Penn Sustainability is partnering with the Office of Government and Community Affairs and the Office of Social Equity & Community to make campus move-out days for students who live off campus a little “cleaner and greener.”
The initiative breaks down into three parts: a donation center for unwanted items, a curbside furniture drive, and curbside bulk trash removal.
Penn for Refugee Empowerment and Penn are collaborating with the Philadelphia Furniture Bank for the initiative’s curbside furniture drive, which will operate on May 18 between 40th and 43rd streets and Baltimore and Chestnut streets.
For items that cannot be donated, curbside bulk trash removal will be added every Friday in May — in addition to the Monday and Wednesday curbside trash removal provided by the city of Philadelphia — to reduce waste left behind. The serviceable area is located between 39th and 42nd streets and Chestnut Street to Baltimore Ave.
While PennMOVES provides ways for students living on campus to donate to Goodwill, among other resources, the new initiative seeks to address a lack of streamlined opportunities for students who live off campus to properly donate or dispose of their unwanted belongings.
Penn Sustainability Director Nina Morris said that Penn ran a pilot program last year.
“We worked with Resurrection Church, and that worked out really well, so this year we're offering that service again, but it's even bigger," Morris said. "They graciously opened up the inside space of the Resurrection Philadelphia Church, and thanks to the Office of Social Equity and Community, they have plywood set up so that people can come in and leave donations like clothing, appliances, lamps, and larger things like bicycles as well.”
The donation center will continue to operate at Resurrection Philadelphia Church on Fridays and Saturdays for the next two weekends and will accept unwanted kitchen items, household items, small furniture items, and more.
Many of the donated goods will be saved for international students to use in the fall if they wish.
“Bridges International is a group on campus that is connected with international students when they get to campus in the fall,” Office of Social Equity & Community Director Scott Filkin said. “Because students often come without much other than clothing, it's important to be able to help furnish their apartments.”
Looking into the future, Penn Sustainability and its partner organizations hope to scale up the initiative. By accumulating information about the costs of the initiative and what outside resources might be necessary to take it a step further, they hope to expand into other sections of town and “continue to do a better and better job of being a good neighbor to the neighborhood and to the city.”
“It takes a village to keep a village clean,” Filkin said.
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