The evening of Jan. 22 was exciting for the UW Pokes Center for Community Resources as UW students and community members gathered in the Union basement for a lively grand opening event. The event received a large turnout, as crowds of excited students and staff filled the Food Share Pantry, Community Closet, and Pokes Pub areas.
The Pokes Center for Community Resources (PCCR) is a hub for various student resources, including the Community Closet, the Pokes Pantry, and the Violence Prevention Center. The PCCR works to meet the basic needs of everyone in the UW community while creating a safe and stable environment on and off campus.
“The name kind of says it all,” Pantry Coordinator Anna Savage said. “It’s a center for community resources. It’s a place where everybodyー student, faculty, or staffー can come get whatever kind of support they might need.”
The PCCR facilities house the recently established Campus Community Closet, which celebrated its grand opening in November 2024. They also house the main Food Share Pantry on campus, the Pokes Pantry. Both depend on donations from the UW campus and the Laramie community.
Arya Denham, a graduate student intern working with the PCCR, described why the PCCR is so important to the Pokes community. She detailed the extensive research done by the organization and explained how the PCCR is working to fill any gaps related to clothing, food, and housing needs.
“If students don’t get their basic needs met, then how can they possibly obtain a higher education and get their degree?” Denham said.
Jan. 22 gave the PCCR staff members a chance to commemorate their hard work and share it with the university community.
“We’re celebrating the fact that we have it up and running, and the fact that we’ve gotten this far,” said Ivan Sapien, a student volunteer with the PCCR. Sapien said he began work with the Office of Multicultural Affairs before its recent transition into the PCCR. He helped get the PCCR up and running and helped it grow into what it is today.
“I am really proud of this success. I had no idea that we were going to get such a large turnout. I’m just so happy,” Denham said. “I was so nervous, I didn’t know how this was going to go, but it’s just been fantastic.”
Anna Savage noted that the success of the event was “extremely affirming,” and that the PCCR has created a centralized community that works to provide resources for the broader UW community.
“It feels so good to come into work with a bunch of people who are on board with the same mission and want to see the same goals achieved,” Savage said. “Seeing the UW community be able to come in and use this resource, it feels like we’re all working together.”
