The Corp will be providing summer storage services for students beginning in May 2021. The services include drop-off and pick-up of storage for students on campus and the surrounding Georgetown community.
The Corp offered similar services in March 2020 when students were sent home due to COVID-19. Due to the rapid departure from campus, however, The Corp ran into several issues and was unable to provide students with storage services. Some students reported limited dates to access their stored items, high costs of shipping, or destruction of property.
“We didn’t have all the boxes in all the sizes we usually carry and that caused issues with availability of supplies,” Harper Thomas (SFS ‘22), chair of the board of the directors for The Corp, said.
With more time to prepare, The Corp was able to approach storage this year in a more systematic manner. “This year we have gone back and looked at everything that happened last year. We looked at things that went well and figured out what we could improve,” Thomas said. “We have made a couple of upgrades to our system and the ways we manage things to make sure we have all these parts running smoothly.”
In light of the heightened levels of socioeconomic and financial need on campus due to the pandemic, The Corp has partnered with the Georgetown Scholars Program (GSP), which serves first generation and low-income college students, to provide free storage to all GSP students.
The Corp is also working with Hilldrup and the university to clarify how Hilldrup, which provides professional moving, storage, and logistic services, will be involved in the partnership. They have addressed previous issues by ensuring that at each shift there will be a designated senior member of the team to provide additional accountability and supervision. “This person will make sure everything is being processed correctly, that all the boxes are being labeled correctly and nothing is getting mixed up,” Thomas said.
For first-year students who will be on campus for the five-week Summer Hilltop Immersion Program, the Corp is considering offering Corp Storage in between summer sessions.
“This will be a unique opportunity since typical storage companies don’t store for that short of term, from the beginning of July to the end of August,” vice president and COO Liam Marshall (MSB ‘23) said.
The deadline to purchase storage with packing materials included is May 9, and the deadline to purchase storage without packing supplies is May 16. Supplies pickup will take place on May 10 and 11 in Red Square. Storage drop off will take place on May 17 and 18 from 12 to 6 p.m. EST in the Lau parking lot and May 19 and 20 from 12 to 6 p.m. in the Henle Village.
In consideration of public safety amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the Corp will be tracking and limiting-drop off capacity by the hour.
“I think it’s great that we can continue to serve the community and also reinvent ourselves and return to campus. Corp storage is something we do every year so I think it’s a great way for us to slowly start creeping our way back into the Georgetown community,” Marshall said.
