SCRANTON- Maria Manno, a senior at the University of Scranton, ran the End of Year Drive last year and encourages students to donate supplies to the underserved areas.

CSSJ places boxes in every residence hall on campus to collect supplies to give to various organizations, and CSSJ members are selected to bring the supplies to those in need.

Manno joined CSSJ during the spring semester of her freshman year, and went on a domestic trip to New Orleans, Louisiana over the 2024 intersession.  

CSSJ members started planning the End of Year Drive in February, and the Drive is May 7-22.

Patricia  Vaccaro, the Director of Campus Ministries’ Center for Service & Social Justice told Manno that this drive is the biggest sustainability project at the University.

Any person, regardless of affiliation with CSSJ, can help with decorating the boxes that go in the residence halls, but only selected CSSJ members are appointed to deliver items to their destinations.

Only 15 to 20 members are selected to do the deliveries because it requires special ID’s to get into every building and to use golf carts to deliver supplies.

CSSJ members deliver the supplies to organizations including Valley View, the Scranton High School, Friends of the Poor, and Angel’s Attic.

Members will begin rounds of collecting during the week before finals.  

This process is called “schlepping.”

After schlepping, the volunteers will clean everything they collect.

Supplies include nonperishable food, toiletries, kitchenware, school supplies, clothes, smaller furniture, and more.

Some items they do not often accept are bedding, shaggy rugs, and pillows that aren’t throw pillows.

After collection and cleaning, the students will bring all the supplies to the various organizations.  

One visit Manno made to Valley View last year allowed her to help a young girl pick out new decorations for her room.

The young girl was sharing her bedroom with her younger brother, and wanted to have more feminine items in her room but understood that having her brother in her room meant that every item she chose had to not be pink.

Manno helped the girl pick out a new mirror that had a pink metallic frame that the girl loved.

Helping in the underserved areas proved to be hard work for Manno, but she still loves to contribute.

“It’s a hard week like it’s kind of miserable at times but it’s fun while it is miserable,” Manno said.

Manno and others work normal office hours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 to schlep, clean, organize, and deliver everything during finals week.

During the week of delivering items, there are less students on campus, so the volunteers will often have reflections and events planned for each night to relax after long days of working.

“Usually we’ll go to like a RailRiders game, or like we’ll just get dinner and sit on the porch for a bit,” Manno said.

Manno loved running the program last year because she hates when products go to waste instead of being reused or donated.  

The items donated during the drive go to people who need the supplies but don’t often have the funds to buy necessities and luxury items.

The volunteers will also occasionally help when a person needs assistance on deciding what nonessential items they want, whether choosing the right sized furniture to take or deciding on what color throw pillow they want.

Manno also spoke to a parent who was grateful to pick out the items for free because often times when shopping for essentials, the children’s desires need to be overlooked to ensure their money can be used in the best way possible.

“I can’t let my kids pick out certain things because I have to be strategic with how I’m budgeting,” Manno said.

With this drive, parents can choose items to their liking and allow their children to pick nonessential items as well.

Manno is attending Thomas Jefferson University for her Doctorate and wants to continue to serve underserved communities near the campus in Philadelphia.  

Community-based initiatives are available near the university, and Manno wants to apply her healthcare studies to service in her future.

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