Not far beyond the "Help for Haiti" sign that greets athletes on their way in and out of Cousens Gym lie about 50 bags of clothing and shoes just behind the doorway to Carzo Cage.
These bags are the result of the hard work of Madueno Cabral, a security officer, who has been collecting new and gently used clothing to donate to earthquake victims in Haiti since the beginning of February.
Cabral, a contract employee through the Department of Public and Environmental Safety at Tufts, works with many Haitian co−workers. He was deeply affected by the earthquake, especially as he witnessed many of the impacts that the earthquake had on the family members of victims in Boston.
Cabral, who lost his brother last year, sympathized with his co−workers who lost family members in the earthquake and wanted to do something to help out.
"Globally, everyone was devastated. You go through this shock, but you feel helpless on what to do," Cabral said.
After an e−mail invitation was passed on to him, Cabral went to a meeting held in Alumni Hall in early February organized by Senior Student Programs Manager Mindy Nierenberg of Tisch College. At the forum, people from across the Tufts community met to combine forces and organize efforts to help those in Haiti. Cabral spoke at the meeting about his interest in collecting clothing to send to earthquake victims.
By the end of the meeting, he had teamed up with senior Helaina Stein, who was also interested in collaborating on the clothing drive, as well as sophomore Mary Bruynell, who was looking to organize a shoe drive.
To Cabral, a clothing drive seemed like the obvious choice. "We're in a recession, tuition is high, and money is tight," he said. "To ask for money seems obtrusive, but everyone has clothing to give. When the earthquake came, [Haitians] didn't have time to pack … I just envisioned people running out the door with nothing but the clothes on their backs."
The toughest part about organizing the clothing drive has been finding space to store the donations. After checking with Athletic Director Bill Gehling, Cabral suggested using Cousens as a drop−off point where he could bag clothing up himself.
The Cousens location has also been an easy way to publicize the project so far. "Mostly we've been attracting people who come to the gym, but how do we reach all of campus?" Cabral asked.
So far, the drive has been successful, as evidenced by the piles of clothing bags that take up a large part of the hallway behind Carzo Cage. Cabral, however, is still trying to get the word out to as many people as possible within the Tufts community.
He has been trying to spread the project through word of mouth, as well as through his own Tufts connections. He explained that Tufts seemed like a natural place for him to work on the clothing drive because he is connected with many different people through his job as a security officer.
"I'm at the [Aidekman] Arts Center, TAB [Tufts Administration Building], the Fletcher School, so I'm like a walking networking person, getting the word out," he said. "I'm already here, it's not out of my way to help, and it's just part of my job."
Cabral said that ideally, the clothing drive would continue as long as possible. He loves getting the word out and watching the number of clothing bags grow, but the available space in Cousens has been his biggest obstacle.
"Space is tight here. I'm trying to find a way to move the clothing at the end of the month … I need to coordinate with another group to take the clothing away and get it to Haiti," he said.
Cabral has looked into collaborating with the Center for Health Education and Social Services in Somerville, and Somerville Alderman−at−Large Jack Connolly has also volunteered to help, Cabral said. "If I've got to call the Somerville City Hall to ask for help, I'll do it," Cabral added.
While he intends to move out the current round of clothing donations by the end of February, he plans to continue soliciting donations afterward for future shipments.
"I just hope people don't become numb over time," he said. "I want to keep people's minds on [providing help] … It's going to be a while before Haiti bounces back."
