“Our students and staff conduct thousands of hours of community volunteer service each year throughout San Diego County,” advised Frank Buttino, Business Community Liaison at the San Diego Job Corps Center.  “It affords our students an opportunity to use skills they are learning here.  It saves recipients money and manpower, while teaching students to become responsible citizens as they “give back” to the community. Students also initiate fundraisers throughout the year which often raise hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to help others.”

The San Diego Job Corps Center joined millions of people around the world for the 20^th Anniversary of Make a Difference Day; dedicated to helping others and creating change.  Students and staff began their month long activities by donating 67 pints of blood to the American Red Cross.  “Since each pint can save up to three lives, the wonderful students and staff saved the lives of 201 strangers within our San Diego Community.  From newborns to patients battling cancer, to car accident victims and more, the awesome folks as Job Corps did it without blinking an eye,” advised Red Cross Donor Recruiter, Carina Kagan.

On October 18^th, 41 students and staff worked with the Wildcoast of Imperial Beach at the Tijuana River and removed 1,000 tires from the main channel.  The month long series of cleanups in the U.S.-Mexico border region yielded more than 2,300 tires and 56 tons of garbage that could have ended up at sea by way of the Tijuana River.

The following morning, students and staff participated in the 21st Annual San Diego Union-Tribune Kids’ NewsDay, a benefit for Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego.  They assisted the Imperial Beach/South Bay Kiwanis Club in selling a special edition of the newspaper, which featured the advances being made and lives being changed at the hospital.  $125,000 was raised by 2,000 volunteers to assist the hospital to meet the needs of 136,000 children each year.

Throughout the month, students and staff raised money and collected food for Mama’s Kitchen, a non-profit charitable organization which delivers food and support to San Diegans affected by AIDS.  San Diego’s Student Government Association (SGA) coordinated the event and sold pie, 45 of which were baked by the Culinary Arts Career Technical Training students.  On November 2, Mama’s Kitchen Development Specialist accepted a food contribution and a $400.00 check from SGA Treasurer, Antonio Martinez.