Berkeley, California (Monday, October 22, 2007) – On Saturday, October 27, more than 1,500 students and community members are taking to the Berkeley streets with rakes, plants, paintbrushes and garbage bags, and they’ll leave behind a better place.

Berkeley Project Day is organized and funded by University of California Berkeley students who want to increase opportunities for students to volunteer.

“Berkeley Project Day has three central goals,” said Mark Matsumoto, a project organizer. “We want to improve the quality of life for our Berkeley neighbors; we want to improve the relationship between the university and the residents; and we want to increase the number of Cal students who consistently participate in volunteer work.”

Nearly all the volunteer worksites are in Berkeley, and the projects include painting murals in local parks, playground construction, streetscape clean-ups and storm drain maintenance, stream and bay clean-ups, native plantings, graffiti abatement, door-to-door distribution of disaster materials, removal of vegetation, refurbishing senior centers, and assisting seniors and disabled with critical forms. About 1,300 of the Berkeley Project Day volunteers are Cal students, with an additional 200 community members.

WHO: Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and others will greet the volunteers

WHEN: Saturday, October 27, 2007

8 a.m. for opening ceremonies; projects going on all day

WHERE: Bancroft and Telegraph, Upper Sproul at UC Berkeley

The first Berkeley Project Day was in fall of 2006, and more than 1,000 students came out to do projects in the rain. Community members who can contribute time or materials should contact the student organizers at berkeleyproject@gmail.com.

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