Friends & Neighbors Day Registration
General Information
Our goal is to inspire Trojan students, staff, and alumni to ignite and continue their passion for community service during their time at USC and beyond. Participate in our signature day of service to make an impact in your surrounding community!
Project descriptions may be updated throughout the month. After registering, volunteers receive a confirmation email 1-3 days before the day of FND with details about their site, check-in instructions, and agenda for the day. Check-in times vary for different projects so please read your confirmation email. Volunteers will meet at Steven Kathryn Sample Hall (SKS) to check-in for FND.
Registration
Project Descriptions
Click the arrows to read the descriptions for our event on Saturday October 14th!
- Breakfast and Lunch will be provided at USC.
- Off campus sites include free transportation from USC’s main campus.
- Times below do not include the time it takes to get to and from your site.
TBD
Jazz Hands For Autism – Off Campus, TBD (10:30am-12:30pm)
Pending approval for the project!
Alexander Science Center School– Off Campus, Walking (10:00am-12:00pm) Ages 18+
Help enhance the learning environment for the children at the Alexander Science Center elementary school. Whether it’s painting trash bins, creating a beautiful wishing tree, or revitalizing a 2nd-grade science lab, your involvement can make a real difference. With the guidance of a dedicated site teacher and the support of the USC Annenberg civic engagement coordinator, let’s come together to beautify and maintain this elementary school campus for the benefit of our young learners!
PUENTE Learning Center – Off Campus, Lyft covered (9:00am-12:00pm) Ages 16+
Roll up your sleeves to prepare the garden beds for upcoming fall projects at PUENTE Unity Garden. This Unity Garden isn’t just about plants; it’s a powerful tool for learning and teaching. It’s a space where students, families, and the Boyle Heights community come together to explore civic engagement, tackle food insecurity, and delve into conversations about health, nutrition, and access to these essentials. Be a part of something meaningful as we dig, plant, and nurture together at the PUENTE Unity Garden!
Santa Monica Beach Cleanup – Off Campus, Metro covered (10:30am-12:30pm)
Santa Monica State Beach is a California State Park operated by the city of Santa Monica. At 3.5 miles long, Santa Monica State Beach is a heavily trafficked location for its beauty and entertainment offerings. Unfortunately, high foot-traffic has resulted in a large amount of trash left in the sand. This project focuses on collecting litter and disposing it in Santa Monica’s trash bins. If you are new to California, or Los Angeles, this is a great way to help the environment, meet new friends, and enjoy the ocean breeze. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 10:00am.
USC Neighborhood Cleanup – Off Campus, Walking (10:00am-12:00pm)
Housing on campus is very limited, so many students live in apartments and houses in the neighborhood surrounding USC. This project focuses on cleaning up our local streets west of Vermont Ave in an effort to give back to the community that has welcomed and housed so many of our Trojan Family. This is a great way for students to begin to develop good relationships with University Park’s long-term residents. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 10:00am.
Community Services Unlimited – Off Campus (9:00am-12:00pm) Ages 16+
Get your hands dirty, break a sweat and deepen your relationship with growing. This project supports access to locally sourced fruits and vegetables to the community of south central Los Angeles. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 8:45am. [A USC Good Neighbors Program]
Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) – Off Campus, Lyft covered (9:00am-11:00am)
CORE seeks to improve urban green space in LA to help fight climate change, and community gardens are a great source of greenspace that can also provide food to the community. This project will help to support the Mudtown Farms urban garden by controlling weeds organically, composting, mulching, planting, and harvesting food. Mudtown Farms grows thousands of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables that are given away to the surrounding community for free. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 8:30am.
Santa Monica Beach Cleanup – Off Campus, Metro covered (10:30am-12:30pm)
Santa Monica State Beach is a California State Park operated by the city of Santa Monica. At 3.5 miles long, Santa Monica State Beach is a heavily trafficked location for its beauty and entertainment offerings. Unfortunately, high foot-traffic has resulted in a large amount of trash left in the sand. This project focuses on collecting litter and disposing it in Santa Monica’s trash bins. If you are new to California, or Los Angeles, this is a great way to help the environment, meet new friends, and enjoy the ocean breeze. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 10:00am.
africActive – Off Campus, Metro covered (10:30am-1:00pm) Ages 18+
africActive is a local non-profit organization focused on tackling food insecurity within the South Central Los Angeles community. africActive works through community organizations and local churches in Los Angeles and throughout Africa. The org transforms lives and communities by offering free resources and services that address immediate and long-term needs. Volunteers will be distributing food to community members at a local park. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 10:00am.
These nonprofit partners are GNC grantees! All Trojans can sign up to volunteer at these projects as well.
Community Services Unlimited – Off Campus, Walking (9:00am-12:00pm) Ages 16+
Get your hands dirty, break a sweat and deepen your relationship with growing. This project supports access to locally sourced fruits and vegetables to the community of south central Los Angeles. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 8:45am.
PUENTE Learning Center – Off Campus, Lyft covered (9:00am-12:00pm) Ages 16+
Roll up your sleeves to prepare the garden beds for upcoming fall projects at PUENTE Unity Garden. This Unity Garden isn’t just about plants; it’s a powerful tool for learning and teaching. It’s a space where students, families, and the Boyle Heights community come together to explore civic engagement, tackle food insecurity, and delve into conversations about health, nutrition, and access to these essentials. Be a part of something meaningful as we dig, plant, and nurture together at the PUENTE Unity Garden!
FAQs
Registration typically opens 3 weeks before each FND date, and closes on the Thursday before FND or when spots run out. Registration is strongly recommended, but we will accept some walk ins between 8:00-9:00am and place you at a site with available space!
Check out which sites are available by reading the project descriptions and sign up by clicking the registration form button found above.
Some volunteers will also be asked via an email to register directly with the nonprofit if required.
Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to attend this event may contact Judy Sandoval at 213-740-4662 or judithsa@usc.edu. It is requested that individuals requiring accommodations or auxiliary aids such as sign language interpreters and alternative format materials notify us at least seven days prior to the event. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations in an effective and timely manner.
FND for the 2023-2024 academic year will take place on August 19, September 16, October 14, November 11, January 27, February 24, and March 27.
Most dates, we will meet in the morning outside of Steven Kathryn Sample (SKS) or at Alumni Park. Please check our FND webpage and/or your confirmation email for the meeting location.
Registration is open to those affiliated with USC. This includes current undergraduate or graduate students, alumni, faculty, and staff.
- The best time for RSOs to sign up for FND is at the beginning of each semester. We will post the RSO form on our newsletter and linktree on instagram. Your RSO can sign up any time during the semester if the RSO form is open, but later in the semester we may no longer be able to place your group members in only 1 project.
- RSO's that signed up early will be contacted 3-4 weeks before FND, given a few days to select their top choices AND to register their members before to the form opens to all students. All participating members must complete the FND Registration Form.
- Once FND registration is open to all, we can no longer guarantee spots at a specific project site to your RSO. It will be first come, first serve.
- The Volunteer Center hosts small-scale one-time events called Trojans Serve. If your RSO wants to participate or co-sponsor a small event that does not take place on FND's dates, then Trojans Serve is your best alternative. Volunteer events for Trojans Serve can be scheduled for almost any day/time of the week depending on our staff's availability. Some limited funding is available. Please contact serveon@usc.edu and mention Trojans Serve in the subject.
- If you have an event that you want us to advertise please submit the info on our Volunteer Opportunities Calendar. If we accept your submission, we will also share it on our newsletter.
We recommend you bring sunglasses, a refillable water bottle, hats/caps, put on sunscreen, and wear close toed shoes. Specific requirements for project sites will be sent to all registrants.
For FND events, yes, we provide breakfast snacks to grab-n-go during check-in such as muffins, breakfast bars, fruit, coffee, and lunch upon your return to campus!
For ServeLA (our collab event with UCLA) lunch is not always possible because of staff and/or logistics. If lunch is included for ServeLA, this information will be on our flyers, webpage, and on the confirmation email.
We want to respect our community partners by arriving to their sites on time. If you are running late to FND, you risk your group leaving without you! Depending on the time of your arrival you may be able to be placed in another project but this is not guaranteed.
Do not travel to the site without communicating with a staff member of the USC Volunteer Center. If you wish to provide your own transportation reach out to us PRIOR to FND at serveon@usc.edu. We will do our best to respond during our office hours: Mon-Fri, 9:30am - 5:00pm.
We offer various sites for FND throughout the Los Angeles community! For specific site information, click on a category and scroll through each site.
- Check out all USC Volunteer Center platforms https://linktr.ee/serveonusc
- Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Instagram.
- View our Volunteer Opportunities Calendar
- Reach out directly to nonprofits that you've enjoyed or that you are interested in to inquire about continuing opportunities.
- Search service-based recognized student organizations on engage and apply to become a member.
- Visit Trojan Homelessness Response for USC-affiliated organizations working on homelessness in Los Angeles.
If a project site is missing, then it hasn't been confirmed or is unable to host volunteers this time.
If it states “0 remaining” on the drop-down list in the registration form, then that project site has reached full capacity, and we invite you to select an alternative site instead.
Yes, please help support our Volunteer Center and Friends & Neighbors Day by giving to USC. If you are interested in donating, please visit our donation page and contact us serveon@usc.edu if you have further questions.
Please reach out to serveon@usc.edu for any additional questions or concerns.
Participants should expect to follow all rules and guidance set forth from the university, the City of Los Angeles, LA Public Health, and nonprofit staff to be able to volunteer in service projects. Some sites may require proof of COVID vaccine or recommend/require wearing face masks. Instructions will be detailed in your confirmation email and by your site supervisor. Volunteers are required to adhere to each community partner’s specific health requirements and protocols.
Partners
