In today’s individualistic and polarized socio-political landscape, public service may not be at the top of everyone’s minds. But two research centers at UC Berkeley are hoping to turn that around, thanks to a $750,000 grant from California Volunteers, a state office tasked with recruiting young Californians to engage in public service.
The grant was awarded this week through the Connecting Californians through Service program as part of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s #CaliforniansForAll initiative, which was launched in 2020 to helpthe most vulnerable people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and to connect organizations in need of volunteers.
“As a veteran, I know the power of service to bring people together. With this new partnership, we will develop trainings and tools to study and improve these connections,” said Josh Fryday, California’s chief service officer.