Caltech Y Annual Make-A-Difference Day Serves the Community

After a 2-year hiatus, the Caltech Y Make-A-Difference Day was back in person this past weekend with more than 60 Caltech students and friends volunteering at 6 different local sites in the community. During this day of community service, students volunteered for trash cleanup at the Los Angeles National Forest, prepared meals for Ronald McDonald House, gardened with Eco Urban Gardens, Boys and Girls Club and LA Arboretum, and sorted food at the LA Food Bank.

“We are ecstatic that our Caltech Y participants are back out in the community, working face to face, shoulder-to-shoulder with important non-profits in the region,” Athena Castro, Executive Director of the Caltech Y commented.

"It was wonderful to garden for the Boys and Girls Club so that students could have a nice outdoor space. I remember how impactful and enriching afterschool programs were for me, and it was gratifying to be able to give back to them!" said Kristina Stoyanova, Caltech Y Student ExComm President.

Lisa Cavelier, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena commented “We deeply appreciate the hard work of Caltech students during Saturday’s Caltech Y Make-a-Difference Day. The students took on an outdoor beautification project at our Performing Arts Center, in spite of Saturday’s heat. We are grateful to the Caltech Y for truly making a difference at the Boys & Girls Club of Pasadena.”

Pierre Zeineddin, a Caltech student volunteer, remarked “I had immense fun volunteering, helping plant and mulch at Eco Urban Gardens for MAD day. It may not seem like much, but putting together a bed of dried wood, leaves, sugarcane leaves—things we’d not really think twice about leaving about in nature— it makes sustainable compost for a large garden. A garden that can fight a food desert, give people healthy options for their lives. That’s what MAD day can be about."

Caltech Employees Federal Credit Union, TIAA and Enterprise are financial supporters of the Caltech Y, helping make community service possible through the Y.

The Caltech Y also provides many opportunities for community service during the year including the Rise Tutoring Program where Caltech students tutor under performing high school students in the Pasadena Unified and LA Unified School Districts and preparing meals at Union Station Homeless Services through their Adopt a Meal program. These opportunities broaden the perspectives of the Caltech Y participants and develop and sharpen their leadership skills.

Since 1916, the independent non-profit Caltech Y has been making a world of difference by hosting events and volunteering opportunities that encourage Caltech undergraduate and graduate students to be responsible citizens of the world. Guided by the five pillars—leadership, service, civic engagement, adventure, and perspective— Caltech Y students travel the world, test themselves in outdoor adventures, tutor local schoolchildren, prepare meals for those experiencing homelessness, dialogue with elected national and international officials, and more. To learn more about the Caltech Y, please visit the website: caltechy.org

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