Before they left campus in May, Cornell students donated 27,450 items of clothing to six local community agencies, according to Connie Fuess, one of the organizers of the annual clothing drive.

Recipient agencies are the Tompkins County Task Force for Battered Women, the Tompkins County Economic Opportunity Corporation, Family and Children's Services, the local Tibetan refugee association, HOMES Inc., and the Committee on United States/Latin American Relations. Donations were received from faculty, staff and students.

The drive was sponsored by Ecology House in cooperation with the university's Office of Campus Life and volunteers from the Ithaca Rotary Club. Ecology House is a residence hall dedicated to environmental education and awareness and the "four R's" -- reduce, reuse, recycle and respect.

Amber O'Reilly, a resident of Ecology House and a 1996 graduate of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, served as chair of the clothing drive.