Volunteers sought for Project Move Out

Project Move Out, an annual event that allows students to donate usable items to community organizations, is seeking volunteers to take shifts May 5-9.

The project, now in its 17th year, is organized by Purdue's Office of Sustainability, Residential Life, and Civic Engagement & Leadership Development, along with community partner agencies. In addition to assisting families, Project Move Out keeps thousands of items from landfills. In each of the past three years, the amount diverted from landfills exceeded 20 tons.

“We work with local agencies like Lafayette Adult Resource Academy, Wild Baby Rehab, and the ACE Campus Pantry to connect them with items that will directly support their programming, and their clients,” says Vanessa Pacheco, Purdue's coordinator for civic engagement. "Our goal is to see that Project Move Out is a win for everyone. Students have a convenient and socially responsible way to part with usable things that they cannot or do not wish to move with them. Overuse of landfills is avoided. And members of the local community can benefit from gently used items.

"We also hope that this creates less work for our campus partners who would otherwise have to manage these left behind items: couches, futons, fridges. It is hugely worthwhile and a great use of volunteer time, but the scale of the project means that these volunteers are extremely important."

Among the gently used items frequently donated, students give electronics (e.g., television sets, stereos) furniture (e.g., futons, chairs), home appliances (e.g., microwaves, refrigerators), clothing (including coats) and other household items, including bicycles. They can leave their items at designated places in residence halls. In the donation phase, volunteers fill "pull" shifts that involve unloading trucks delivering those items to the Purdue Armory, then sorting the items.

Staff and faculty volunteers are needed especially in the "pull" shifts May 5-8 because many students will have left. Following those shifts, the local agencies that are community partners in the project come and select things to take back for use by local families. 

Volunteers can register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/project-move-out-2017-tickets-31997203497.

About Civic Engagement & Leadership Development: "Civic Engagement & Leadership Development provides transformative on-campus and community-based experiences for students to develop their leadership and civic identities in order to prepare them to facilitate positive change in local, national and global communities. We do this by connecting the university and community as partners to explore the critical issues facing leaders today through engaged curricular and co-curricular leadership learning opportunities and promoting the practice of active citizenship."