Jumbo Drop

by Dawn Quirk

It has been a Jumbo Move-Out! With the exam period over, the only thing that Tufts students have on their mind is beginning their summer adventures. But like clock work, before summer seems close to tangible, we confront the dreaded packing process. We have all said this when that moment has arrived: What to do with all this stuff? Should I sell or throw it away? I just don’t want to be bothered by this? Let’s face it—we would love if someone would just take over from there. So…who you gonna call? Tufts Recycles!; their operation code name: Jumbo Drop.

For over 5 years, Jumbo Drop has been the awesome solution for converting end-of-the-year waste to recycled blessings. This operation, carried out by fellow Tufts students, seeks to work in conjunction with a variety of Boston charities that could benefit from the college disposal scene. At the moment, Jumbo Drop is working with three charities—The International Institute of Boston (IIB), The Boston Project and Project Home Again. Of the three, IIB has worked closely with the Jumbo Drop team members in collecting dorm left-overs. The International Institute of Boston’s involvement with the project began with Tufts student Kate Berson’s Senior community service project through the charity. The purpose of IIB is to offer legal and social services for refugees and immigrants in the Boston Area, with a concentrated focus on resettlement in the United States for refugees. Kate Berson helps facilitate IBB’s goals by personally collaborating with Jumbo Drop along with her group of IIB volunteers, gathering kitchen supplies, bedroom items, furniture, and toiletries. “Jumbo Drop’s contribution will greatly assist our effort to procure donation s of household items and as a result, will play a significant role in these refugees’ reaching self-sufficiency” explained Berson when answering why she chose to work with Tufts Recycles!. Along with socio-political charities, Jumbo Drop works with faith-based organizations. The Boston Project and Project Home Again are community- and faith- based organizations whose mission is to bring renewal in urban neighborhoods. They are working Jumbo Drop to collect furniture and household items to provide those in need with the basic comforts of home they could otherwise not afford.

From clothing to furniture, from knick-knacks to hackey sacks, Jumbo Drop has procured anything and everything that one could possibly need, dare I say even want. This program brings to light the massiveness of college consumerism as well as the dire need to integrate recycling into our everyday lives. Although several charities benefit from these bountiful Tufts donations, it seems as though there is a continuous increase in the amount of items that students choose to throw away as the years go by. We should be inspired by the initiatives of Jumbo Drop and make everyday a Jumbo Drop Day through simple reuse and reduction to better our local environment.