Campus Living clothing drives collect nearly 10 tons of goods

There isn’t a laundry basket large enough to hold all the clothing UB resident students donated to two Buffalo-based nonprofit organizations before leaving for the summer.

In May — the month most students leave campus residence halls and apartments for the summer — UB students donated 9.32 tons of clothes, blankets and footwear, according to figures recently compiled by Campus Living.

The majority, or 6.43 tons, was collected for Hearts for the Homeless, a Riverside-based nonprofit organization that helps the poor and chronic homeless; 2.89 tons went to the Buffalo City Mission as part of a separate collection effort.

Most of the donated items were collected during Move-Out Week in mid-May, when students pack up their belongings and discard anything they no longer need or what. But instead of being relegated to the dumpster, these items are finding their way into the hands of those who need a little help.

“The push here is, don’t put anything in a landfill. Reuse it or donate it,” says Ken Kern, Campus Living’s associate director for sustainability. “This is part of an ongoing sustainability effort we’re trying to do within Campus Living.”

The donations will be put to good use. “As a small organization, donations of this size go a long way in assisting the community,” says David Fineberg, site developer for Hearts for the Homeless, which was formed in 1990. The organization served more than 12,000 clients last year through its mobile soup kitchen and a thrift shop in Buffalo’s Riverside neighborhood.

“Compared to other school and college donation programs that Hearts for the Homeless organizes, UB’s collection effort is the largest,” Fineberg adds. “The partnership between UB and Hearts for the Homeless is a great example of how sustainability efforts can affect more than the environment.”

Campus Living conducted a trial run of the clothing collection program in May 2014, placing red Hearts for the Homeless bins at the five apartment complexes on the North Campus — Flint, South Lake, Hadley, Flickinger and Creekside — and at Clement and Goodyear residence halls on the South Campus. That May, students donated 10,460 pounds of clothing.

The program was expanded to the remaining residence halls throughout this past spring. Now, there are bins located at each of Campus Living’s 10 residence halls and apartment complexes.

When Kern tallied the figures for May 2015, he was pleased to learn students donated 12,860 pounds of clothing. Kern says the bins will remain at each Campus Living building year-round. Faculty and staff are encouraged to donate items as well.

Ryan McPherson, UB’s chief sustainability officer, praised Kern and Campus Living for organizing such efforts. “Campus Living continues to demonstrate great leadership across our campus by integrating sustainability throughout their division. The actions they have taken in both moving toward zero waste and working to increase equity and empowerment throughout our community are critical elements in our university’s sustainability strategy and set an example for our entire campus community,” McPherson says.

A separate drive during Move-Out Week was held to benefit the Buffalo City Mission. “We would like to thank all of the UB students who participated in the clothing drive to benefit the poor and homeless of Western New York,” says Aubrey Calhoun, associate executive director of the Buffalo City Mission. “UB’s donation of 2.89 tons of clothing will go to help the many impoverished men, women and children that the mission serves each and every day through our Community Agape Shop and our Women’s Boutique at our women and children’s shelter, Cornerstone Manor.”