César Chávez Day is a U.S. federal commemorative holiday and official state holiday in California. The holiday celebrates the birth and legacy of the civil rights and labor movement activist César Chávez on March 31 every year, and also intends to promote service to the community in honor of his life and work.

As an AmeriCorps-funded national service program, supported in California by California Volunteers, our LA-based staff and coaches proudly took on special service projects throughout the month of March in honor of César Chávez Day. Below are some highlights from the service projects.

To learn more about César Chávez, click here.

Coach Britney Zelalla, Heart Of LA

Coach Britney volunteered at Heart of LA on March 9th to help prepare for their HOLA 5K. She spent the day writing supportive notes and signs for the volunteer runners to encourage them during their run. They also created a large poster, and other mini posters and pompoms to cheer for them at Dodger Stadium for the LA Marathon on March 17th.

COACH Daniel Rodriguez. Dorris Dann Kids Campus

Coach Daniel volunteered at The St. Francis Center on March 15th helping with their free breakfast program by helping prepare and distribute breakfast to their unhoused community. He helped package over 70 meals.

Coach Kevin Sheft. Bridge To Skate

Coach Kevin volunteered at Glassel Park on March 16th. He did a lot of mulching and helped replant and repair their community garden.

COACH Jonathan Henderson, Bridge To SkatE

Coach Jonathan volunteered with The McCourt Foundation on March 17th and had the opportunity to experience how volunteers operate to become a unit to help the LA Marathon participants stay hydrated. He assembled tables on both sides of the streets and prepped tables to hold a large number of small cups of water to pass out to each participant running by the 3rd-mile checkpoint. Jonathan said: "It felt wholesome and cool to see everyone appreciative and smiling throughout the whole event"