, a third-term Illustration major who spent the day volunteering at Villa Gardens, a retirement community that 200 residents call home. “It’s a great idea for Art Center to make its presence known in the community. Not by showing what we as artists and designers have made, but by simply showing people we’re here and we care.”

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Take Action: Volunteer

This Saturday Art Center students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends will come together for Art Center Takes Action: A Day of Service in Pasadena, a volunteer initiative launched in celebration of Art Center’s 80th anniversary.

“We strive to provide opportunities for our students to get the most out of their educational experience both inside and outside the classroom,” explains Dean of Students Jeffrey Hoffman. “Art Center’s Day of Service will provide such an opportunity for students from diverse backgrounds to build relationships with their local community—a place they call home.”

The local organizations that Art Center volunteers will engage with include AIDS Service Center, which develops and delivers services, advocacy and education tailored to improve the quality of life for those impacted by and at risk for HIV/AIDS; Boys and Girls Club of Pasadena, whose goal is to improve the lives of children by helping them build self-assurance and develop leadership skills while reinforcing positive values; the Rose Bowl Operating Company, which manages Pasadena’s historic stadium and professional quality golf course; and Villa Gardens Retirement Community, one of the City’s premier retirement communities offering residents opportunities both stimulating and relaxing.

The day of service will kick off at 8 am Saturday, June 12, with a breakfast with College President Buchman and representatives from participating organizations.

It’s not too late to join us. To sign up or for more information, contact Betsy Edmunds in the Center for the Student Experience at cse@artcenter.edu or stop by the CSE. Also be sure to check the The Dotted Line next week for coverage and photos of the event.

Take Action: Volunteer

Next week Art Center students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends will come together for Art Center Takes Action: A Day of Service in Pasadena, a volunteer initiative launched in celebration of Art Center’s 80th anniversary. The event will be held Saturday, June 12.

Among the local organizations that Art Center volunteers will assist include AIDS Service Center, Boys and Girls Club of Pasadena, Pasadena Senior Center, Rose Bowl Stadium and Villa-Parke Community Center.

The day of service will kick off at 8 am on Saturday, June 12. Participants will begin the day at Pasadena’s Memorial Park for breakfast with College President Buchman, representatives from participating organizations and patrons of the Pasadena Senior Center. From there, teams of Art Center volunteers will be dispatched to locations around the city to take on such tasks as picking up garbage, serving food and moving boxes.

We’ll bring you more information on the event and the participating organizations next week.

It’s not too late to join us. To sign up or for more information, contact Betsy Edmunds in the Center for the Student Experience at cse@artcenter.edu or stop by the CSE.