Sacramento State students gathered Friday morning to celebrate the life of Cesar Chavez by giving back to their local community.

This is the first year Associated Students Inc. collaborated with the College Assistant Migrant Program to organize the Cesar Chavez service day event, which focuses on student interaction and commitment to community service.

Cesar Chavez was a Latino civil rights, farm and labor leader in the 1970s who led the first successful farm workers union in American history. As a result, his efforts established the California Agriculture Labor Relations Act in 1975.

In celebration of Cesar Chavez’s achievements, Sac State students came together Friday to learn about his legacy and get inspired to create a difference in their own communities.

After an opening event filled with guest speakers and performers, students went out to serve the community at local sites, including the Sacramento Food Bank and neighborhood parks.

Jonathan Jimenez, junior liberal studies major, said he learned about the Cesar Chavez service day from a flier. He decided to attend the event because he is interested in learning more about Cesar Chavez, as well as to serve his community with other Sac State students.

“Volunteering builds community awareness,” said Jimenez. “Cesar was a prime example for someone who cares about his community. Also, he was a local hero who is overlooked and it’s a great time to give him a proper recognition.”

This is the fourth year ASI has put on the Cesar Chavez service day and each year the event gets better, said Ashley Skaggs, a Sac State alumna who came to the event to volunteer her time.

“Every year the event seems to grow in people who participate and it gets better each time,” Skaggs said. “I think this event is a good way to remind students it is important to help the community and to educate the college community about what Cesar did for his community.”

Mercedes Tyler, junior film production major, helped coordinate the Cesar Chavez event.

She said this year’s opening event provided a welcoming, fun environment for students. It gave students “a rush” to start the service day and allowed them to interact with each other as they prepared to leave for their volunteer sites.

“The most important part of this event is the interaction between students and the community,” said senior biochemistry major Arnold Dallas, who also coordinated the event. “As a student, I see the disconnection at Sac State and I want students to commit to their community so they can have future opportunities to give back more than once.”

Yvette Villasenor can be reached at [email protected]