LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18)– At the end of the school year, college students clean out their dorm rooms and head out for the summer. Often, they’re left with things that they just don’t want anymore.
At the University of Kentucky, students can donate these items and this year, the university has collected more donations than the previous years.
“It’s too easy to throw away. So we like for them to think about it before they throw things away,” said Esther Moberly, the Waste, Recycling, and Trucking Manager at the University of Kentucky.
At the end of every school semester, as students get ready to leave for break, they can put any kind of donation into ‘Give and Go’ donation bins, clothes, shoes, furniture, and even non-perishable food.
This semester, the bins were full.
“This year, we did over 21 thousand pounds of materials that we had collected. That was an increase from last year, which was about 19 thousand pounds,” said Moberly.
That number is only expected to grow since items are still being collected from graduate housing. Clothing and household items will go to Goodwill and food donations help stock the campus’ Big Blue Pantry, which provides free food for students.
“We have found that even our own students are suffering from some food insecurity. So we thought it made a lot of sense to have our own students support their peers,” said Moberly.
Items are also collected from the sorority and fraternity houses. Moberly said those donations go to the Women’s Hope Center.
