Students urged to 'Chuck It for Charity' at second annual event

Ah, the end of another spring semester on the beautiful Florida State University campus. For generations of students living in the university’s residence halls, this has traditionally been a time to start packing up their rooms and getting ready to head home for the summer. (Once their course finals are complete, of course.)

However, it's what those students leave behind that is so worrisome — thousands of pounds of used textbooks, mattresses, furniture, clothes and other unwanted belongings, much of it destined for a one-way trip to the landfill.

Fortunately, Florida State students now have another option — and one that is much friendlier to the environment. For the second year in a row, the university’s Sustainable Campus Initiative, which works to develop sustainable living practices on the Florida State campus, is sponsoring a “Chuck It for Charity” event to reduce the wastefulness associated with end-of-semester move-outs.

From Saturday, April 24, through Saturday, May 1, students will be able to drop off reusable items in their residence halls and at the following locations: the Center for Leadership and Civic Education at the Dunlap Student Success Center, 100 S. Woodward Ave.; the Bridge Lounge, located on the second floor of Oglesby Union; Gate M at Doak Campbell Stadium; Hillel House, 843 W. Pensacola St.; the Wesley Foundation, 705 W. Jefferson St.; and participating fraternities and sororities.

Off-campus students living in apartment complexes or private residences also can participate by bringing their items to one of the campus collection sites or by donating directly to a local community organization.

All items collected will be brought to the Union Green on May 1, where they will be distributed to local relief agencies.

Last year’s Chuck It for Charity event collected six tons — 12,000 pounds — of material from campus collection sites and redistributed many of the goods to Tallahassee-area community service agencies, including Goodwill and Capital City Youth Services, in an effort to support their work and the people they serve. This year, a grant from the nonprofit organization Keep Tallahassee Leon County Beautiful has helped the program expand to include more collection sites. Organizers have also raised their goal to 10 tons — 20,000 pounds — of items that they hope to collect.

“This dynamic collaboration between FSU and Keep Tallahassee Leon County Beautiful represents the best of campus-community partnerships,” said Sharon Liggett, board chair for Keep Tallahassee Leon County Beautiful. “Chuck It for Charity provides a wonderful, ‘green’ solution for students to donate goods to charitable organizations that would otherwise be headed for the landfill. This program is a win-win for our community as a whole.”

The following items are suitable for donating:

• Clothes
• Room décor and housewares (lamps, rugs, bookcases, etc.)
• Books (all kinds)
• Unopened, non-perishable food
• Personal hygiene supplies
• Cleaning supplies
• School supplies
• Bicycles