California State University, Bakersfield honored a beloved alumna while supporting food-insecure seniors in Kern County at the same time this past weekend.
The university's Kegley Institute of Ethics held its second annual Wendy Wayne Day of Service on Saturday at the Community Action Partnership of Kern Food Bank in east Bakersfield. Thirty volunteers assembled more than 500 food boxes that will be distributed by CAPK to local seniors. The boxes included items such as cereal, juice and canned goods.
Volunteers consisted of faculty, staff and students, as well as this year's Wendy Wayne Ethics Awards winners — NaTesha Johnson, Ellen Eggert, Uchechi Okey-Dike and Minaya Valentine.
"The second annual Wendy Wayne Day of Service in collaboration with CAPK was a great success. Our volunteers came together to work side by side to support food-insecure seniors in our community and to honor Wendy's lasting legacy of community service," said KIE Director Dr. Michael Burroughs.
Wayne was a dedicated volunteer and ethical leader in the Bakersfield community. She served as a Peace Corps volunteer, a nurse at Kern Medical Center and as an advocate for child education with the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.
"Wendy Wayne was a person that knew how to listen, how to be present in the moment and how to make you feel like what you had to say was important," said CAPK Chief Program Officer Louis Gill. "She loved nothing more than finding opportunities to help people and she did so constantly. Wendy had a heart that wrapped around people and you couldn’t forget her smile once you had felt it."
Click here for more information about the Kegley Institute of Ethics or the Wendy Wayne Ethics Awards.