12.9.2020

Philanthropy as Civic Engagement Course Inspires Students to Volunteer

by Robin Migdol, Associate Director of Communications, UCLA Undergraduate Education

After researching local nonprofits for the Honors course “Philanthropy as Civic Engagement,” a group of UCLA students organized a volunteer network to give back to those same organizations.

In the course, taught by Director of Honors Programs Jennifer Lindholm in winter 2019, students were tasked with choosing local nonprofits to each receive a $10,000 - $50,000 grant, from a pool of $100,000 total. The class was divided into three groups which each conducted site visits, met with staff, and researched a total of 48 nonprofits. The groups each presented their findings to the class and students voted on which organizations would receive a grant.

In spring 2019 (and the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Black Lives Matter protests), then-senior human biology and society major Aly Besser ’20, had an idea. She reached out to her classmates and asked if anyone wanted to join her in volunteering for some of the nonprofits they had just researched.

“With the pandemic there has been a highlight in inequities, from racial inequities to socioeconomic inequities, education, everything. I felt that we were very privileged to have these connections to these local nonprofits, which often were smaller in size,” Besser said. “I wanted to see if there was any way that we could help them and extend a connection beyond what we just did in class.”

To end the course without continuing to give back would be “leaving our education in the classroom without taking it with us,” Besser said.

Nine students answered the call. They decided to focus on organizations that typically serve low socioeconomic populations and people of color, and reached out to several nonprofits to discuss how the students could best serve their needs. So far, students have volunteered at GO Campaign, which connects donors to high-impact grassroots projects, and Watts Learning Center, a charter school in south Los Angeles.

The group is also working with other campus groups, including the UCLA chapter of the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, to connect their members with volunteer opportunities. 

Wyatt Frykman, senior biology major, said that more people and nonprofits than ever are in need of help this year, and more students want to make a difference.

“I think now more than ever, it's really important to get people involved in volunteer service and philanthropy events,” Frykman said. “If we can be that liaison between the huge, diverse student body of UCLA and these nonprofits, and we can figure out how students are needed and how they can help, then we can benefit the nonprofits in that way.”