Reported by Adora Xiao & Jessica Lu :
On November 9th, 2024, Murrieta AYLUS helped out at the Temecula Valley Hospital wellness fair.
With considerably rising rates of various psychological conditions, mental health awareness has become increasingly important given the mental health crisis the nation faces. As such, the Temecula Valley Hospital Wellness Fair aims to tackle awareness and facilities for treatment to bring mental health consciousness to the area.
Starting early in an incredibly chilly morning, the volunteers got to work draping the round tables for guests in tablecloths, removing the cloth from hangers and protective plastic and centering it. After a short breakfast, they got their assignments for the various tasks for the day. The tasks started with greeting the cars that came by with vendors looking to drop their materials off. Cross matching the vendor to the correct booth, the volunteers also helped the vendors unload their materials so that they could get situated before the fair began.
After helping out for the first hour by guiding and assisting vendors to their booths, members were split up, with one going to help with the NAMI booth and the rest continuing to assist vendors. During the fair, the volunteers ran small errands for the vendors and ensured all their needs were taken care of, grabbing waters and small utilities they’d need. Closer to noon, the volunteers distributed lunch with various sandwiches, snacks, and drinks, before enjoying their own lunch. At the NAMI booth, members helped set up their booth and then went around with a NAMI supervisor, handing out and selling raffle tickets to win prizes. They walked around for an hour before heading back to the booth and giving proceeds to the head NAMI manager. *All proceeds sold from raffle tickets are used to support NAMI* Members were asked to keep an eye on the booth by themselves while the others went out to look around. As visitors came up to the booths, members explained what NAMI was and offered them informational pamphlets along with candy, stress balls, and bracelets. Members took a final walk around the booths, before bidding goodbye and signing out.
Volunteers :
Aiying Lu / Wei Liu / Bill Chen : 8 hrs ea
Adora Xiao / Caien(Daisy) Chen : 6:30 am – 2 pm / 7.5 hrs ea
Jessica Lu : 7 am – 2 pm / 7 hrs
