Alumni Day of SCervice sees Trojans give back to their communities
Ben and Debbie Wong’s first Alumni Day of SCervice was in 2013, at the USC campus center, when they packed lunches for homeless people in Los Angeles. For several hours they made sandwiches and chatted with fellow USC alumni, some of whom they hadn’t seen since the ’70s.
“We’ve always been service oriented, doing a lot of philanthropic things in and around the community and for USC, so we decided that this would be fun to do. And it’s fun to meet other alumni and people whom you wouldn’t normally meet under other circumstances but who are united to give to this cause,” says Debbie, who graduated in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in biology from what is now the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
Since that first outing in 2013, Ben, who graduated from USC Dornsife in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in biology and in ’78 with a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology, and Debbie have volunteered at almost every Alumni Day of SCervice, including this year’s event on Aug. 7.
The event, the ninth the university has held (last year’s event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), saw about 1,000 alumni worldwide volunteering at local, in-person projects or online events. Volunteers from around the world — the United States, Indonesia, Taiwan, China and the Philippines —participated in activities like student mentoring, beach and park cleanups, food distribution to the homeless and others in need, and storytelling sessions for children.
It also featured a new event in which volunteers create habitats for mason bees — non-stinging pollinators — that will be donated to libraries and community gardens.
From left: USC Dornsife alumni Debbie Wong, Ben Wong and Richard Flores “Fight On!” during Alumni Day of SCervice.
Faithe Clary, manager of regional and engagement programs for the USC Alumni Association, says that food distribution and beach cleanups are some of the more popular programs, especially because they allow a large number of alumni to gather and reconnect.
Richard Flores, who graduated from USC Dornsife in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in international relations, as well as a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the USC Marshall School of Business, participated in his sixth Alumni Day of SCervice this year. He adds that in addition to reconnecting with fellow USC alumni, he enjoys being able to give back to different communities in L.A., where he grew up.
“To me, USC is not separate from and different from the city; it’s in the heart of this city and is part of this city. I’ve always admired that USC gives back,” he says. “This is our way to extend that relationship the university has with the city.”
Ben Wong agrees, noting that USC’s good relationship with its surrounding community has been illustrated in the past. He mentioned that the university escaped violence during the Watts riots, for example.
“The devastation in and around the university didn’t get visited on the USC campus because the university had been a good neighbor. I think the Alumni Day of SCervice is part of the university’s legacy of giving back to the community and being good stewards of the community in which we exist,” he says.
Danielle Harvey, assistant vice president of alumni relations and an alumna of the USC Rossier School of Educationand the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, agrees that Alumni Day of SCervice is meant to help Trojans — not just in L.A. but all over the world — carry out the mission that is already rooted in the university itself.
“To be a part of a community and to make a difference in the world are values ingrained in us during our student years,” she says. “Alumni Day of SCervice cultivates and waters those seeds that were already planted within us and gives everyone a nice annual reminder that we’re all a part of something bigger and greater than ourselves.”