Skip to main content

Food Bank Fun

There are several amazing BBSA events throughout the year, but perhaps my favorite was BBSA Alumni Philanthropy Event. One rainy February morning, we ventured downtown to the Los Angeles Food Bank for the first ever all-belles philanthropy event. The LA Food Bank provides for those experiencing food insecurity, which is roughly 1.4 million Los Angeles County residents, many of whom are children, senior citizens, and families. BBSA is a philanthropic organization at heart, so it was great to have the opportunity to reflect upon our mission and have a hands-on experience with a direct impact on our community.

During the day, we sorted over 18,000lbs of apples and oranges to be distributed to elementary schools in underserved neighborhoods so they would have fresh fruit in their lunches. There are several things we often take granted in our everyday lives, so it was impactful and humbling experience to participate in the Food Bank’s efforts to ensure LA County residents have the basic necessity of food. This was also a great time to spend to time catch up with some of my closest friends, get to know more of the new baby belles whom I hadn’t met yet, and meet some of our incredible belles alumni (and gain some post-grad advice, too)!

Before joining BBSA my junior year, I felt somewhat disconnected from the UCLA campus culture. At that point, I was halfway through college, but I realized I wasn’t engaging with all the amazing student-run organizations UCLA prides itself on. Moreover, throughout high school, I had always been involved with consistent volunteering opportunities and realized that this was deficiency in my college experience. By sheer luck, I ran into one of my friends who was flyering for BBSA at the Enormous Activities Fair and she encouraged me to apply. I am so fortunate to have found BBSA and significantly change my second half college for the better.


The Alumni Philanthropy event was a not only a great way to be involved with our LA community, but it also made me reflect on my past two years in this organization. Before I joined, I couldn’t have imagined all the amazing friendships and experiences BBSA would give me, but now I can’t even imagine my college experience without it.

Gina Grainda

Distinguished Belle







Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Imposter Syndrome and Finding Myself

The person I was when I stepped on campus 4 years ago is unrecognizable to me now. I came to college knowing that I wanted to be pre-med but having no friends or family following a similar path, I felt so lost in navigating my path on my own. I started college being terrified of failing. I was so naive and so desperate to succeed I was not taking care of myself. My second year was when I reached my lowest point. I was so depressed and lonely, I considered leaving  UCLA. I did not feel smart enough to be there, I didn’t feel likable enough because I didn’t really have friends. Joining Belles in my junior year was a big part of completely transforming my UCLA experience. Belles was the first time I felt completely embraced by a group of people. It was the first space in which I felt like everyone truly wanted the best for each other. The people and the opportunity to help others were exactly what my heart needed at that time in my life. Service is something that is so incredibly importan
Post a Comment
Read more

Finding My Community

Coming onto campus for the first time as a sophomore was especially daunting. Similar to most people, transitioning to in-person classes and dorm life was challenging. As I attended classes and other club meetings, I felt like I might have missed out on opportunities during the online year to reach out to people and make friends. Stuck with random roommates and no close friends on campus, I felt very isolated. This wasn’t the college experience that I had imagined. But then I started attending Belles meetings and events, and things began to slowly click into place.  Bruin Belles is such a uniquely amazing community where everyone is passionate about so many different things in terms of both academics and personal interests. The Belles community inspired me then and continues to encourage me to push the boundaries of my academic and professional pursuit, to put myself out there, and to carry a positive and optimistic attitude into all my endeavors. From volunteering at the LA Times Fest
Post a Comment
Read more

What I Didn't Know

  What I didn't know The morning after I got the highly anticipated call that I got into Bruin Belles, I found this bell (figure 1) on my dorm door: a door belle…get it? I can still very clearly remember the few weeks surrounding this moment. I wanted it SO BADLY! When I saw the Belles tri-fold at the enormous activities fair, I knew immediately that I needed to be a part of that community. On paper, it sounded like everything I wanted: a group of likeminded passionate women who did community service together and other social events. I worked tirelessly on my application and was so nervous for my interview that I signed up for the very first slot (Monday at 8am… yikes). I got the long-awaited call late on a Friday night. Yashvi, the public relations director at the time, told me that I had gotten in, and while still on the phone I screamed “I GOT IN!” to my roommate. My heart was beating so fast. However, I think if I had known what was to come, my heart would have beat so fast it
Post a Comment
Read more