From Trash to Treasure

Everything deserves a second chance — even old dorm items.

This May, a familiar tradition returned to campus. Trash to Treasure encourages students to donate gently used dorm items during move-out, rather than throwing them away and offering them to local non-profit organizations.

Ashley Cook, Graduate Assistant for Student Union, Leadership, and Activities (SULA), was one of the primary organizers of the event, in partnership with the Office of Residential Life.

“We accepted everything from mini fridges to non-perishable food,” Cook said. “As students move out, they often have belongings they don’t want or can’t take home. Instead of throwing these items out, we’re offering the alternative to donate those items.”

Leading up to and during move-out, large donation boxes were placed in residence hall lobbies, along with signs asking, “Stop! Did you know you could donate this?”

“I’m so passionate about talking with college students about how they can initiate change,” Cook said. “This program is a way of creating more sustainability at Brockport, which is one of the University’s strategic goals.”

The initiative received about 350 bags worth of donations, equaling 1,759 cubic feet of items. Most contributions consisted of clothing and bedding, along with larger items such as a recliner, microwave, mini fridges, dressers, and other pieces of furniture.

After collection was complete, all donations were gathered in one place with the help of 33 faculty, staff, and student volunteers.

“Residential Directors have a connection with students that other offices might not, so we worked with them to coordinate the volunteer effort,” Cook said. “Student volunteers collected the items from the residence halls, brought them to the Cooper Hall Gym, sorted through everything, and used their judgement to decide which items were in good enough condition to donate.”

After pooling the donations altogether, 21 non-profit organizations across the Greater Rochester area were invited to campus to sort through the items and determine how they can use them to support the communities and causes they serve. The organizations visiting campus included local churches, those that support the unhoused, BIPOC communities, recreation centers, and more.

The organization "Sisters for a Better Black Community" visits campus to collect donated items from the Trash to Treasure initiative.

To further reduce landfill waste, the donation pool was also opened to the broader campus community in addition to the visiting organizations.

“Programs like this show that there are ways to be a sustainable college student,” Cook said. “It’s been priceless to be able to connect with so many different organizations and people that come together for the community.”