by Campus Sustainability Office
August 2nd 2016
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Every spring, when more than 1000 of PSU’s student residents move out, they often leave clothing and household items behind. That’s when the Campus Sustainability Office (CSO) swoops in with the Chuck it for Charity program to keep those items out of the trash and get them to local charities.
Staff and volunteers from CSO set up donation stations in the lobbies of five housing buildings to collect unneeded clothing, bedding, towels, cookware, household items, books, electronics, and non-perishable food. This year was the first that they also organized a Pop-Up Swap in the Park Blocks to offer collected household items and clothing back to the campus community during the donation drive.
The Chuck it for Charity 2016 program diverted 10,736 pounds, or more than five tons, of stuff this spring. Donated items went to the following local charities:
- Community Warehouse, an organization that helps vulnerable populations improve the quality of their lives and become self-sufficient by providing them with basic household furnishings.
- Gaia Movement, which reuses or recycles shoes and clothing to educate the general public about the plight of the environment while taking action to protect it.
- ASPSU Food Pantry, an on-campus service that provides a welcoming, dignified environment for currently enrolled PSU students to acquire free food items on a regular basis.
- A local grassroots network to support recent immigrants to Portland.
Watch the Chuck it for Charity video to see us in action, and look for us again next year!