Stanislaus County Chavez Clubs Celebrate Chavez Day of Service

My name in Kimberly Ramsingh and I am currently serving as an AmeriCorps*VISTA which stands for Volunteers in Service to America at the Stanislaus Office of Education in California. As a volunteer, I came to Modesto from the east coast to donate my time and energy in promoting the Cesar E. Chavez Service Clubs to assist families in moving out of poverty through educational service-learning projects. For the past six months, I have been working with the Office of Education and various other organizations to support and advance this program in low-income areas locally. I would like to share a very special story about a collaborative event our clubs participated in on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, also recognized as the Cesar E. Chavez Day of Service. Following a story in the local newspaper entitled, "Homeless Sleep-out in Turlock: Students Try to Illustrate Human Cost," our clubs decided to do a service-learning project inspired by this article. The goal was to educate middle school students about stereotypes and social perceptions that exist in their local community and how to overlook these perceptions and develop a respect for humanity and life. We organized a clothing drive and created hygiene kits for local members of our community that were homeless. In addition, 30 local organizations set up informational booths and we provided free food at the Cesar E. Chavez Park in Modesto. Volunteers also assisted in a beautification project for the park and there was an educational zone where people could learn about Mr. Chavez. This project was a collaborative effort put together by the Cesar E. Chavez Service Clubs, the LRC, City of Modesto Parks and Recreation Department, Stanislaus Office of Education, City of Modesto Firefighters, Anthem Blue Cross, the Patient Advocate and M.E.Ch.A. This was truly a community event. It is our hope to share this story and inspire others to become more civically engaged. To date, our clubs have collected about $7,000 in donated items during the academic year for projects that benefited the needy. Our students have also engaged in over 5,800 community service hours this past year. I would like to extend by sincere appreciation to these students and the local organizations that continue the Chavez legacy. As a community, we show that no matter how challenging the situation, together, it can be done. Si Se Puede!

See the Article.