Sociology Club teams up with APOYO for community Toy Drive

Members of the Central Washington University and Ellensburg communities have a new opportunity to deliver holiday cheer to local children this year thanks to a partnership between the Sociology Club and APOYO.

The CWU student club and on-campus food pantry joined forces for the first time this fall to coordinate a holiday Toy Drive, which will be highlighted by a drop-off event from 12-2 p.m. December 5 during APOYO’s annual Environmental Fair.

“Our big project every year is the Environmental Fair, and we wanted to do something special to help people in our community,” said APOYO intern Moises Rodriguez, who coordinated the Toy Drive with Sociology Club President Gabriela Ramirez. “We won’t be doing a food distribution this year, but we still wanted to do something that was meaningful for local families.”

A number of gift collection boxes have been placed across campus and will be collected during the fair. The CWU community can donate through the end of November at each of these locations: Brooks Library, the Sociology department (NAC second floor), Michaelson, Black Hall, the Rec Center, Samuelson, Bouillon, The Bistro, Shaw-Smyser, and the Douglas Honors College office (Hebeler, second floor). Another box can be found at at the Fitterer Building, 114 W. Fourth Ave. in downtown Ellensburg.

The idea for the Toy Drive started over the summer when Ramirez reached out to APOYO and proposed a shared community service venture.

The senior social services major in the Sociology department has wanted to launch a community-focused initiative since last year, and after brainstorming with some of her fellow club members, she decided to pitch the idea to others in the CWU community.

“I worked with three other Sociology Club students on a plan for a project in the fall, but everyone else graduated, so I just decided to run with it,” said Ramirez, also a McNair Scholar.

Rebuilding the Sociology Club’s ranks has been a two-year endeavor that started with a driven group of students who graduated in the spring. But Ramirez’s leadership has brought the club back to prominence after being dormant for the past few years. Now, she has all the help she needs.

“The club has been sleepy for a long time, but once Gabriela and other students started getting more involved, it has become very active,” said Assistant Professor Claudia Wright, who advises the Sociology Club. “She and her fellow members have been doing a lot of great things on campus and in the community, and it has been great to see them take the lead and continue to bring this club back to life.”

Ramirez will graduate in the spring, and she’s already trying to encourage other members to take the reins so they can keep the club going strong. The way she sees it, they’ve come too far to let it fade into the background again.

“I feel like we’ve built a solid foundation, and we all want to see it continue,” she said.

That excitement was evident in late October when 23 CWU students joined together in the North Academic Commons to decorate the Toy Drive boxes. The group assembled 12 drop-off receptacles and created promotional posters to display across campus leading up to the Environmental Fair.

“It was so cool to see that feeling of community,” Ramirez said, adding that you don’t have to be a sociology major to join the club. “I didn’t expect that many people to show up, but it turned out to be amazing. It made me realize that students really do want to help; you just have to give them an opportunity to get involved.”

Rodriguez represented APOYO at the box-decorating event and said he was impressed by the turnout and the feeling of unity among the members.

“The Toy Drive is a great opportunity for CWU to connect with the community, and everyone seemed really into it,” he said. “Doing this kind of work is so rewarding, and to know that we are making a positive impact on the lives of kids in our community makes it feel even better.”

Wright hopes the Toy Drive is just the beginning for the Sociology Club’s involvement and visibility around the Central Washington community, crediting Ramirez for the work she has done to help the club regain its footing.

“Our goal is to keep expanding this work and building off of what we’ve already accomplished,” she said. “Gaby has played an important role, but this year has shown us that there are a lot of people on campus who want to build community partnerships.”