Written and edited by Mia Dimalanta
February 25, 2023
"We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone." - Ronald Reagan
The look of happiness on his face when he pulled out the socks from the bag I handed him made me realize the difference I can make even in one person’s life. That was enough for me to understand that I wanted to contribute more to make the world a better and more understanding environment for everyone.
This experience stayed with me until I entered university, leading me to the organization, By Any Means at UCI. By Any Means, or BAM, is an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of the homeless by any means possible. BAM strives to offer community service events and opportunities to help people affected by homelessness. BAM also offers a safe space for students to learn and grow in their awareness about the homelessness crisis of Orange County and ways that they can help in the fight to alleviate homelessness.
The executive board of BAM was extremely welcoming and taught me so much about homelessness in not only the community, but also in the world. They taught me how change starts with wanting to help and taking action based on that thought. When I was given the opportunity to be more involved, I jumped at the chance and found myself in awe of the work that is put into running such an organization.
Today, I am grateful for the amazing board that we have as they all continue to dedicate their time and efforts into making BAM a comfortable space for everyone. We also have more active members than ever, showing that there are so many like-minded people who want to lend a helping hand. Together, we make a tight-knit community with a common goal in mind.
While we do advocate to our general members during our club meetings about current events and how they can make a change, we realize that it would also be helpful for those who cannot attend our meetings in-person to have access to the same information. Thus, we created this page to spread awareness to a larger audience and hope you find these posts informative, encouraging you to be a part of our cause, because if we don’t, who will?
All the best,
Mia Dimalanta
2022-2023 By Any Means President
Caption: The 2022-2023 Executive Board From left to right: Andrew Kim (Outreach Coordinator), Mia Dimalanta (President), Justina Bui (Vice President), Jessica Bui (Secretary/Graphic Designer), Ally Tokioka (Advocacy Chair), Kent Dinh (Service Coordinator) Not pictured: Stephanie Wang (Treasurer), Aaiza Amer (Treasurer Intern)