Date: 04/18/2007

Campus-wide event will engage students, faculty, staff and the community in more than two dozen projects near the university

Contact: Pat Lopes Harris at 408-924-1748 or Justine Pelina at 415-722-7736.

SAN JOSE;, Calif. -- San José State University, in partnership with the city of San José and CommUniverCity San José, will hold its first ever campus-wide day of service on Friday, April 20. More than 900 students, faculty, staff and community members will spend the day working together to beautify schools and parks, clean creeks, paint houses and restore murals. The organizers expect the event, which will debut as the university celebrates its 150th anniversary, to become an annual tradition.

"There is a real need for the university and the surrounding community to work together for the common good," said President Don W. Kassing. "I am proud to see our students and employees collaborating with neighborhood and city leaders, whether we are co-managing the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library or helping families in need with home repairs."

"SJSU Day of Service: Getting Things Done Together" will begin with an opening ceremony at 8 a.m. in the Student Union. President Kassing, San José Councilman Sam Liccardo and CommUniverCity representative Imelda Rodriguez will address and welcome volunteers. At 8:45 a.m., volunteers will be organized into teams and shuttled to service sites (please see attached list). All volunteers will return to the Student Union for a closing celebration by 3:30 p.m., when San José Mayor Chuck Reed will thank the group.

"The day of service is an outstanding event that exemplifies the power of community involvement. I look forward to the great accomplishments that will happen on Friday and to this fine tradition continuing," Reed said.

Hundreds of students have registered to participate, including members of many SJSU fraternities and sororities as well as faculty, staff and students from the departments of health science, marketing, mathematics, political science, and recreation and leisure studies, the SJSU Career Center, University Housing Services, University Advancement, the University Police Department and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library.

"I strongly believe that one value the university needs to demonstrate to all students is a sense of responsibility in giving back to society," said Scot Guenter, an event organizer, humanities professor and coordinator of SJSU's American Studies Program.

CommUniverCity, a Day of Service sponsor, is a collaboration between the community, SJSU, the city of San José and partnering non-profits to address important issues in the Five Wounds/Brookwood Terrace neighborhood. Event partners include AmeriCorps*VISTA, A.S. Cesar E. Chavez Community Action Center, City Year Silicon Valley, Friends of Coyote Creek, The Health Trust, Neighborhood Housing Services Silicon Valley (NHSSV), Olinder Neighborhood Association, Rebuilding Together Silicon Valley and Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley.

More on the Day of Service.

San José State is Silicon Valley's largest institution of higher learning with 30,000 students and 4,000 employees. SJSU is part of the California State University system, the nation's largest senior system of higher education. SJSU's 154-acre downtown campus anchors the nation's 10th largest city.