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Waves of Appreciation
The holiday giving spirit of the Pepperdine network extends beyond student and faculty contributions, and includes those members who give back to the university community past their graduation. This year, Waves of Service once again partnered with the San Diego alumni chapter to raise money for, package, and distribute Christmas bags of nutritious snack packs for deployed USO troops to sustain them on their long flights.
Organized by chapter director Reed Reichert, over 250 alumni volunteers packaged and distributed 1,500 Christmas bags for the Waves of Appreciation project after raising a projected $22,000. "We wanted to develop a project that would gain the commitment and participation of a significant number of San Diego alumni and exemplify the concept of Waves of Service," explains Reichert. "I know that the team would agree that we have met those objectives."
The USO partnership came together last year, after Reed and other San Diego alumni chapter members learned of the young military employees not being given adequate food during the holidays. "This project was successful in large part because it touched the hearts of so many people who remembered what it was like to be alone and hungry in airports and in airplanes as they travelled off to war," continues Reichert. "I can not tell you how many former soldiers who approached us with tears in their eyes to say thank you for what we were doing." Watch a San Diego Fox News special about the project online here.
Other holiday service projects spearheaded by alumni and Waves of Service include Freely Give for the Holidays events—alumni social receptions that encourage donations of donations of canned foods, toys, and other necessities in lieu of a monetary entrance fee. The Crest Associates partnered with Waves of Service and Heart of Compassion, a food distribution nonprofit with an alumni connection—director John Velasco ('80) is a Pepperdine graduate.
Read more about various Pepperdine-led holiday service projects.
