College students urged to donate responsibly, recognize social impact

With the end of the spring term and students packing up for the summer break, The University of Toledo is preparing for the annual move out flood of unwanted household items typically discarded by students departing on-campus housing.

This year UT is participating in a nationally piloted program called Give and Go: Move Out 2013 to keep these items out of the trash and instead see them put to “good re-use.” UT is one of five colleges chosen for the initiative.

During finals week April 29- May 3, UT will work with Goodwill of Northwest Ohio to set out donation bins in the lobbies of each on-campus residence hall for use by students cleaning out their rooms. Items collected will include electronics, linens, furniture, books, dishes and cookware, clothes, toiletries and non-perishable foods. When students donate any of these items, they are given a 10 percent off coupon to Goodwill and a coupon to The Oasis.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates that three million students live in campus housing at 2,100 U.S. colleges and universities nationwide. Each year, students leaving campus encounter storage and car trunks that can only hold so much, and often leave perfectly good clothes, electronics, books and furniture in overflowing campus dumpsters.

“We know students are conservation-minded and willing to do something on behalf of the planet if it’s convenient and fun. Give and Go: Move Out 2013 is an easy cleanup solution that offers tangible results,” said Brooke Mason, UT interim sustainability specialist.
The pilot initiative, organized by Keep America Beautiful and Goodwill in conjunction with the College and University Recycling Coalition (CURC), encourages college students to do something good by donating their unwanted clothing, kitchen items, electronics, books and dorm items as they clean out for summer break.

The purpose of Give and Go is to encourage students to reduce waste and boost existing sustainability practices on campus. After students donate their goods, those items are sold at Goodwill stores, and the revenue is used to fund job training and community-based services for people who face challenges to finding employment.

In addition to UT, the universities selected to participate in the initiative are Creighton University in Nebraska, Franklin College in Indiana, Northern Illinois University, and Trinity University in Texas.

Click here for more information on the UT Give and Go program.

Media Coverage
WTOL 11 (April 30, 2013)