Campus in preparation for Coyote Cares day

CSUSB offers a variety of community engagement opportunities on campus in order for students to get more involved and volunteer.

CSUSB offers a variety of community engagement opportunities throughout San Bernardino as well as other countries such as Mexico and Peru in order to give students the chance to become active members of society and see the rewards in making commitments to their community.

Every year, on Coyote Cares Day, students serve their community in a variety of different ways. There is volunteer work that takes place on campus as well as off campus throughout the city of San Bernardino through different partnerships with non-profit organizations as well as the school. This year, students will be going to places such as the local homeless shelter, different parks, the local food bank, the Boy & Girls Club of San Bernardino and others.

Bryant Fairley, associate director for the Office of Community Engagement, strongly believes going off campus to volunteer is a great way for students to show that they care.

“This is sort of [like] how we really showcase that the university is committed to helping to improve our city because we’re a part of San, Bernardino and just staying on campus doesn’t always highlight that,” Fairley said.

This year, Coyote Cares Day takes place on April 13, which also is the same day as National Day of Service which falls during National Volunteer Week. The main difference this year from previous years is that students are now able to sign-up individually and are no longer required to be involved in a club.

Elizabeth Ferreira, staff member and graduate student at CSUSB, has participated in Coyote Cares Day for multiple years and thinks it is one of the more satisfying days of the year in San Bernardino.

The community engagement program also offers volunteer opportunities in other countries over spring break and in the summer. This upcoming spring break, students will be traveling all the way to Ensenada, Mexico doing a variety of different services. In the summer, students have the opportunity to travel to Peru for two weeks to volunteer and explore the country.

Fairley has actually led previous trips and will be leading the trip to Mexico as well as possibly to Peru. Fairley thinks the beauty of these experiences is that it makes students feel like they are a part of that countries local community rather than just a tourist.

“It really helps to make the world smaller, helps to see how through service you can find common goals, you can find common objectives, and that you can make a difference,” Fairley said.

Besides Coyote Cares Day and volunteer work in other countries, there are a variety of other service projects throughout the year, one every quarter.

Joselyn Yap, the administrative coordinator for the Office of Community Engagement, talked about the CSUSB President’s Volunteer Service Award, which is awarded as gold, silver or bronze medals and can even be worn at the graduation ceremony. Gold level medals require 250 hours or more of service individually or 1,000 hours or more as a group or organization.

The Office of Community Engagement wants to show that CSUSB is dedicated to their community and giving back through this volunteer work.