Before they leave campus later this month, Cornell students are expected to donate about 15,000 items of clothing to several local community agencies. That's more than one article of clothing for each undergraduate student at Cornell, according to Connie Fuess, one of the organizers of the annual clothing drive.

Fuess, resident community coordinator at Cornell's Ecology House, says specially marked collection boxes will be placed in the lobbies of residence halls, the Big Red Barn, Willard Straight Hall, Noyes Community Center, Robert Purcell Community Center and Humphreys Service Building starting May 6 and concluding May 18. Donations also can be left on the front steps at Ecology House, a residence hall dedicated to environmental education and awareness. Ecology House is located off Triphammer Road in the Village of Cayuga Heights.

"Each year, we collect used and new clothing, including some that still has price tags," Fuess said. "We also receive small appliances, games and stuffed animals that we share with groups helping the homeless and other less fortunate people in Tompkins County."

Ecology House is still selecting the local agencies that will receive this year's donated items, she added. Donations are being sought from faculty, staff and students, and the drive is being sponsored by Ecology House in cooperation with the university's Office of Campus Life and volunteers from the Ithaca Rotary Club. For more information, call Amber O'Reilly, chair of the clothing recovery drive, at (607) 253-1283.