Cesar Chavez Day 2011

Frances Hardie, CalSERVES AmeriCorps VIP Leader 

Community Members receive fresh produce at the Health Fair.

 Spring means just one thing at CalSERVES: Cesar Chavez Day! Our annual health fair at Roseland Elementary is the largest event we hold each year; it requires an enormous amount of effort from all staff, AmeriCorps members, and volunteers. Fortunately, we had tons of great support from our long-term volunteers, former members, and new volunteers!

Brittany and Phil, two previous members, volunteered their services and pick-up truck to help us move an enormous mountain of donated clothing from the office. Our VIPs collected more clothing than we ever could have imagined receiving, and we had no idea how to get it all to Roseland! Fortunately, our great alumni came through in a pinch.

Kids learn bike safety at the Bike Rodeo.

On the day of the fair, we had 15 volunteers helping with everything from the bike rodeo to the farmers market to the clothing drive. Also, our VIPs recruited four stylists to provide free haircuts – over 75 people got their hair cut at Cesar Chavez Day. And, last but not least, Gabby O’Neill from Wright brought a magician to volunteer in the kids’ area and graciously submitted to being hypnotized every hour!

After the fair, everyone was exhausted from a long day of work, but we still had to pack up all of the equipment. Two eighth graders from Wright jumped in and ran around breaking down and moving tables and chairs until everything was packed. Even our students like to volunteer!

Thank you to all of our VIPs and their great recruiting efforts for making Cesar Chavez 2011 such a success.