One of the joys of working with public policy students is that every single person came to Pepperdine because he or she wants to make a significant contribution somewhere in the world. Sometimes, it’s a mission to Mexico; others, it’s simply getting the vote out in Ventura, but whatever moves them, our master’s degree candidates get themslves off campus and dig right into the trenches of public service.
That is as it should be. After all, Pepperdine was founded on the principle of “giving back”. The university’s motto is “strengthening lives for purpose, service and leadership". In 1937, our founder, George Pepperdine expressed his view succinctly at the first graduation when he directed the new graduates to: “Go forth and be useful!”
So it is that every year, shortly after school resumes in the fall, the entire university participates in STEP FORWARD DAY, a single day of volunteer service to the community. Imagine it - 8,000 people going forth to be useful!
This year, the event falls on Saturday, September 11th. As we have every year since 2008, Pepperdine will commemorate the date by setting up hundreds of flags in a memorial grid on Pepperdine’s sweeping front lawn. Each of the more than 3,000 flags honors someone who died on 9/11 – and students begin two weeks in advance, laying out the grid, erecting the poles and raising the flags. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by. Come at sunset. Don't just drive by - stop, get out of your car and walk among the flags. Just stroll through as they tower over you and flutter in the breeze, a silent reminder of the day that you’ll remember for a very, very long time.
Although School of Public Policy students are welcome to participate in the flag raising, the project is usually over-subscribed by the time school starts. Don’t despair – there’s loads to do to be useful in LA.
For me, I spend a few hours almost every weekend working with Much-Love Animal Rescue (www.muchlove.org), a ten-year old non-profit that has taken more than 5,000 dogs from the highest kill shelters and found them “forever homes”. We have about a dozen, huggable, mostly mutts every week – and it makes my heart soar to make a match. After all, who wouldn’t love a goofball like this over-grown puppy we call “Ronaldo”? Mostly Plott Hound, a breed known for its courage, loyalty, eagerness to please and downright indomitable nature, he’s thrilled every moment to be alive.
Or take little “Luke Duke”. He’s a Jack Russell-Poodle mix with wiry-soft curls and one blue eye; the other brown, as though he’s winking at some great joke. Luke’s happy, high-spirited and a total one-family/ one-dog lover. Interested in fetch? Frisbee? Flyball? Luke’s your guy.
But enough about me and my personal, giving-back passion. What about our students? Some have done policy work at a related organization, the Found Animals Foundation (www.foundanimals.org). They’re a grant-making body dedicated to the same cause – minimizing the number of shelter “kills”. I was interested to find out whether all our hours were making an impact so I spoke with Dr. Jeremy Prupas, the City of Los Angeles Chief Veterinarian. He told me they’d seen a sharp decrease in euthanized pets over the past 12-18 months, almost entirely because healthy pets are now being adopted – half by individuals who come into the shelters and the rest by rescue groups like ours.
One of the most interesting success stories might be called the “Flight of the Chihuahuas”. These tiny dogs were clogging the shelter system a year ago – 30-40% of the dogs were not Pit mixes, as you might think, but Chihuahuas. Thanks to Katherine Heigl who personally paid to fly 68 dogs to New Hampshire where there are waiting lists for tiny dogs, the number left behind is manageable. If you’re interested, here’s a sample story: http://www.famouschihuahua.com/chihuahua-news/chihuahua-rescue-operation-project-flying-chihuahua/. You might want to contact Virgin Air; they’ve been offering half-price fares to the east coast for volunteers who will travel with a shelter pet.
Helping the homeless is not all about pets; most students work with people. Virtually every year, the School of Public Policy has a course covering homeless policy and Pepperdine students are frequent volunteers at the Union Rescue Mission (www.urm.org) and at PATH – People Assisting the Homeless (www.epath.org). There, they do everything from legal casework to doing everything cooking and serving meals to helping plan new PATH facilities for abused women and children or homeless vets. The president of Women in Public Policy, Miriam Keim, is looking at spearheading a September 11th project for all SPP students at PATH – look for news to follow.
Something else to thing about is a non-profit that one of our recent alums, Alison Tolladay, helped found last year: Just Like You (www.playjustlikeyou.org). They teach schoolchildren to understand children from other lands by playing games and sports from other cultures. Alison organized the 2009 SPP Step Forward Day project, an elementary school outing. She tells me she’s planning a similar project this year – watch for more news.
Finally, if you’re still looking for something to do, check out the Pepperdine Volunteer Center, where hundreds of opportunities are posted: http://www.pepperdine.edu/volunteercenter/. You can work alone or in teams, but either way – go forth and be useful!
