Reaching out to Sacramento’s low-income community is the main purpose of the Western Service Workers Association.

For 34 years, the WSWA, an independent, volunteer-run association, has provided help for low-income families and individuals.

Jose Ramirez, junior anthropology major, volunteers for the organization and is a strong believer in WSWA’s purpose.

“We involve the community behind the struggle for economic justice for low-income workers,” Ramirez said.

Ramirez said the association’s main focus is assuring that everyone has adequate food, clothing, shelter, utilities and medical care. He said the program tries to meet the needs of all individuals who seek assistance by enrolling them in a self-help program.

The WSWA had volunteers on campus every Tuesday this semester to recruit more volunteers for its organization and inform students about its cause.

“Only one in 10 people stop to talk with us,” Ramirez said. “People are pre-occupied with themselves, that’s why they don’t stop.”

WSWA has an 11 step self-help program that meets the immediate needs of families and individuals in the community.

Most of the people who benefit from the program have service jobs, part-time jobs or are farm workers, Ramirez said. He said the holiday season is a busy time for the organization.

Ramirez estimated that more than 600 gift baskets will be given out by the end of this month.

“It’s an increased number of requests this year,” said Bill Jennett, operations manager for WSWA.

The organization also holds a toy drive every year that benefits children in low-income homes. New toys are collected from people throughout Sacramento and are dispersed to the parents in the self-help program, so they can give them to their children.

Volunteers are needed for the toy drive to either distribute toys or help wrap the gifts prior to delivery.

According to data released by the Department of Labor Statistics, more than four in every 10 college graduates said they had volunteered at least once during their college career.

The most common places students volunteer are schools, churches, hospitals and local non-profit locations, according to the Corporation of National Community Service.

Michelle Schmidt, freshman business major, said she volunteered at a number of veterans’ conventions and learned a lot about what people go through during times of war.

“Volunteers can learn more about who’s in their community and new things about their community,” Schmidt said.

Ramirez said students make up 80 percent of those who volunteer for WSWA. The rest is made up of other members of the community.

“It’s important for students to experience what’s going on in their community and in the country,” Jennett said. “The community really needs student involvement.”

Sac State provided Stephanie Criddle, senior nursing major, with a place to volunteer.

Criddle volunteered for the Expanded Horizons program, which was hosted last summer by the university.

The program helped inform girls, between sixth and eighth grade, about different science-related topics and job opportunities.

“Volunteering helps you grow as a leader, and it also helps build leadership skills,” Criddle said.

During the summer heat wave of 2006, the WSWA, along with several of its beneficiaries, rallied at a Sacramento Municipal Utility District board meeting to demand a cut in rates for low-income households.

SMUD agreed to give a 30 percent discount to more than 40,000 low-income households, saving money for those residents, Jennett said.

Shari Beck, a retired school teacher, has been volunteering at WSWA for the past three years.

“Everybody who helps out can make things better,” Beck said. “I feel like I’m doing something for the community.”

Beck, who volunteers alongside her husband, believes that by volunteering at WSWA, she has become more aware of things going on in her community.

“We wanted to spend time in the community,” Beck said.

Jose Martinez can be reached at [email protected].