A massive effort across campus during move out in May is making a wider impact through new community partnerships.

Colorado State University’s Pack It. Store It. Donate It. is a campus-wide operation that is making an impact throughout Northern Colorado. Small furniture, mattress toppers, fans, clothing and school supplies residents brought with them to campus, are now going right back into the community to help local teachers, college students and families in need.

Housing & Dining Service’s Move Out donation program began with an idea to divert items from landfills. This program isn’t new to CSU. In 2009, CSU Surplus initiated a university-wide program to collect gently used items to recycle or resell to the community. Today, it looks a little different, but the purpose is still the same – keep things out of landfills and give back to the community.

“We are excited about these new partnerships. It is an opportunity to give back to the community but also divert usable and good quality items from the landfill,” said Kirstie Tedrick, sustainability project manager with Housing & Dining Services. “Every year, we try to find partners or outlets to divert new materials we notice tend to get thrown out often. Our entire team and numerous student and staff volunteers work to make it as easy for students to donate as possible during move out.”

Donations help families in transition

Donations to organizations like Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains are helping families settle into new homes. The organization, based in Greeley, assists refugees from other nations acquire necessities for their first apartment here in the U.S.

“It’s exciting,” says Nicholas McGuire, the engagement and volunteer coordinator for the nonprofit. “We help 30 refugees a month potentially. This will make a difference for us. Bedding is one of the hardest things to come by, and the donations from CSU will help a lot.”

McGuire said the donated items really help with the resettling process, adding that first impressions are everything for families who often show up here with very few items or furniture.

“The more comfortable you are on the first day, that can help mitigate people’s anxiety,” he said. “If there are five or six kids with no chairs, table or bedding, it is stressful. Having those things there already really helps with reducing their anxiety their first week here.”

Chair Table Home is another partner that uses student donations to help families in need of bedding, clothing, and other items.

“It’s all so wonderful,” said Susan Wingate, founder of the Fort Collins company.

Chair Table Home got involved with the Move Out program because they are passionate about protecting the environment and rehabilitating gently used furniture, and they are the program’s longest-standing charitable partner.

“I stayed involved with the program during COVID,” Wingate said. “We wanted to stick with being a partner through that time. This will be our fifth year.”

Her company diverts furniture from the landfill by refurbishing it and reselling it. But as a former social worker, Wingate said she also wanted to give back to the community. Many of the donations from CSU students are rerouted to partnerships with Homeward Alliance, The Matthews House, Catholic Charities, Larimer County Drug Court clients, and other students and families in the community.

This year, CSU also donated items to Goodwill, Salvation Army and ARC Thrift Store. These nonprofits parked large trucks on campus to fill with residents’ donations. Over 300 mattress toppers were also diverted from the trash and given to Spring Back Colorado to be repurposed or recycled.

“We reach out to all local and regional groups who are interested in partnering with us,” said Mary Liang, assistant director of sustainability for HDS.

“While most agencies would like to collect our residents’ items, many smaller groups don’t have the capacity to accept hundreds of pounds of clothing, bedding and small appliances. It’s a heavy lift so we greatly appreciate the organizations that can help us divert and recover items that would otherwise be thrown away.”

This year, six trucks were filled with donations at move-out, 75 volunteers participated, and CSU will continue to reach out to new community partners for the 2023-24 school year.