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LEWISBURG, Pa. — As Graduation Day has come and gone, Bucknell University’s class of 2024 is leaving the campus in Lewisburg. Dumpsters are piled high next to the dorms, filled with items the students no longer want.
But the dumpsters aren’t as full as they could be. Many of the students are participating in Bucknell’s sustainable move-out event.
“Sustainable checkout is a model that’s used by a lot of colleges that asks students to redirect their donations. Instead of throwing them out, giving them to local nonprofits that can use them,” explained Lynn Pierson, Bucknell’s director of the office of civic engagement.
As students move out, they are bringing what they no longer want or need to a section of the South Campus Apartments where the Union Snyder Community Action Agency Food Hub and DIG Furniture Bank are set up.
“We get tons of mini fridges, microwaves, which are always a huge need. We get linens. We get all kinds of really nice storage, which is flexible, those plastic totes we think of when we think of college dorms,” said Emily Gorski, DIG Furniture Bank executive director.
DIG Furniture Bank is cleaning the items and will load them onto their truck. They will bring the items back to their facility in Milton, where they will be given to families in need throughout central Pennsylvania.
“We call this our Christmas. It is amazing. We’ve done this for the past three years and over the past three years, the stuff that we collect on campus over these next two days help us six months into a year,” Gorski said.
Last year’s event collected more than 6,000 pounds of furniture and 450 pounds of food.
“It replenishes a lot of what they’ve given out this time of year. A lot of folks don’t realize that food insecurity, especially, is very deep in this area, especially during the summer months,” Pierson said. “This helps out their patrons quite a bit.”
In addition to helping those in need, the sustainable move-out helps the environment by reducing waste.
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