Syracuse University’s Ten Tons of Love drive yields 38 tons of clothing, house wares and food for Central New York charities

Syracuse University’s Ten Tons of Love drive yields 38 tons of clothing, house wares and food for Central New York charitiesMay 28, 2008Carol K. Masiclatclkim@syr.edu

There’s a lot of love at Syracuse University — 38 tons, to be exact. That’s how much volunteers at SU collected as part of Ten Tons of Love, the annual charity drive to collect gently used clothing, housewares and food for the needy of Central New York. From April 29-May 16, students leaving campus for the summer donated these items instead of throwing them away, giving the community a generous, sustainable gift. In addition to the tonnage that was measured, 12 truckloads of furniture were collected.

This is the 13th year of a partnership involving numerous SU units and First English Lutheran Church. Volunteers from across campus and the community come together on an annual basis to lug, tote, haul, shove, sort and deliver a huge variety of donated goods. The program is coordinated by Syracuse University’s Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs, a principal unit of the Division of Student Affairs.

Charities benefiting from this year’s event include Bethesda Temple Pentecostal Church, First English Food Pantry, the Interfaith Works of CNY Center for New Americans, Mary Nelson’s Backpack Program, Northside Clothes Closet, the Practical Assistance Program, the Refugee Resettlement Program and Transitional Living Services. The items are being sorted at First English before delivery to these charities, which will then share the donations with members of the Central New York community.

In addition to First English and Orientation and Off-Campus Programs, this year’s Ten Tons of Love drive is supported by 1-800-GOT-JUNK?; Ala Mode Cafe; Brown’s Moving and Storage; Campus Hill Apartments; Charette Brothers; Eastwood Litho; Holy Shirt!; Johnny’s Pizza; Nextel; OCRR; P&C; Price Chopper; Raymour and Flanagan; Reasonable Tent and Party Rental; SAAC; Sedgwick Business Interiors; The Step Center, Subway; Syracuse Banana; Syracuse Department of Public Works; Syracuse Office Environments; Syracuse Teen Challenge; Sysco; ZJ’s Pizza and Wings; and SU’s Commissary, Department of Athletics, Department of Recreation Services, FIXit, Food Services, Lutheran Campus Ministry, Materials Distribution, Office of Prevention Services, Physical Plant, Printing Services, Office of Residence Life, Residence Hall Association, Student Centers and Programming Services, Students Offering Service and University College.

For more information on Ten Tons of Love, contact Darya Rotblat, assistant director of the Office of Orientation and Off-Campus Programs and Ten Tons of Love chair, at 443-5489.