On November 9, the Caltech Y hosted its annual Community Service and Advocacy (CSA) Fair featuring 27 service and advocacy organizations. The fair was an opportunity for students, staff, and faculty to learn about local volunteering opportunities as well as other ways to address the needs of our local community. Groups such as the American Red Cross, Foster Care Project, Girls on the Run, and Tree People presented various opportunities, such as tutoring, mentoring, and restoring natural habitats. To entice people to stop by, the Y offered free In ‘n Out burgers and grilled cheese.
The Caltech Y CSA Fair can have lasting impacts on our students
Emily Peters of Fire Acres was thrilled to be a part of the fair. She says, “Thank you for allowing Five Acres to be included at last week’s Caltech Y event! We were so pleased at how engaged the students were and had a lot of good conversations.”
The Caltech Y CSA Fair can have lasting impacts on our students. Present again at our fair was Caltech Y partner, Mentors for L.I.F.E. Every week Caltech volunteers go to various Pasadena Unified Schools to mentor elementary, middle, or high school students. This weekly Y program was started by Caltech Undergrad, Noelle Davis. Noelle attended the CSA Fair last year and after stopping at the Mentors for L.I.F.E. table felt compelled to start volunteering. However, she didn’t stop there. She also recruited several of her friends to mentor and then approached the Y about helping to support the program.
“There are parts (of mentoring) that totally make my day,” says Noelle. “How they call out to me when I arrive. How excited they were when our model volcano erupted in fiery-red froth, or when the robots they programmed sped across the floor. How, when we made invisible ink, one gave me a note with my name above a heart. Through mentoring, I hope to have inspired these girls to love science a little more, work together a little better, and dream a little bigger. They’ve done at least as much for me.”
It is our hope that, through the Caltech Y CSA Fair and volunteer programs, Caltech students will continue to serve and engage with the community. Thank you to hardworking Caltech Y student leaders, Hazel Dilmore and Michelle Zhao, for coordinating the CSA Fair this year. Also a big thank you to all of our amazing student volunteers: Sunny Cui, LC Chen, Elisabeth Gallmeier, Kavya Sreedhar, and Evan Yeh. This event wouldn’t be possible without our wonderful student leaders and volunteers.
