SU expands year-end clothing and food drive

Friday, April 23, 2004, By News Staff

SU expands year-end clothing and food driveApril 23, 2004Laura Madelonelmmadelo@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s Office of Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS) and Students Offering Service (SOS) at Hendricks Chapel know first-hand that unwanted household items can bring joy and comfort to people in need. That’s why the SU groups are organizing a donation drive for the second year in a row, to be held April 30-May 14. As the 2003-04 academic year draws to a close, the effort has been expanded to include all students living on-campus – including North and South Campuses – as well as the off-campus students that gave the bulk of last year’s donations.

“Because we had such a great turnout last year, we wanted this year to be bigger and better. Students were really glad to make a difference and giving items away took a lot of pressure off of them as well,” says Laura M. Madelone, OCSS director.

The sponsors of this year’s donation drive are SOS, OCSS, the Office of Residential Life, the Muslim Student Association, Lutheran Campus Ministry, North Side Community Food Pantry, the Office of Government and Community Relations, and the City of Syracuse Department of Public Works.

Donated goods will go to Catholic Charities, the Refugee Resettlement Project, St. Vincent DePaul, Food Bank of CNY, and the North Side Community Food Pantry. The items will be used to help homeless families and refugees to set up new homes. Charities will accept donations of good used items including: All types of clothing, kitchen supplies, linens, non-perishable foods, furniture in good condition and anything else families can use when setting up new homes.

According to Madelone, off-campus students should drop off items at OCSS, located at 754 Ostrom Ave.; or schedule a pickup by calling 443-5489 or e-mailing ocssserv@syr.edu.

On North Campus, each residence hall will have a designated area where items can be dropped off; RAs can provide more information. South Campus students are asked to drop off items at designated areas in the Goldstein Student Center.

For more information, call OCSS at 443-5489 or SOS at 443-2091.