The 15th Annual Yale Day of Service will take place on May 13, 2023. The program encourages alumni groups to host service programs on any day that works for them and their community and has counted up to 3,500 volunteers in a single Day of Service cycle, and nearly 4,000 projects since 2008.
The anniversary season kicked off in December 2022 with the first-ever Yale Day of Service T-Shirt design contest. Alumni co-chairs Karen Green ’78 and Rob Greenly ’83 MBA and the Day of Service regional directors were excited to engage the Yale service community in the design process after the success of the previous year’s Doonesbury artwork donated by honorary co-chair Garry Trudeau ’70, ’73 MFA.
Once the window for contest submissions had closed, the Regional Directors selected their favorite designs by anonymous vote. Following the vote, there was a clear favorite. After a short revision process, the Day of Service leaders are excited to share the 15th annual Day of Service T-shirt design, submitted by Shuheng Li ’16 MBA.
Shuheng, a Portland, Oregon resident, remarked, “It’s a great honor to have my design selected [and] printed for a good cause for Yale.” The final design features a number of symbolic references to the many types of service projects that Day of Service includes. Front and center is Yale mascot, Handsome Dan in a Yale T-Shirt, holding a shovel and carrying a bag of books, with musical notes in the background. At Dan’s feet are plants, a basket of vegetables, and a bucket with a paintbrush.
“Day of Service creates meaningful memories for volunteers,” said Green. “The special T-Shirt serves as a fun, physical reminder of those memories that can last a lifetime.” Greenly adds, “Wearing Yale gear is a great way to find and connect with other Yalies. This T-Shirt is a conversation starter and a way to build the service network worldwide.”
While Li’s design captured the primary T-Shirt design award, a submission by Garrett Unno ’88 caught the eye of YAA staff and Day of Service coordinator, Mara Balk. Similar to the newly adopted wordmark, Unno’s rendering pairs the YAA “Y” with a seal that identifies the 15 years that Day of Service has existed. With Unno’s permission, YAA is excited to reveal a second design exclusive to the 15th annual season.
The seal will be used wherever the Day of Service wordmark is displayed for 2023, including on the back of the T-Shirt, which also features the theme, “Transforming the world together.”
T-shirts are available for purchase through the Campus Customs website. Alumni interested in organizing or participating in a service project can learn more on the Day of Service website.
