MSU students and area residents don't have to spend a lot to give a lot, according to the MSU School of Social Work.
The school began its first household and personal-needs drive Monday. Any unused, everyday, household items will be accepted for donations from diapers to blankets to laundry detergent.
Donated items will go to two local programs and one on-campus organization: The Capitol Area Response Effort; the Ballentine Stepping Stones Program, part of Catholic Social Services of Lansing/St. Vincent Home; and MSU Safe Place.
"We understand students don't have lots of money they can just give away," said Patty Jongkind, program director for the Ballentine Stepping Stones Program, which provides housing for homeless, single women and victims of domestic violence and their children. "But even the little donations make a big difference."
Many victims of domestic violence and families that become homeless have to leave their houses very quickly, so they don't have the luxury of packing all of their everyday items, said Devra Ragans, chair of the Social Action Committee, which is part of the School of Social Work's Graduate Student Advisory Council.
"We've already seen a huge response from the community," Ragans said, adding that she started putting out donation boxes last Thursday. "There were already donated items in them this weekend, before the drive officially began."
The event, which runs through Dec. 8, kicked off with a meeting at MSU Department of Police and Public Safety. A commercial will air between now and Dec. 8 on various local television stations, and informational fliers will be distributed to community policing offices throughout campus, including Brody, Holden, McDonel and Campbell halls. Ragans said she hopes to make the drive an annual event.
Desirae Kelley-Kato is program coordinator for CARE, which is designed to provide firs response for victims of domestic violence in the greater Lansing area.
"A collaborative effort is needed for a drive like this because our program participants are always busy," Kelley-Kato said, adding that more than 12,000 clients per year are served by the program. "We simply don't have time for a drive like this."
LaKeysha Locke, an administrative assistant for MSU Safe Place, said the donations are important because of the tight budget times.
"The donated items we're accepting are everyday needs that we would otherwise have to purchase on our own," Locke said. "We only have so much money, so it's convenient if we can get these items through donations."
