Council Coordinates Charity Drive

The Undergraduate Council is hoping to foster unity among Harvard students and goodwill towards needy Cantabrigians with its "Pinch the Grinch" charity drive this week.

The drive, sponsored by council members Elizabeth A. Haynes '98 and Chandler F. Arnold '98, encourages students to donate clothes, toys, soap, paper products and money, which will in turn be given to local charities.

Houses and first-year districts will compete based on a point system for donations. One dollar is worth 20 points, a jacket is worth 300, and values for other donations range in between.

The house or area of the yard with the most points per person will receive a study break co-sponsored by the council and Harvard Dining Services.

In addition to helping the community, the council hopes the event will encourage unity on campus.

"There are not a lot of things that everybody feels strongly about here, but community service matters to a lot of people," Arnold said.

Donations can be made near the checker's desks in the house dining halls or the Freshman Union any time of day, not just during meal hours, Arnold said.

The contest will end on Friday and donations will be counted over the weekend, Haynes said.

This is the first time the council has attempted to sponsor a charity event, Haynes said.

"This is the first time the [council] has used its ability to reach out to the entire campus for anything other than a service or social event," Haynes said. "It's evident of the changing perception of what the council can do. This is something we wouldn't have thought of doing a year ago."

At the moment, Quincy House seems to be in the lead, said Arnold, himself a Quincy resident.

"There was just a huge rise the other night between twelve and three in the morning," Arnold said. "Maybe people were cleaning out their rooms or something, trying this as a new procrastination technique."

The study break will be held during reading period. The council has allocated $150 for the event, and with the help of dining services, the prize should be fairly substantial, Haynes said.

"We should be able to do pizza and ice cream or whatever the winner wants," Haynes said.

According to Arnold, the prize is not what is on most people's minds.

"A lot of people just seem to be doing it because they want to help," Arnold said. "It's pretty spectacular."