As the second semester is coming to a close and students are beginning to pack their belongings for the much-anticipated drive home, superfluous items are being left in the dorm rooms and wastefully thrown in the trash.
The Clemson FCA is collecting these extra items that cannot fit in your car or you simply have no use for anymore and donating them to a Clemson affiliated or local charity.
For instance, unneeded futons and lamps will be donated to the Safe Harbor Battered Women’s Shelter (SHBWS), and smaller necessities, such as sheets, toiletries and pillowcases will be offered to international exchange students upon arrival at Clemson.
The program, entitled FCA Freecycle, is coordinated by student Zakery James. “Since this is the first time Freecycle has been done, we have no idea what kind of turnout or collection to expect,” James said, “but we hope the proactive approach and the willingness of FCA and the rest of the Clemson student body to serve campus will yield a positive turnout and will help change the lives of those who have not been as blessed as we have.”
Compared to the previously utilized FCA project, Lighten Your Load (LYL), the new and innovative Freecycle project is expected to surpass LYL’s success by funding more organizations.
LYL was created intentionally to help the Salvation Army and Helping Hands, while the FCA Freecycle was established to support the SHBWS, Helping Hands, Red Cross and International Service Learning.
In order for the program to be a success, there must be ubiquitous participation across campus.
“Our theme is ‘FCA Freecycle: Freely you have received, freely give,’ which is taken from Matthew 10:8 and expresses the idea that just as we have freely received the gift of God’s grace, in the same way most college students are blessed as the product of our circumstance,” James said, “and we are asking that people recognize how we are significantly more blessed than many people in our community and most people around the world.”
“I think this will be successful because it allows students to serve the Clemson community,” participant Brittany Johnson said. “It gives them an opportunity to give those less fortunate a leg up. When you can have a hand in making someone’s life easier, that’s something you want to be a part of.”
Although most people have morals and a majority of people care deeply for others, will they still help out? As a Clemson student or involved member in University activities, you have the opportunity to make a difference, and donating to the FCA Freecycle is the first step.
Help not only the Clemson community, but people around the world, including Haitians still fighting for food and shelter.
Not only will lending a hand to others in need make you a more respected member of society, but it will have an admirably positive and upbeat effect on the others who are in need of basic essentials many take for granted.
