In an effort to bridge the gap between Cal Poly and the San Luis Obispo community, students and community members are joining forces to put on Serve SLO.
Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), the Cal Poly Foundation, greek life, Future Farmers of America (FFA), San Luis Obispo High, Residents for Quality Neighborhoods (RQN), Club Sports Council and Alpha Phi Omega are collaborating to give back to the community. Serve SLO will involve a clean up and barbeque this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. behind the Recreation Center.
The idea of Serve SLO came from the recommendations included in the City of San Luis Obispo’s Neighborhood Civility Wellness Report. This report outlines the collaborative efforts between Cal Poly, Cuesta College and San Luis Obispo to promote positive relations within the community. It specifically identifed ASI’s Student Community Liaison Committee as a point of collaboration between Cal Poly and the city. As chair of SCLC, ASI President and agricultural business senior Owen Schwaegerle helped organize this event to foster a sense of community.
“It is really a collaborative effort to serve (San Luis Obispo) and to do something good for the community,” Schwaegerle said. “It will show that we care about permanent residents and students building relationships and moving forward with town and gown relations.”
The event expanded through communication studies junior and Foundation Board Student Director Camille Lethcoe to include the importance of philanthropy and community outreach.
Not only will this provide the Cal Poly community with the chance to interact with permanent San Luis Obispo residents, but it will also benefit San Luis Obispo with a neighborhood clean up, Schwaegerle said. Participants will split off into teams and be sent into the neighborhood with a bingo card. Each card will feature different trash items. When they return, there will be a discussion on the clean up along with a free hot dog.
As chair of the SCLC, Schwaegerle reached out to community members, specifically RQN representatives.
“Time, talent and treasure” is what the Foundation is all about, Lethcoe said.
The Cal Poly Foundation wants students to understand the importance of giving back to the community.
“Most people give time and money to Cal Poly,” Lethcoe said. “For talent, it is important to cultivate that philanthropic value into our students so that way when they graduate they are more likely to give back to Cal Poly in some fashion.”
Previously, ASI has sponsored National Good Neighbor Day, but Serve SLO will be the first student-led initiative that ASI is hosting.
“We see as it as an important opportunity to serve the community and build relationships that have been kind of tense in the past,” Schwaegerle said.
Lethcoe said this event provides the opportunity for current students to take advantage of bettering their Cal Poly experience now and in the future.
“We want students to gain a new perspective about what it means to give back to this school,” Lethcoe said. “Also, to show community members that students so more than just reap the benefits of alumni giving, but they also go out and serve the community.”