The Iraqi Kids Project has begun its campus wide collection to lessen the plight of children in war-torn Iraq by sending clothes, shoes, toys, school supplies and new toiletries collected from Dartmouth students.
Meredith Wilson '07 and Marlene Labastida '07 co-founded the Iraqi Kids Project last spring after coming up with the idea during their freshman year.
"[Iraq] is probably the worst place for children and I'm a government major so I'm definitely aware of it," Wilson said. "So it's been a project that came together and it makes sense."
This past Monday, volunteers placed large donation boxes in each residential cluster. Wilson and Labastida expect the boxes to fill quickly during finals and moving week, when students discard items they no longer find useful.
Last spring, the Iraqi Kids Project sent 25 large boxes of donations to Sergeant Matt Herring of the 25th Infantry Division, who in turn worked to spread the items among children in need.
"We had a phenomenal response, much more than we expected and the project cost far less than we thought it would," Labastida said.
This year, the Iraqi Kids Project received a $450 grant from the President's Office and a $450 grant from the Dean's Office discretionary spending budget. The group's 30 volunteers work on fundraising, collecting and shipping items.
Melinda Wilson '09 is an Iraqi Kids Project volunteer and looks forward to participating in the drive during her next four years.
"I walked by a flyer and it dawned on me that if I think life is unfair for me, it must be unfair for kids in Iraq," she said. "I think it's a great project and it's starting off on the right foot by simply asking for donations."
Once the boxes are completely filled with supplies from student residential housing, Dartmouth's Child Center and Aquinas House, they will be placed in a storage area located in Aquinas House. At the onset of summer, sophomore volunteers will sort through the donations.
Though the boxes explicitly state that the donations are for children, the group often receives inappropriate items, such as short skirts, high heeled shoes, clothing bearing the American flag and low-cut tops. Last year, the organization also received eight negligees. These donations often go to other local charities.
"My experience has been really positive. People are pretty generous even though there may be apathy sometimes," volunteer Wendy Tse '08 said.
Iraqi Kids Project is co-sponsored by Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority, Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity, Aquinas House and Dartmouth ROTC.
