10/24/91

CONTACT: Stanford University News Service (650) 723-2558

Stanford students to take part in 'Reach Out' day

STANFORD -- More than one thousand Stanford University students are expected to volunteer with more than 50 local community agencies Saturday, Nov. 2, as part of the eighth annual campuswide community service day, "Reach Out Today."

The volunteer projects, organized by residences, include:

• Robinson House residents will plant trees with inner- city youth at a high school in East Oakland with Project YES.
• Twain House residents will participate in a voter registration drive among homeless and low-income families with the Hunger and Homeless Action Coalition of San Mateo County.
• Phi Sig (Sigma Phi Epsilon), Grove House and Soto will restore the Stanford Academic Reserve by planting a new population of oak trees.
• The Shelter Network of San Mateo County Turning Point will sponsor a mural painting for Kimball Hall.
• Students of Donner, Adelfa and Gavilan will plan a group project for youth-at-risk through Friends for Youth.

The day is designed to bring student energy to local community needs and to introduce to public service students who might otherwise remain uninvolved.

"Our first goal is to introduce people to the service needs in the local community but also to educate them about the social issues surrounding those needs," junior Nikki Johnson said. "When people work in a soup kitchen, you want them to understand the problem is hunger and homelessness, and not just feeding the poor."

An Education Week, addressing public service and the social issues behind it, precedes the Saturday service day. Walk for AIDS '91 will kick off the week on Sunday, Oct. 27.

Dorm-based programs will cover topics related to "Reach Out Today" projects. Those topics include: the environment, hunger and homelessness, women, senior citizens, disabilities, youth and education, and East Palo Alto-Palo Alto relations. Branner Hall will host the program on homelessness organized by Theo Emery of the Stanford Homelessness Action Coalition (SHAC) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31.

This year, "Reach Out Today" is being held in conjunction with "Into the Streets," a national event that sees college students around the country get involved in service projects with nearby agencies.

"Reach Out Today" is sponsored by the Stanford Volunteer Network, a student organization housed in the Haas Center for Public Service on the Stanford Campus. The Network promotes local community service throughout the year. More than 70 percent of Stanford undergraduates participate in public service during their Stanford careers.

For more information, contact the Student Volunteer Network at 723-0054.

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