IU group sponsors clothing donation

The Faculty and Staff for Student Excellence Mentoring Program sponsored a clothing drive in several residence halls throughout February.

Drop boxes were located in Wright Quad, Read Center, Briscoe Quad, Ashton Center and Eigenmann Hall.

On Friday, volunteers will deliver about 30 to 35 bags that were collected for MiddleWay House, The Rise and Backstreet Mission.

“The idea was to provide people with gently used clothing, and it would be able to help them get out there and get a job and start rebuilding their lives,” said senior La-Tisha Plummer, president of FASE.

With the launch of the organization during the summer, Plummer said her idea for the clothing drive came not only to help those in need but also to get their names out as active members of the Bloomington community.

As college students, Plummer said it is important to donate excess materials to the less fortunate. Her contribution included clothing she had not worn in years.

“Traditionally our generation is seen as selfish and inconsiderate, so it says to the general community we aren’t so selfish and are willing to help when help is needed,” she said.

Patrick Smith, executive director of the Office of Mentoring Services and Leadership Development, also contributed to the project.

With his help, the FASE advisory board was able to secure the City of Bloomington Martin Luther King Day of Service Grant in order to make the drive possible.

Once the grant was obtained, Smith played a supporting role for the organization.

“The fact that these students are taking the initiative for such projects demonstrates what this office is all about,” Smith said.

To advertise for the event, Plummer said the program used flyers throughout campus, mainly in the Indiana Memorial Union and residence halls, as well as updates on Facebook and Twitter.

However, a lack of knowledge still obstructed potential participation.

“I had no clue about it. They could have sent out e-mails or made the RAs more aware so they could tell us with posters and stuff,” said freshman Wes Bankert, a Wright Quad resident.

He said there would have been a good chance he would have donated clothing if he had known about the event.

One way Plummer said she thought to improve the drive was by making the amount collected a competition between the residence halls.

“We would like to implement that incentive for people to actually participate in the competition,” she said.

Along with that alteration, Plummer said they hope to expand the efforts to the rest of the Bloomington community