On Nov. 15 and 16, Professor Karen Peterson and her First Year Experience class hosted their 5th Annual Toy Drive for the Dumas Wesley Community Center.

Founded in 1903, the Dumas Wesley Community Center is a non-profit organization that offers over a dozen programs and services for the homeless and working poor of the Crichton community. Their signature programs include, but are not limited to, food programs, senior services, transitional housing, and youth programs. This neighborhood non-profit serves a mission to “educate, empower, and enrich,” through their initiative to provide the strength of family life, immediate human needs, the encouragement of responsibility, and the development of leadership of low income families. 

“I have volunteered with Dumas Wesley Community Center for MLK Day of Service, so I knew about their Toy Store,” said Dr. Peterson. “This is for the working poor, so they take donations of new toys and sell them to the working poor, so these parents can buy toys for their kids. All the money raised goes back to the kids in this area.”

The toy drive took place in the Humanities courtyard. As students passed by, they were able to stop by the table and learn about the project, donate new toys, and make cash donations. Over the course of the two-day toy drive, board games, dolls, and figurines were collected, along with many cash donations, to go to the families in the community.

Peterson’s First Year Experience classes have been serving the local community of Crichton for the past five years as part of the class requirements. By organizing and executing the entire service project, students get to learn the importance of serving the less fortunate.

“​​Students get confidence in their ability to plan and carry out a service project. They also get to see the impact that their service has on the kids and their parents by delivering the toys,” said Peterson.

More information about ways to donate to the Dumas Wesley Community Center can be found on their website.