Thousands of dollars worth of gently used household items found a second home with Washington State University students this fall through a pair of campus initiatives designed to reduce waste and support student success.
Through Move Out, Pitch In (MOPI) and Room Rescue, students, staff, and community partners worked together to collect, store, and redistribute hundreds of donated items, helping fellow Cougs furnish their living spaces while keeping reusable goods out of local landfills.
This year, Room Rescue offered 780 items to students, most of them donated by fellow students when they moved out of their residence halls last spring. Held before the start of the academic year, the event gave an estimated 450 students an opportunity to pick up everything from mini fridges and plastic drawers to fans, mirrors, and other household essentials at no cost.
Alyssa Kusluch, event partner and academic advisor in TRIO Student Support Services (SSS), said it felt like a giant yard sale and brought the community together.
“The doors opened at 8:30 a.m. and there was a long line outside the doors of the building,” said Kusluch. “There is definitely a big need for something like this.”
The success of Room Rescue does not surprise Luci Loera, executive director of the Office for Access & Opportunity. For years her staff and students have brought unused household items to campus to share with others, and more recently the effort became more formalized.
“It started in the spirit of responding to student needs, whether it be a lamp, bookends, or a keychain, that helps them create a place to call home without spending money,” Loera said.
Putting students first
MOPI is a collaborative two-day program that encourages students to donate their unwanted items instead of tossing them into the garbage as they leave campus for summer.
Jessica Perone, associate director of engaged learning in the Center for Civic Engagement (CCE), said MOPI is a huge undertaking that involves many campus and community partners including CCE, SSS, Residence Life and Housing, Student Affairs Auxiliary Services, Community Congregational United Church of Christ, Pullman Disposal, Palouse Habitat for Humanity, and L-C Valley Habitat for Humanity. More than 20 volunteers monitor 12 drop-off locations at residence halls each day.
“During last May’s Move Out, Pitch In, we filled four U-Haul sized trucks for the two Habitat for Humanity programs, over a dozen pick-up truck loads were taken to local thrift stores, and countless more loads were taken to the CUE to be stored for Room Rescue,” Perone said. “It is a great example of everyone working together for a common goal of helping students and our community.”
Wayne Gregory, associate director of Auxiliary Facilities Services, said MOPI comes at a time when his custodial crew is feverishly working to prepare hundreds of rooms for the FFA Convention days away. Yet, he and his team of five maintenance custodians were seen regularly checking all the drop-off locations and hauling the donated items to their intended destinations.
“I’m a firm believer in putting students first, and this program is definitely a student-first program,” Gregory said. “It’s amazing and everyone at WSU should lean into it in the coming years.”
Building a culture of sustainability
While MOPI and Room Rescue are important for helping students put the finishing touches on the place they will call home, event partners said a larger objective is to build a culture of sustainability on campus. Perone said it alarming to think if it wasn’t for these events, most all the items — most look brand new —would have ended up in the landfill. During the events, staff and volunteers make a concerted effort to educate students about the importance of reusing and recycling.
“We would like students to automatically think about donating their items to help other students,” Perone said. Hopefully, it becomes part of the lifecycle of students.
If what students were saying during Room Rescue is any indication, Kusluch said the educational efforts seem to be working.
“Many students, particularly upperclassmen, asked us how they can donate their items next year to help other students and urged us to keep doing what we are doing,” Kusluch said. “I can see this becoming a signature event for WSU.”
