In X-Lot, by the Ziv Quadrangle, sit these two big blue boxes. I hadn’t seen them until I started parking down here, but they’re pretty massive and difficult to miss. They’re apparently clothing donation boxes for Child Quest International. I find it a little odd that one says “Clothing Donations” and one says “Clothing & Shoes.” Surely we could just have the latter? As I say, these things are dumpster-sized, so they’re sort of a surprise.
I suppose we should take advantage of these when we can. Pop old clothes in them if you’ve got ’em. Child Quest seems a reputable enough organization, though I can’t find that much information on it outside of its website. I have no idea whether they actually empty these bins, though. They’re in a very odd place, and they’d take forever to fill.
I don’t know whether these conflict with the goals of the growing free exchange movement at Brandeis, though. Recently I’ve been very impressed by efforts such as the Free Free Market to promote a culture in which unneeded goods are given freely to those who have use for them. I also liked the cheap re-selling of the dormitory dump items. It seems healthy for students to reuse as much as possible. Perhaps a free culture spells the end for the two mammoth lurking clothes dumpsters.