CEIS Partners with UrbanMission to Host Day of Service

In partnership with UrbanMission Church in Pomona, the College of Education and Integrative Studies hosted its inaugural CEIS Day of Service to engage in activities that serve the city of Pomona and its surrounding communities.  

During the event, CEIS volunteers gathered at UrbanMission to organize the church’s clothing pantry, plant cabbage, broccoli and lettuce in garden beds, and harvest lettuce and tomatoes to prepare a fresh salad for lunch along with other healthy dishes.

The event organizers, CEIS Dean Jeff Passe and Assistant Professor Analena Hope Hassberg, said the event was created to bring CEIS faculty and staff together to address issues of meeting basic needs in the community.

“The turnout by CEIS faculty and staff demonstrated our college’s commitment to working alongside local activists to address the needs of the community,” said Dean Passe.

CEIS volunteers also stuffed envelopes with invitations to UrbanMission’s charity art show, which featured artwork by current and formerly incarcerated individuals. A portion of the proceeds went toward supporting arts programs, finding solutions to California’s ongoing prison system challenges and supporting the needs of the reentry population.

Although faculty and staff participated in the inaugural Day of Service, CEIS students regularly volunteer at UrbanMission through their service-learning courses. Last year, the Center for Community Engagement at Cal Poly Pomona ranked CEIS number one in providing the greatest amount of community service-learning hours for the 2016-2017 school year.

“Community service is important for academics because it connects us to people outside of our institution and our classrooms,” said Hassberg, a faculty member in the Ethnic and Women’s Studies department in CEIS. “It allows us to broaden our reach and impact people whom we may never come in contact with otherwise. Those who participated in the Day of Service had positive feedback for the event, and indicated that they would be interested in doing it again.”

Following the Day of Service, UrbanMission sponsored a group luncheon and tour of the grounds.

For more information about CEIS, contact Ashley Jones at (909) 869-5370.