Reaching Out to the YWCA Columbus Family Center

Giving back to the community and bridging the link between learning and practice – undergraduate students in the Colleges of Social Work and Nursing hosted a competitive donation drive within their colleges to provide needed items to the YWCA Columbus Family Center. Together they collected over 1200 items, including toiletries, blankets, and baby care items...and “Yes” the College of Social Work won the competition by donating a grand total of 1084 items. Celebrating the success of the drive Buckeye style, BRUTUS Buckeye, the Buck-I Guy, and former OSU athletes, Roger Harper and Dee Miller joined Social Work and Nursing undergraduate students in hosting a dinner and Bingo game with prizes for the YWCA families on October 20th.

In the past, the YWCA has hosted Social Work students through the Field Practicum experience while Nursing student volunteers regularly provide the center’s residents with vision and hearing screenings, blood sugar testing and other shots and testing throughout the year.

Dr. Jacquelyn Monroe, Undergraduate Studies Program Director and Co-Organizer of the event states that, “The Donation Drive was amazing! Students, staff and faculty all gave. Each and every day I would arrive to work with more and more donations waiting outside my door. The generosity that flowed from the hearts of all those who gave was very moving. The YWCA was very thankful for the donations. As for the actual event at the YWCA, the student volunteers were wonderful! They arrived early and ready to do whatever needed to be done.

They served snacks, served dinner, cleaned up, played with the children, washed dishes, organized storage closets and did whatever else that needed to be done. All of the staff involved, namely Marie Grady from Nursing who was a co-organizer, played an instrumental role in the event’s success. Meghan Good, Donzella Edgerton, Erin Henry and Sanford Meisel also made the event a reality. Marie and I could not have done it without their creativity, photography skills, support and enthusiasm. I sincerely thank each and every person who played a role in showing how much WE care.”

Photographs are courtesy of Sanford Meisel, College of Nursing.