SACRAMENTO — On National Day of Service and Remembrance, California Volunteers, Office of the Governor thanked the 47,951 individuals who have joined #CaliforniansForAll throughout the pandemic, and welcomed 45 new full-time AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) members recently deployed to support the state’s long-term sustainable food bank strategy. 

During the Facebook Live event, Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday recognized the Californians who have devoted their time and skills to help their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. From volunteering at food banks, checking on neighbors, and providing online tutoring and mentoring, Californians are uniting to support each other like never before. 

“On the day we honor the lives of those lost on 9/11, we commemorate the tragedy through service. After this monumental moment in our country’s history, we witnessed thousands of Americans step up to serve others. Now with the current disasters our state is facing, we are seeing Californians do the same,” said California Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday. “Today, we are grateful to those who have answered Governor Newsom’s call to serve and ask all Californians to join us in making our state stronger, safer, and united in service.”

Over the summer, 1,893 young Californians joined #CaliforniansForAll Summer of Service to support organizations providing essential services to communities throughout California, together, they achieved 12,472 hours of volunteer work. In partnership with the Born This Way Foundation, California Association of School Councils and others, the #CaliforniansForAll Summer of Service recruited young Californians from all backgrounds to help solve local and state issues through direct service while gaining valuable knowledge about their communities.

The livestream event also included Chief Service Officer Fryday officially welcoming the new AmeriCorps VISTA service cohort, marking their commitment to support essential needs at food banks. Since August, California Volunteers has deployed 45 full-time AmeriCorps VISTA members to more than 21 critical food banks and five volunteer centers across the state to meet the continued need caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We need more Californians to join this call to service to meet the needs of our state from wildfires to tutoring to delivering meals: join us at CaliforniansForAll.ca.gov.