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 an event to make an impact in your surrounding community!
Read the project descriptions for our next event below. Descriptions may be updated throughout the month. After registering, volunteers receive a confirmation email 1-3 days before 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.
Registration
- The Registration Form for April 1st FND is now open!
Project Descriptions
Click the arrows to read the descriptions below before filling out the registration!
- Off campus sites include free transportation from USC.
- Times below do not include the time it takes to get to and from your site.
- Breakfast and Lunch will be provided.
Angel City Pit Bulls – Off Campus (9:00am – 12:00pm) Ages 18+
Angel City Pit Bulls is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a better future for pit bulls by promoting their positive image as loving family companions through education, public advocacy, adoptions, and owner support. For this project, volunteers will spend supporting this lifesaving center, which can include dog care (playing, walking, feeding, bathing) and center maintenance (cleaning, organizing, etc.). On campus check in starts at 8:00am for this project. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 8:20am.
Los Angeles Animal Services – Off Campus, Lyft covered (9:00am – 1:00pm) Ages 15+
For this project, volunteers will be provided with a group educational shelter tour and help prepare bags of pet food for the Community Pet Food Pantry at North Central Animal Services Center. The City of Los Angeles Department of Animal Services began operating a pet food pantry in 2020 to relieve families experiencing financial hardship during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. On campus check in starts at 8:00am for this project. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 8:15am.
africActive – Neighbor Assistance – Off Campus, Metro Covered (10:00am-12:00pm)
For this project, a small team will assist an elderly neighbor in cleaning up their gardens! This is a project organized through our community partner africActive.
Community Organized Relief Effort – 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 a community garden by removing unwanted plants that contribute to wildfire hazards, and instead composting them to create healthy soil to grow new fruit and vegetable plants. Please note, this project is not wheelchair accessible. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 8:30am.
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.
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.
Willowbrook Community Garden – Off Campus, Lyft covered (10:00am-1:00pm)
The Willowbrook Community Garden is a project that was fostered by the Los Angeles Community Garden Council in October 2014. Volunteers will be helping with gardening and other maintenance at the site. The team will leave USC for this site at or slightly before 9:30am.
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.
LA Maker Faire – Off Campus, Charter Bus [but Metro Bus for 5pm Returnees] (8:30am-1pm or 1pm-5pm) Ages 18+
The Los Angeles Public Library needs volunteers for the 2023 LA Maker Faire on Saturday, April 1, for shifts from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, in partnership with the City of STEM. Volunteers will help exhibitors with set-up or wrap-up, guide participants, provide information, or assist at booths.
Half of this project will be reserved for Viterbi students and the other half for non-Virterbi students. A Charter Bus will be the transportation from 8:00am-2:00pm but teams staying until 5:00pm will take a Metro Bus back to campus with their team leader. Non-Viterbi students register on the FND Registration Form. Viterbi students use the Viterbi @ FND Registration Link.
Operation Gratitude – On Campus (10:00am-1:00pm)
Operation Gratitude provides opportunities for the American people to express their gratitude and show our Military and first responders that what they do matters. In collaboration with Women in Politics, volunteers will be designing, drawing on, and decorating pillowcases to donate to those serving! Please do not sign up for this project if you are not comfortable with drawing!
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.
FND takes place on August 27, September 24, October 22, January 21, February 11, March 4, and April 1.
Most dates we will meet in the morning at Alumni Park or outside of Steven Kathryn Sample (SKS). Please check our website and 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 always provide breakfast snacks to grab on the go during check-in such as muffins, breakfast bars, fruit, and coffee!
Lunch is not always possible, though we will make an effort to provide lunch at most FND events, sometimes it's logistically too difficult. When lunch is included, this information will be on our flyers, webpage, and on the confirmation email sent a few days before FND.
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.
Yes, a general liability and image use waiver are required. Once you register a confirmation email is sent a few days before the FND event. A waiver is also required for a few community partners, the link will also be sent via email. Waivers must be completed before you check-in at FND on Saturday!
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.
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.
- 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.