With events like kissing pigs and karaoke, the third annual UCSD Cares attracted over 60 campus community service organizations to Library Walk on March 1 through March 5. Sponsored by Associated Students, Student Organizations and Leadership Opportunities and UCSD Bookstore, events benefited causes ranging from Locks of Love to diabetes research.
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According to organizers, the number of participating organizations has grown each year of the event, from 40 last year to 60 this year.
“Each year we seem to increase the number of organizations who want to come out and participate, and we get a lot more creative ideas from these organizations,” UCSD Cares committee member and Earl Warren College senior Sumeet Ahand said.
Student Organizations Accounts Specialists Diana Hang and Sandy Ray organized the Locks of Love event, which asked students to donate ten inches of their hair to make wigs for children suffering from Alopecia Areata, a hair loss disorder that currently effects 4.7 million Americans. Eight stylists from Joelle’s Salon and Daily Spa cut hair for the event, which generated 708.5 inches of hair from 55 donors. Organizers were optimistic about holding the booth again next year.
“We had a really, really great turnout,” Hang said. “It was a good event with a lot of help from everyone in Student Life.”
Revelle Community Outreach raised $242 for Cystic Fibrosis research, a genetic disease that causes infants to develop life-threatening lung infections. The organization hosted the Chuck for Charity event, which allowed donors to throw pies at Revelle students.
“The goal was to have fun,” Revelle Community Outreach Co-chair and Revelle College sophomore Stacey Finkelstein said. “It’s a very public way of getting the community involved.”
SRTV, which filmed the UCSD Cares week, screened a documentary about the event during WinterFest on March 5.
The campaign raised over $11,000 in five days, according to organizers. In addition, Nikkei Student Union folded over 1,000 paper cranes for cancer patients at Children’s Hospital, 14 shacks were built on Library Walk to raise awareness about homelessness, and Alpha Phi Omega made 179 hand-painted pots to donate to seniors. Organizers hope next year’s event will build on this year’s successes.
“We’re just glad that everyone came out to show that UCSD cares,” UCSD Cares committee member and Warren College sophomore Vincent Pascual said. “We hope more people will come out next year, and that more organizations will participate and build more community in terms of engaging and advancing community service.”
UCSD Cares committee member and Eleanor Roosevelt College freshman Jessica Mann said that plans for next year are already underway.
“We learn something new every year,” Mann said. “We already have plans for what we can do next year and how we can make next year’s events better.”
