George Washington University has partnered with Sterling, Virginia-based JK Moving Services and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Storage Squad to pack up dorms and store or ship student belongings after the campus was closed for the rest of the school year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
And to help students pack up remotely, they’re using video chat.
JK Moving is also working with Towson University, and has pending contracts with two other D.C.-area schools.
Storage Squad has been working with more than a half-dozen universities across the country.
Immediately after D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s stay-at-home order on March 30, GWU advised students not to return to campus, and said it was not safe for students and their families to move out of residence halls on their own.
In addition to storing dorm room belongings and shipping important items, George Washington University wants to free up available housing for medical professionals, such as GW Hospital and GW medical faculty associates.
Students have been able to video chat with the professional packers at prearranged times when they enter their dorm rooms and identify their personal items — everything from bedding to microwaves to textbooks — to be packed, and either stored on campus for their eventual return, or shipped for a moving fee.
About 60% of George Washington students live in college-owned, -operated or -affiliated housing, according to U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges list.
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