YES is a student volunteer club on campus that works towards social change in the local community. Each semester they accept new volunteers into the programs and this year is no different. Those considering signing up are urged to submit their applications, as spots are filling up quickly.
Monica Mercado, junior Sociology major, is currently a YES Program Consultant and has been a director for various YES programs. She says she joined because she enjoyed the experience she gained volunteering back home, where she had been a part of organizing community events.
Mercado wanted to bring the experience she got from assisting Latino neighborhoods to HSU. “It’s really hard being able to connect up here, in Humboldt, being Latino,” she said.
That’s when Mercado joined Puentes, a program that brings the Humboldt Latino and college community together. The program mentors and tutors community members who need English language education.
When Mercado was director for Puentes, one of her highlights was organizing an event for the Latino community that over 500 people attended. “We were volunteering, but at the same time having fun and dancing,” she said.
YES has been active in the community since 1968. Today the organization currently operates 15 student-led programs. Last year volunteers documented over 28,000 service hours, averaging 1040 hours a week, and reached an impressive 1,343 children and adults through the club’s programs.
“YES is a great way to experience growing as a person and feeling universally connected with each other,” senior Psychology major Eric Roberts said. He has been with YES for a year and is the student director of the Hand-in-Hand program, which provides weekly outings for foster children.
His favorite experience at YES has been meeting the different directors and volunteers that come through the YES House. “Everyone who comes here wants to benefit others,” Roberts said. “It draws in a lot of really cool people.”
YES House is still accepting volunteer applications until Friday Sept 23rd for the following programs: Art Recreation Theatre, Golden Years, Homelessness Network, New Games and North Coast Music Mentors.
To learn more about getting involved, email yes@humboldt.edu, call 826-4965, stop by the YES House, located to the left of the Student Health Center in House 91, or visit YES online at humboldt.edu/yes.