UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With planning underway for the University's first large-scale student move-out in two years, Penn State Housing has adapted its student donations process for residence halls and apartments. After a multiyear pilot program, Housing has partnered with Goodwill to collect, sort and distribute students’ gently used items for sale at various locations.
While there will no longer be an annual Trash to Treasure Sale at Beaver Stadium, which has not occurred since 2019 due to pandemic restrictions, the new opportunity still offers several benefits. A portion of the proceeds will be directed to the Centre County United Way this year.
“We are grateful for this collaboration because it allows us to continue upcycling items that would likely end up in a landfill and significantly reduces the University’s cost of removing and hosting a public event,” said John Papazoglou, associate vice president of Auxiliary and Business Services.
“This change allows us to continue to prioritize our sustainability program, ensures our students can do their part to protect the environment by donating items they no longer need, provides gently used and new items to the broader community, and reduces University costs. We look forward to the continued success of the donations program as we head into our first large-scale student move-out since before the pandemic.”
In April, signage will direct students to donation locations in their residence halls and living areas. Students are encouraged to drop off gently used and unwanted clothing and small household and decorative items. Large furniture items will not be accepted and should be donated to organizations outside the University. Students also may drop off unexpired food items for distribution to local food pantries.
Goodwill will collect and transport donations to its main sorting site after students move out. Items will be distributed for sale to Goodwill locations across a 15-county region.
“This is an important part of our overall sustainability program,” said David Manos, associate director of Housing. “Things that can be reused or upcycled should be. Our students can do their part to protect the environment by donating items they no longer need, providing gently used and new items to the broader community. Partnering with Goodwill allows that to happen while also protecting the environment and helping those in need.”
Donations to Goodwill help to create jobs, opportunities and training programs for community members across Pennsylvania. Environmentally, Goodwill diverts more than 5 million pounds of sellable or recyclable items from landfills yearly.
For more information on the move-out donation process, contact David Manos or visit Housing's LiveOn website.