Donation drive honors former faculty, supports local shelters

By GREG HORNER, Staff Reporter.

A bar of soap or tube of toothpaste may seem insignificant to some students at Delta, but for community shelters in the tri-cities, the small items can make all the difference. To support local shelters and honor the life of a beloved member of Delta’s staff, the Human Relations Committee is hosting the annual Miss Mona Shelter Drive.

Cindy Reszke is the Radiography Program Coordinator at Delta College and has served on the Human Relations committee for several years. Reszke encourages students to provide anything they can spare including cleaning supplies, baby clothes, alarm clocks and towels.

“I think it’s important to have an attitude of service no matter what your career choice is,” said Reszke. “The shelters are normally filled to capacity, and the little bit that we do certainly helps.”

The shelter drive was organized to honor the life of Mona White, a member of Delta’s Nursing Department who passed away in 2004. White worked at Delta for over 10 years and spent her life supporting shelters in the area and serving on the board of directors for the Bay Area Women’s Center.

Materials can be donated at the various drop off bins located throughout the main campus and at Delta’s satellite sites. Dollar value isn’t taken into account when collecting or counting items and donations are evenly distributed among the participating shelters. Donations will be evenly distributed to the Underground Railroad in Saginaw, Shelterhouse Midland and the Bay Area Women’s Center.

“We rarely fill a bin at these drops off sites, and that’s sad to me,” said Reszke. “If they can’t donate this time and  if they wanted to save things for later, I wouldn’t have a problem with people dropping off stuff to me all year.”

Suggested donation items include:

• Baby wipes, diapers, lotions, sippy cups, pull-ups and items for children
• Disinfectant spray, cleaning wipes, SOS pads, garbage bags and cleaning supplies
• Shampoo, body lotion, soap, sanitizer, general hygiene products and feminine care products
• Toilet paper, sun block, paper towels, ziploc bags and first-aid supplies
• Notebooks, paper, calendars, planners, alarm clocks
• Blankets, pillows, bedding and towels
• Detergent, fabric softener and hair care products
• Activity & coloring books, schools supplies and backpacks

Drop off locations include: