UCLA: No Decision Yet on Westwood Service Day

The director of the UCLA Volunteer Center says no decision has been made yet whether the university will continue to participate in the Westwood Organized Mega Project, though they will not be involved.

Rachel Corell, director of the UCLA Volunteer Center, said no debrief meeting has taken place yet after this year's . Commonly known as WOMP, the event is a day of community beautification in Westwood Village. in the village. This year, volunteers also cleaned up the North Village.

"We want to continue our service relationship with Westwood," Corell told Westwood-Century City Patch. "We are not pulling out of Westwood."

But . Earlier this month, the Westwood Community Council, Westwood Neighborhood Council and the Westwood Homeowners Association passed resolutions urging the university to stay involved in the project.

Vincent Wong, assistant director of UCLA Government and Community Relations which houses the Volunteer Center, the office may lack the staff resources to coordinate student participation in the event. The Volunteer Center coordinates student recruitment and job assignments for WOMP. This year, more than 700 students participated in the event.

"We are not exiting Westwood in any way shape or form, we are not backing out of our commitment to Westwood," . "It just may or may not be in this same iteration that is based on our ability to dedicate staff and money."

Corell said Wong's statements refer to the Volunteer Center's focus on projects that give UCLA students the opportunity to connect with people in their volunteer work.

"I think it's too premature to talk about," Corell said. "I think what Vincent was alluding to was that we're trying to do more interactive projects, more people-to-people projects."

The news that UCLA may pull out of WOMP first came about during the event this year, said Steve Sann, chair of the Westwood Community Council. He said a flyer listing the Volunteer Center's annual projects did not include WOMP.

"These flyers were printed months ago before we started planning WOMP [this year]," Corell said. "We have so many programs and a limited amount of space, and [a Volunteer Center employee] thought the ones that should go on the flyer were the ones that are continuous throughout the year, so that when a student picks up a flyer, they can join something the next day."

Sann said WOMP will continue whether or not UCLA is involved and the Volunteer Center only needs to commit staff time to organize student participation in the event. The supplies needed for the event are either donated or raised by the community.

"We knew they had no money to put in it," Sann told the Westwood Neighborhood Council earlier this month. "We raise 100 percent of the money, lunches, breakfasts, T-shirts, water, trees, paint. UCLA committed to be the gateway so that students, staff and faculty can participate."

"I'm hoping to get a better understanding of their fears when I get a chance to talk to the committee," Corell said.

Should UCLA stay involved in WOMP? Should the event go on with or without the support of the UCLA Volunteer Center? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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