The Tufts University Refugee Assistance Program (TU-RAP) and Tufts United for Immigrant Justice collaborated to sponsor a winter clothing drive for recently settled refugees in the greater Boston area and unaccompanied minors in the Somerville school district from Nov. 12 through Dec. 4.
The organizations placed boxes across campus and encouraged students to donate any unwanted clothing, according to Safiya Subegdjo, TU-RAP's Tufts liaison and outreach coordinator. Donation boxes are available in the lobby of the Mayer Campus Center, Sophia Gordon Hall, Hillside Apartments, the Hall of Flags in Cabot Intercultural Center and the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service.
Volunteers have been checking the boxes each day and collecting any clothing that has been donated, Subegdjo, a senior, said. She added that winter clothing such as coats, scarves, boots, sweaters and gloves are preferred donations, but anything is welcome, noting that she is willing to personally collect items from students if it is too much trouble for them to bring them to a collection box.
Rebekah Waller, TU-RAP operations manager, explained that Somerville High School identified clothing as a pressing need for these groups.
“There are currently 60 unaccompanied minors in the Somerville school district, and a lot of them come from very hard circumstances," she said. "They have been accepted into the schools, but now they need help with a lot of things. They need clothing too, especially for the harsh New England winter, so we established a relationship with Somerville High School."
Waller, a sophomore, expressed some doubt concerning the drive's success because it has not had sufficient publicity on campus thus far.
“I do not know how much we have collected so far, because we have not gone through the boxes yet," she said. "But in terms of what we want people to do -- get rid of all those clothes you don’t need or other winter apparel that you are not going to use that you would either throw away or donate to a second-hand store.”
Waller called on Tufts students to, “just drop the clothes in a box, and we will take them to some individuals who really need them.”
Subegdjo explained that the donated clothes would either be directly distributed to the refugees with whom TU-RAP works or to those in need at Somerville High School, depending on what is collected and who needs what.
"We are going to take the clothes to [Somerville High School,] and we are going to go through them with the counselors," Waller said. "They know what the kids need because they are meeting with the kids, and that is how we are going to sort, distribute and give them out to the kids, and that is how the need will be met.”
Subegdjo also added that past clothing and toy drives for refugee children have been very successful, but students need to continue to spread the word. She added that the drive's organizers had hoped that before students left and packed for Thanksgiving break, they would be able to find some items they haven’t used much, or students would bring back clothing they would like to donate. She noted that the drive is a direct way to meet a pressing need and help families stay warm in the winter.
Students host clothing drive for refugees, children
