Community Engagement Projects

Menstrual Health Advocacy was previously known as the “Days For Girls” Community Engagement project but was changed to recognize that not every menstruating individual is female identifying. This improvement of inclusivity helped guide our group into being aware of our own ways of representing inclusivity as we interact with the community in class and on campus. The Days For Girls local organization champions educating and spreading awareness about the realities of period poverty, importance of menstrual health, and the stigma around menstruation. This quarter we adopted similar values and integrated them into our project. 

Our base mission is to help in cleaning up the Nooksack River where and whenever we can. We plan to inform people of what is going on and engage them in restoration efforts of The Nooksack River. We would like to restore the Nooksack to a healthy status and save our local ecosystem. 

This quarter’s team initial mission was to continue the Spring Team’s efforts at connecting the Outback Farm with the WWU Counseling and Wellness Center. Early in the term, we learned about the black water leak reported at the Outback Farm. This led to a restriction of events at the farm, including any potential service work events and other events that “would bring large numbers of people to the farm” as reported by Stu Johnson, the then-Outback Farm Engagement Coordinator. As a result, we had to reconsider our objective in helping the farm and once we learned of the Counseling Center’s Growing Wellness workshop series, we shifted our focus to helping promote the program. 

Under the name Trans Youth Advocacy Group, our section worked with other Western Washington University associated LGBTQ+ clubs in the form of a fundraiser where we sold bracelets, clothing, and art to raise money for transgender youth to legally change their name.