Stanford’s Native American Cultural Center is set to help host the annual Dolores Sanchez Memorial Christmas toy drive for Muwekma Ohlone children with the tribe’s Education and Youth Committee from Nov. 29 to Dec. 3.

The drive is named in honor of the late Dolores Sanchez, a former Muwekma Ohlone elder whose close relationship with tribal children inspired the event, according to Denni Woodward, associate director of the cultural center.

“She was just wonderful with children,” Woodward said. “Her primary goal was to help current and future generations of children.”

This year, the cultural center has seen an increase in the number of departments contributing to the project, according to Winona Simms, associate dean and director of the cultural center.

“We want to reinforce the value of sharing and giving,” Simms said. “I think that’s a beautiful thing, because sometimes we can forget to be grounded in the fact that our people have a lot of need, and education is a way of getting to a level to where you can give back.”

Despite the struggling economy, Woodward is hopeful that the drive will meet its goal of providing presents for more than 200 children.

“I watch the efforts of programs like Toys for Tots, and I think people generally tend to try and be generous during the holiday season,” Woodward said. “These programs are continuing, so we’ll just keep our fingers crossed that people keep giving.”

The drive will also contribute to the cultural center’s overall efforts to provide education and awareness of the Muwekma Ohlone tribe, which is traditionally indigenous to San Francisco, San Mateo, northern Santa Clara and Alameda counties.

“It’s respectful to acknowledge your host, and I think that’s why we have a continued relationship,” Woodward said. “When we come here, it’s important to meet the people whose land we’re on.”

Stanford’s ongoing relationship with the tribe dates back to 1988 and is reflected in Stanford’s choice to name the Native American theme house Muwekma-tah-Ruk, which means “home of the people.” Additionally, Stanford collaborates with the Muwekma Ohlone during several annual events, such as the First Nations’ Campus Welcome and the Stanford Powwow, according to Woodward.

Simms added that gaining a full understanding of Stanford’s relationship with local tribes is an important part of the cultural center’s educational efforts for students.

“We learn about their legal strife in trying to get recognition and some of their more current issues,” Simms said. “They share that with our incoming frosh and transfer students so that they get grounded in the history of where they’re going to school and are connected with native communities in this area.”

Simms said that the cultural center’s collaboration on this project reflects traditional Native American values of sharing, building a community and reaching out to others.

“There are always opportunities to give and share with kids in the educational system, which I think is a big sign of a university of this size and this caliber,” Simms said. “I’m glad and really proud of the students for pushing this, because it looks like a simple project, but there’s a lot of work involved and a lot of people. It includes volunteer work, which is something that we encourage the entire community to do more of.”

Donations can be brought to various collection boxes around campus at locations including the Career Development Center, Cantor Arts Center, the Archaeology Center, the Haas Center for Public Service and the Native American Cultural Center, as well as the offices of Undergraduate Advising and Research, Student Activities and Leadership and Undergraduate Admission and Financial Aid.