Wednesday, December 10, 2014

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — For nearly two decades, Central Washington University has hosted an annual Holiday Gift Project. It’s designed to help hundreds of underserved children in Kittitas County.

Students, faculty and university staff members contribute gifts during the campus-wide effort which is, again, expected to collect more than 300 practical and fun gifts for area children through the deadline on December 12.

Included are gifts donated this week by members of the Wildcat men’s basketball team. Each team member and coach purchased gifts for the cause.

“We’ve been involved with this project since it began,” notes CWU head coach Greg Sparling. “I appreciate the way our guys got behind it again this year. It’s a way for us to give back to the community. And it helps us realize how fortunate we are—as both players and coaches—for what we have and what we are able to do.”

By choosing items from the child’s own list, the project allows participants to make meaningful, personal gifts directly to individual children. Several of the 347 on this year’s list will receive the gifts from the CWU men’s team.