CSM Employees Make Donation to Humane Society

Alise Jorgensen, healthcare course manager in the College of Southern Maryland Continuing Education and Workforce Development Department, left, and Alyssa Stillwell, laboratory program assistant, right, donated used linens to the Humane Society of Charles County recently. Accepting the donation is Starla Raiborn, the nonprofit’s executive director, center.

At the same time that College of Southern Maryland employee Alise Jorgensen was finding her perfect family pet, she was also finding out that the Humane Society of Charles County is the perfect site for used items that could no longer be used in her classroom.

Ms. Jorgensen is the healthcare course manager on CSM’s La Plata Campus and when she went to adopt a dog in February from the Charles County Humane Society, it occurred to her that the college was often getting rid of old linens that had lived out their usefulness to students. But the frayed, ripped and stained towels, blankets and sheets that are used in certified nursing assistant and geriatric nursing assistant classes were perfect for the Humane Society, which is always in need of just such items. Ms. Jorgensen took the items to the humane society recently.

“This is our first time donating these items,” Jorgensen said as she was taking the linens to HSCC’s office on Industrial Park Drive in Waldorf. “During the year, these towels and linens are used in labs where the students learn the fundamentals of being a nursing assistant and they practice feeding, bathing, dressing and grooming patients and changing linens. Sometimes they use yellow food coloring and the items get stained or the bleach will stain them. Either way, the items have lost their usefulness in the classroom. We’ll give them a second life here.”

Ms. Jorgensen and Allyson Stillwell, laboratory program assistant, went to the humane society to make the donation, gladly accepted by HSCC Executive Director Starla Raiborn.

“We are very appreciative of the donation,” Ms. Raiborn said. “We can’t operate without the support of the community, and with something as simple as towels, blankets and sheets, it goes a long way in helping us keep things clean and sanitary.”

Ms. Raiborn said the humane society accepts many household items and other donations from the public.

“If it’s a supply and we can use it, we need it as a donation. What we don’t get donated to us, we have to purchase. Any donation helps us stretch our resources,” she said.

The HSCC’s wish list includes items like dry dog and cat food, puppy and kitten food, KMR kitten formula, moist cat food, plastic trash bags, scrubbing sponges, white and colored copy paper, non-clumping kitty litter, rubber gloves, dishwashing liquid, four-foot fluorescent bulbs, bleach, hand sanitizer, permanent markers, animal carriers, digital camera, electric heating pads, Frisbees and dog toys, cat climbing trees and toys, bath towels, wash cloths, newspapers, cardboard flats and blankets (no fiber filled or fringe). Find out more about the Humane Society of Charles County and how to donate to the organization on its website.

Ms. Stillwell, who is in charge of the linens and towels used in the classes, said the items were piling up at the college. “They had been sitting in my office for a long time,” she said. “So they needed to go. We’re very happy to find someone who could actually use them, rather than having to throw them away.”

For more information about the nursing assistant courses at CSM, visit the CSM website.

For more about the College of Southern Maryland, visit their Leader member page.