Claire Malsch didn’t have a pillow, a lamp or a drying rack for her dishes when she moved to Baton Rouge. While a trip home or a visit to a local department store might be easy for some students, Malsch can’t go home to get the essentials – she’s spending a year away from her home in France to study business at the University. For students like Malsch, the International Student Loan Closet uses donations to provide an inexpensive, convenient option for international students in need of household items. The Loan Closet, a service provided by the International Hospitality Foundation, is a nonprofit organization on campus, and all workers are volunteers. Any revenue is recycled back into the program to purchase new items. Marie Standifer established the Loan Closet about 30 years ago after seeing a similar idea at a Wisconsin school. “Anyone can donate,” said Loan Closet volunteer Linda Wright. “We’re always accepting donations, but we’re not looking for a pile of junk.” The Loan Closet relies on donations and needs objects like chairs, tables, dishes, cookware, bedding, baby equipment, clothes hangers, fans, curtains, lamps and small appliances that are especially useful to international students. Samita Sharma and her husband, an economics graduate student, just moved to Baton Rouge from Nepal. The couple and their son have an apartment and use the Loan Closet to obtain household items. “We still need plates and glasses,” Sharma said. The Loan Closet explicitly serves international students, who must pay a $2 registration fee to participate in the program. Students may shop and purchase items or accept household goods as a loan and return them when they are finished. Upon returning loaned items, students may receive their money back, depending on the item’s condition. Volunteer Henry Bradsher donates his time and van to transport students and their new acquisitions to dorms or apartments nearby. “The idea is that if students buy anything that’s too big to carry, I’ll drive them around,” Bradsher said. The Loan Closet, located in room 133 of Parker Coliseum, opens every Thursday between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. during the fall and spring semesters. Wright said there is a huge demand for this service because international students rarely have a form of transportation or access to money to purchase these items. “Many students arrive with few, if any, household supplies and have limited budgets for even basic necessities,” according to the IHF website.
____ Contact Alyson Gaharan at [email protected]