University of Redlands alumni and their families will prepare meals for the homeless, remove trash along a river bank and organize donated clothing as part of a nationwide service event that includes 13 projects in 11 cities.

The first-ever University of Redlands Bulldogs in Service day is set for April 5. Events will be held in Inland cities including San Bernardino and Redlands, as well as in Austin, Texas, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Newport Beach, Portland, San Diego and Washington, D.C.

The event is designed to give alumni an opportunity to come together and improve life in their communities, according to Cathy Schilling ’76, chair of Bulldogs in Service activities.

“This is an opportunity to bring alumni, family and friends together to make a difference,” Schilling said. “People who participate will get a sense of fulfillment, knowing they have done a good deed for the day.”

The service projects will provide assistance to a variety of groups, including a YMCA, a Ronald McDonald House and several community food banks. 

In Austin, alumni will spend the morning at Capital Area Food Bank of Texas. Volunteers in Denver will plant grasses and plants near Bluff Lake, while in Honolulu, volunteers will spend the afternoon at Bishop Museum, assisting with the museum’s annual Mad About Science Day.

 In Los Angeles, volunteers will assemble food packages for women, children and seniors at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. In Newport Beach, volunteers will remove non-native plants that are harmful to the local habitat. The removal is part of an effort to restore the area’s natural habitat.

Portland volunteers will clean areas of the Ronald McDonald House, including the house, yard and play area. In San Diego, volunteers will plant flowers, paint and hang shelves at the Davis Family YMCA, while in Washington, D.C., alumni will remove debris from the banks of the Potomac River.

Volunteers in San Bernardino will prepare lunch for homeless people at a Salvation Army center.

Three projects are planned in Redlands. One group will spend the morning at Redlands Family Services, sorting winter clothes and stocking food shelves. Another group is set to clean grave markers at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, while a third group will participate in the Save the “R” hike.

Alumni will also be going on their second trip to New Orleans to work with Habitat for Humanity to help rebuild homes damaged by Hurricane Katria. Their trip runs March 31– April 5.

The University of Redlands has garnered national attention for its commitment to community service, receiving recently the highest honor on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The Presidential Award was given to Redlands by the Corporation for National and Community Service at the American Council on Education annual conference in February.

Anyone interested in volunteering during the Bulldogs in Service event should call the university’s alumni relations office at (909) 748-8011. Those who call by March 14 will receive a commemorative T-shirt.