Service Agencies to Receive 2,200 Pounds of Vital Goods

05/22/2014

Contacts for media:   Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944 or Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu or Christine Gillette, 978-934-2209 or Christine_Gillette@uml.edu

* Media Advisory *

Tuesday, May 27
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Media availability: 10:15 to 10:45 a.m.

What: More than 2,200 pounds of goods – donated by dozens of UMass Lowell students, faculty and staff this past semester – will be given to three local nonprofit agencies to help them fulfill their missions serving area families and shelter animals: the Lowell Humane Society, The Wish Project and House of Hope.

The media is invited to cover the delivery of more than 80 pounds of linens to the Lowell Humane Society, where the items will replenish the bedding for the shelter’s cages and pet carriers. The agency needs a constant supply of these items because they wear out quickly due to frequent laundering. Serving 1,500 animals a year, the society provides adoptions, works to prevent animal cruelty and educates the public about responsible pet ownership.

The Wish Project will receive more than 1,600 pounds of clothing, shoes and household goods, and the House of Hope will benefit from nearly 600 pounds of food.

Based in Lowell, the Wish Project supplies clothing, furniture, baby items and housewares to 36,000 people in need a year throughout the Merrimack Valley who are referred to the program through the state. Greater Lowell’s House of Hope offers emergency shelter for 28 homeless families each day and helps clients transition to permanent housing.   

UMass Lowell collected the goods during two campus-wide donation drives during the spring semester. An additional 1,000 pounds of large electronics collected will be recycled through Northeast Material Handling of Lowell. Bottles and cans collected will be redeemed for funds that will benefit the UMass Lowell Community Garden. The donation drives were headed by UMass Lowell’s sustainability and student affairs leaders who are working to implement the university’s Climate Action Plan.  

The donation project is just one example of why UMass Lowell has been designated as a community-engaged campus by the Carnegie Foundation for Excellence in Training. UMass Lowell has also been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll – the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteerism, service learning and civic engagement. 

Where:  Lowell Humane Society, 951 Broadway St., Lowell