As yearly contracts come to an end on July 31, students prepare for the big move out of their houses or apartments. Beneath the broken down couches and kitchenware, buried treasures of reusable items may be spared a trip to the dumpster. In the past few years, the resources available to students with unused items have expanded beyond setting these items on the street corner.

Various charities in Lawrence accept donations of items that would otherwise be destined for the curbside. Organizations such as Social Service League and the Goodwill Store serve not only as places to help other people through donations, but also as places students can pick up new items for living arrangements in the fall. A free Web site also offers a unique opportunity for the trading of move-out goods in Lawrence.

Donating to a good cause

Students located near downtown Lawrence can take advantage of the Social Service League, Lawrence’s oldest charity.

The Social Service League, 905 Rhode Island St., is funded through donations and provides low to no-cost items to low-income residents. Jean Ann Pike, store manager of the Social Service League, described moving week at the end of July as “absolutely chaotic.”

“It’s coming in the back door as donations and out the front door as fast as possible,” Pike said.

She said it was important to remember that the store was open to anyone for shopping. The store runs on volunteers, with Pike as the only paid employee.

Pike said that when people donate to the Social Service League, they know it will go directly to Lawrencians. Almost every type of household item is accepted, including clothing, kitchenware, books, records, shoes, etc.

She said that the store didn’t accept major appliances such as refrigerators, washers and hide-a-beds, and that donations should be dropped off before close at 5 p.m. The store itself is open Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“Anything that you can keep out of the dumpsters and out of the landfill is a good thing,” Pike said. “There’s already so much waste in the landfill.”

Pike said the primary function of the store was to fund its programs, which include providing local school children with eye exams and glasses, and hosting clothing giveaways.

Another place for donations is the Lawrence Goodwill Store, 2200 W. 31st Street. Goodwill has always been a place to take unwanted clothes, kitchenware and furniture.

Pantaleon Florez, Topeka senior, said he had used the Goodwill store before and was happy with its service. He said he usually asked his family if they wanted some of his unwanted items while moving out, but if nobody wanted it, he said he would take it to Goodwill.

“They’ll take just about anything,” Florez said.

Similar to Social Service League and other charity organizations, the money Goodwill makes from selling donated items goes right back into the programs it promotes.

Brian Lloyd, Lenexa graduate student, said he generally did not like moving day because it was always a hassle to move his stuff six blocks up or halfway across town. He said he did not take any of his unwanted items anywhere else except the curb when moving out because it was all “pretty much junked.”

“I never had anything nice enough to give or to be reused,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd said if the student body were more aware of it, more people would probably take advantage of opportunities to donate.

Taking Donations online

In additon to the traditional methods, such as posting on Craigslist, is Lawrence Freecycle, a web-based free exchange site for reusable items that would otherwise be tossed out. The Lawrence Web site can be accessed through the national Freecycle site or at lifeinlawrence.com and requires registration.

According to the Lawrence Freecycle Web site, close to 4,000 members have joined since its start in January 2004.

The Web site allows users to list items and set up times with other users who want to exchange the items. Shala London, moderator and co-founder of Lawrence Freecycle, said that because the group had no physical building to store any of the listed items, there was no limit on the number of items the Web site could manage.

To Dive or Not To Dive

The items that don’t make it to charity organizations and are not traded online by the end of July are often left on the curb for the city bulk trash pick-up. However, July 30 and August 1 have managed to become known as the unofficial dumpster diving days of the summer for students and residents moving into new apartments on August 1 and 2.

According to city code, it is illegal to “remove any portion of the contents of any refuse container” or material from a curb that is not your own. The general fine for this can carry a maximum fine of up to $500 or a year in jail if payment cannot be made.

Florez said that while he had never gone dumpster diving before, he also hadn’t heard of any laws against it.

Jerry Little, city prosecutor, said he didn’t see many cases involving dumpster diving that actually made it to trial. A lot of times people caught in the act are just let off with a reprimand, he said.

Brett Spurlock, general manager of Goodwill, said he used to have trouble with dumpster divers, but not anymore. Spurlock said the store had put in a better lock and now has a trash compactor instead of an open dumpster, making it harder for people to reach in and pull stuff out.

He said instead of dumpster diving for broken down furniture, students could come in the store and find inexpensive furniture that had passed quality tests.

— — Edited by Mike Bontrager