Saturday's 'Dump and Run' sale on North Campus will help nonprofits

A new reusable-waste recovery initiative at Cornell, called Dump and Run, will hold its first yard sale this Saturday, Aug, 23, from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at North Campus, on the lawn in front of the Appel Commons and Helen Newman Hall. Proceeds from the sale will go to benefit charitable organizations. And local radio station WVBR will be on hand to broadcast live from the sale.

This past May, Dump and Run volunteers at Cornell collected thousands of items left behind by students departing at the end of the semester from residence halls, fraternities and sororities -- items that otherwise would have ended up in dumpsters. Dump and Run recovered an abundance of shirts, shoes, pants, scarves and other clothing items, some of which still had price tags on them. Other items placed in the Dump and Run collection boxes included school and office supplies, books, carpets, lamps, ironing boards, mirrors, sporting goods, linens, housewares, decorations and electronics. In addition to these nonperishable items, carloads of food were collected and given to the Food Donation Network in Ithaca, to be distributed to local food pantries and charities.

Dump and Run Inc. is a national organization dedicated to waste prevention. More than 20 colleges and universities have held Dump and Run sales since the nonprofit's incorporation in 2000, and more than $100,000 has been raised for charitable agencies. The effort has diverted tons of trash from dumpsters and has helped to raise awareness about the problem of excess solid waste. At Cornell, Dump and Run has been selected as the annual philanthropy event for the Campus Life Student Advisory Committee.

Items at the Dump and Run yard sale will be sold at low prices, organizers say. Seventy percent of the funds raised will go to Loaves and Fishes, a local organization that feeds hundreds of people a week. The remaining 30 percent will be used by Dump and Run Inc. to help start the program at other colleges and universities. What is not sold will be given to various local organizations.

To find out more about Dump and Run, or for those interested in volunteering to help the nonprofit effort, contact Lauren Jacobs, Dump and Run program coordinator at Cornell, at lj29@cornell.edu or 592-3713.