Students Give Back During Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service
November 19, 2012

By Student Ambassador Paula

During October’s Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service, students from the USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy coordinated with three volunteer organizations across the Greater Los Angeles area to lend a helping hand in local communities while also educating others about all the profession has to offer for healthier living.

Students volunteered with CFY, a national education nonprofit organization that helps families in low-income communities set up their own home computer learning center, learn basic software operations, and gain hands-on computing experience to improve reading, writing, and mathematics.

Students also donated their time with Hollywood Heart, an organization that serves adolescents who have been affected either indirectly or directly by HIV and AIDS.

The third volunteer partnership was with Volunteers of San Gabriel Valley’s annual Make A Difference Day, which included a blood drive, a canned food drive, a winter clothing drive, a new socks and underwear collection for a battered women’s shelter, e-waste recycling, landscaping, park clean-ups, community gardening, and home repairs.

The Global Day of Service offered another way for the Trojan Occupational Therapy community to “pay it forward”; many students took the opportunity to act as ambassadors of the university and of the occupational therapy profession by representing USC in charitable endeavors, explaining what occupational therapy is, and teaching others about the importance of balance and meaningful engagement in daily routines.

Read more about Student Ambassador Paula’s take on Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service.

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