Departing students give tons to charity

Fredonia, N.Y. — June 2, 2008 — Most of SUNY Fredonia’s students have left campus for the summer by now, but many of the items they left behind — sweatshirts, microwave ovens and cans of soup and pasta — will stay in Chautauqua County and benefit needy families for months to come.

Thanks to the social and environmental awareness of SUNY Fredonia’s Facilities Management Team, the Chautauqua County Rural Ministry gathered a staggering 9.4 tons of items that students generously placed into collection bins at the university’s 14 residence halls during the last week of the spring term.

“With the way the economy is right now, it really helps us. It helps us meet the needs of our community,” said Kathy Leach, housing coordinator at Rural Ministry. “We’re pleased they think of us each year because (the campaign) is fantastic.”

Furnishings and other items donated by Fredonia students help support Rural Ministry in several ways, explained board member Peggy Tiffany. They can be utilized in the emergency and permanent housing program or garment gallery or made available to area residents in need of such items.

“I’ve been involved with Rural Ministry for three years, and I am always amazed at how much is given to us,” Ms. Tiffany said. “Rural Ministry depends on this particular donation to help serve low-income families.”

The collection effort is also a resounding win-win scenario for the campus and the environment. “It helps us out tremendously,” said James Pepe, director of Facilities Management at Fredonia, who noted that the program provides people in need with up to 9.4 tons of material that may have otherwise been hauled to a landfill. That reduces waste as well as disposal costs incurred by the campus, while eliminating gases that decomposing materials emit, Mr. Pepe said.

He also touted the goodwill component of the effort. Discarded items that still have some life to them are made available to those who can put them to good use. “This is good stuff,” he added.

The donations are greatly appreciated by clients that Rural Ministry serves, Ms. Leach said. “Some of them have to swallow their pride to ask for help.”

The program’s design greatly facilitates student participation. Stationed on one side of each residence hall loading dock was a dumpster for trash; on the other, a wood-frame bin for articles that students can donate. The agency, in its fifth decade of providing food, clothing and shelter assistance, empties the bins daily or as needed.

Commonly donated items included clothing — some still in the original packaging — as well as area carpets, books, clocks, lamps and a variety of non-perishable food items. There were also a few big-ticket items, such as microwave ovens, small refrigerators, computers and printers. Those heavy cinder blocks that students have used for decades to create shelving become borders for raised vegetable gardens.

This year’s tonnage was the highest volume generated since the Fredonia program was launched five years ago, according to Mr. Pepe. He credits this year’s increase to greater recycling awareness, placement of recycling containers throughout the campus and a growing sustainability commitment by students, faculty and staff.

A grand total of 37.4 tons of items have been donated by Fredonia students to Rural Ministry collections over five years. The campus-wide campaign is the agency’s largest, single collection drive.