Spring Break
Seniors Organize End-of-Year Unwanted Items Donation Drive
Shoshana Flax
Issue date: 5/4/05 Section: News
Sofas don't fit on airplanes. The bookstore doesn't buy everything back. People get tired of their clothes.
For these reasons, Goucher's trash rooms fill up at the end of every year, and not just with six-month-old pizza boxes.
This year, a group of seniors plan to use some time during senior week, the period between finals and graduation, to donate students' unwanted useable items.
Current plans schedule the donation drive from May 5, when classes end, until Commencement on May 20.
The project began with seniors Margo Becker, Jamie Beran, Morgan Cashwell, Jessica Ferrer, and Gregory Rabus. Wendy Belzer, Special Assistant to Goucher President Sanford J. Ungar, has provided administrative support for the project.
The first of the three steps delineated in the project's proposal is the collection of items.
In the proposal, the students involved suggested two possible methods for collection: either placing a drop-off box in each house's commons room to be picked up every evening, or having students bring their items to a central receptacle on the Residential Quad.
"A trailer would enable the students to drop off items at their leisure as they pack up their stuff, and create a mobile storage unit," the seniors pointed out in their proposal. However, the students acknowledged that a trailer would raise the issue of funding.
Once collected, the goods must be sorted. "This stage requires participation from a fair number of seniors and a categorized listing of needed items," the students said in the proposal. "While tedious, the project will allow dumpster-divers the opportunity to find gems for their own use."
Finally, the items will be delivered to various charities. While the students have not yet compiled a definite list, possibilities include The Book Thing, Build, House of Ruth, and Purple Heart.
The idea for the project originated at the end of the 2003 spring semester.
"My suite moved out of the New House and could not empty our final trash bags because the trash room had overflowed with couches, clothes, books, electronics and other usable items," said Ferrer. "Coming into this academic year, I decided that I could not stand the idea of watching the trash rooms swell and FMS [Facilities Management Services] load numerous trucks full of reusable items."
"For a campus with a strong commitment to the community and one that seeks to create a reputation as a green campus such an occurrence is an atrocity," the students said in the proposal. "The furniture should find a home with a family downtown and the clothes onto the racks of thrift stores, not into the dumpster at the base of Goucher College."
Ferrer said that awareness of the project was one of her chief goals, and so far, she has been happy with results in this area.
"Sandy Ungar passed me in the Pearlstone Café and gave his rousing support for the idea," Ferrer said. "Both the administration and the students seem really interested."
Students who would like to help or to suggest charities may contact Ferrer, Becker, or Rabus. Volunteers are needed most for publicity and to collect and sort donated items.
"As a campus with the intention of bonding with the community, Goucher has the potential to use this project as a means of strengthening relationships with service organizations in the area," the group proposed.
For these reasons, Goucher's trash rooms fill up at the end of every year, and not just with six-month-old pizza boxes.
This year, a group of seniors plan to use some time during senior week, the period between finals and graduation, to donate students' unwanted useable items.
Current plans schedule the donation drive from May 5, when classes end, until Commencement on May 20.
The project began with seniors Margo Becker, Jamie Beran, Morgan Cashwell, Jessica Ferrer, and Gregory Rabus. Wendy Belzer, Special Assistant to Goucher President Sanford J. Ungar, has provided administrative support for the project.
The first of the three steps delineated in the project's proposal is the collection of items.
In the proposal, the students involved suggested two possible methods for collection: either placing a drop-off box in each house's commons room to be picked up every evening, or having students bring their items to a central receptacle on the Residential Quad.
"A trailer would enable the students to drop off items at their leisure as they pack up their stuff, and create a mobile storage unit," the seniors pointed out in their proposal. However, the students acknowledged that a trailer would raise the issue of funding.
Once collected, the goods must be sorted. "This stage requires participation from a fair number of seniors and a categorized listing of needed items," the students said in the proposal. "While tedious, the project will allow dumpster-divers the opportunity to find gems for their own use."
Finally, the items will be delivered to various charities. While the students have not yet compiled a definite list, possibilities include The Book Thing, Build, House of Ruth, and Purple Heart.
The idea for the project originated at the end of the 2003 spring semester.
"My suite moved out of the New House and could not empty our final trash bags because the trash room had overflowed with couches, clothes, books, electronics and other usable items," said Ferrer. "Coming into this academic year, I decided that I could not stand the idea of watching the trash rooms swell and FMS [Facilities Management Services] load numerous trucks full of reusable items."
"For a campus with a strong commitment to the community and one that seeks to create a reputation as a green campus such an occurrence is an atrocity," the students said in the proposal. "The furniture should find a home with a family downtown and the clothes onto the racks of thrift stores, not into the dumpster at the base of Goucher College."
Ferrer said that awareness of the project was one of her chief goals, and so far, she has been happy with results in this area.
"Sandy Ungar passed me in the Pearlstone Café and gave his rousing support for the idea," Ferrer said. "Both the administration and the students seem really interested."
Students who would like to help or to suggest charities may contact Ferrer, Becker, or Rabus. Volunteers are needed most for publicity and to collect and sort donated items.
"As a campus with the intention of bonding with the community, Goucher has the potential to use this project as a means of strengthening relationships with service organizations in the area," the group proposed.