‘Tis better to give, than to trash

by Josh Booth – Horizon News & Features Editor
The countdown has begun. With less than a month of school left, we are all getting excited and making plans for the summer. But first, we need to move all our stuff back home. If you are anything like me, this means cramming everything into the backseat of your car and tossing the rest.

The Campus Stewardship Council (CSC), a committee dedicated to making environmentally friendly changes at Hesston College, may have a better solution: The 10-Day Give, which starts April 24.

Starting that day you have the opportunity to relieve yourself of those extra items you do not necessarily need to haul back home. The 10-Day Give encourages students to bring at least 10 things to the Pit where they will be sorted and distributed to area nonprofits who can use them.

Kendra Burkey, a faculty member on the CSC is helping coordinate the project.

“I see the 10-Day Give as benefiting everybody involved,” she said. “Hesston benefits by keeping our end-of-the-year trash processing costs down. We benefit personally by purging unneeded items, and what’s even better is that the items you donate will go to someone who does need them.”

One of the groups taking items is the Mennonite Central Committee, who will distribute them across the globe. MCC receives all sorts of clothing and shoes, packs it all together into large bales, and ships them overseas where they’re processed into building insulation.

The process for participating in the 10-Day Give is simple. Starting Wednesday, April 24, put aside items you no longer want. When you’ve accumulated a pile, take it down to the Pit. If you can’t take it to the Pit, you can drop it in your mod’s 10-Day Give box.

Burkey, whose Introduction to Mass Communication class is coordinating the publicity around the event, says she hopes to get at least 100 students to participate.

“So don’t forget to put a 10-Day Give sticker on your pile when you get to the Pit,” she said.

You probably find yourself wondering, “Just what items are eligible for donating to the 10-Day Give?” The simple answer is almost anything!

Electronics, both broken and functional, will be collected during the 10-Day Give.

Items you might donate include usable items:

– clean clothing in good condition

– books, paper, pens and pencils

– clean shower caddies and wastebaskets

– clean towels, washcloths and sheets

– dorm room decor

– electronics

– unopened, non perishable food items

They’ll even take some damaged items that can be given to MCC or recycled:

– ripped, stained or damaged clothing

– broken electronics

But they won’t take anything that’s unhygienic or potentially unhealthy:

– used soap, toothpaste or other personal toiletries

– dirty, soiled, or wet items

– perishable or open food items

We hope to see you helping the cause, and making our planet a more sustainable place to live!

 

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