Bulldogs in Service (BIS) was established in 2007 by the Alumni Board of Directors in response to the spirit of volunteerism brought on by Hurricane Katrina. The first Community Service Alumni Committee was led by Cathy Schilling ’76. The goal of this committee was to continue the community service efforts that had been embedded into their learning while a student at Redlands. BIS gives all alumni the chance to connect and reconnect with other Bulldogs while making an impact in their local community.

Past Projects

The first Bulldogs in Service took place on April 2008. The inaugural year took a running start with 400 volunteers involved in 14 projects across the U.S and Salzburg, Austria.  In 2009, 16 projects took place across the country with over 700 alumni, student, and family participants. Each year continued to grow and in 2010, 25 community service projects were underway including four new locations: New Mexico, Las Vegas, New York, and Atlanta.

Last year the tradition of growth continued as 2011 went forward with 26 projects and nearly 500 volunteers. One of the 2011 projects was with Hands of Mercy, a local Redlands nonprofit organization. For this project, the volunteer team raised over $2,000 for materials and built a 12x12 loft home that was delivered to a family in Mexico.

An interactive map was created for 2011 ’s service day that pinpoints and details the projects. The map, built using Esri's ArcGIS Explorer Online, can be viewed by clicking here.

2012

This year we had 28 sites for Bulldogs in Service that took place on April 14, 2012. Volunteer hosts led projects throughout Southern California, San Francisco, Chico, Marin County, Washington D.C., Austin, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Oahu, HI; Portland, OR; Seattle, WA; Providence, RI; New York, NY; and Minneapolis, MN.  Each year Bulldogs across the nation and Salzburg, Austria are making an impact not only in their hometown, but across the globe. We had over 450 volunteers this year. Let's get even more next year! Click here to see all the fun!