An annual rite of passage, UCLA Volunteer Day starts off the new school year by inviting new and returning Bruins, along with faculty, staff and alumni, to forge connections with local partners and L.A.’s diverse communities while tackling real-world projects in their own backyard. “Today is the perfect opportunity to connect with the Los Angeles community, with fellow Bruins and even with total strangers,” Chancellor Frenk said at the morning kickoff on campus. UCLA Student Affairs UCLA Student Affairs UCLA Student Affairs UCLA Student Affairs UCLA Student Affairs UCLA Student Affairs UCLA Student Affairs UCLA Student Affairs David Esquivel / UCLA David Esquivel / UCLA David Esquivel / UCLA David Esquivel / UCLA David Esquivel / UCLA David Esquivel / UCLA David Esquivel / UCLA David Esquivel / UCLA David Esquivel / UCLA Previous NextAt Los Angeles National Cemetery, next to the Westwood campus, UCLA volunteers — including student veterans with the UCLA Veteran Resource Center — scrubbed and rinsed the grave markers of military veterans and were encouraged to reflect on the meaning of service and sacrifice. Since the launch of the UCLA Volunteer Center in 2009, the large-scale event has mobilized nearly 60,000 volunteers, who have contributed some 367,000 hours of service to Southern California and beyond, at an estimated combined value of $9.5 million. But the true value of Volunteer Day runs much deeper, embodying — through members of the Bruin community — UCLA’s public mission to educate, connect and uplift.