HomeHISTORY
PennMOVES started as the result of an observation made by Housing staff and students that there were so many used but usable items left to be discarded after Move-Out at Penn. In 2008, staff saw this as an opportunity to support local charities, reduce waste, and stop usable items from going to landfills.
PennMOVES received an overwhelming response from students, staff and the community. By the end of June, 85,000 pounds of donated goods were collected and redistributed to the community including:
- 45 refrigerators
- 400 storage containers
- 138 trash cans
- 16 cases of school supplies
- 2,747 pounds of food
- 615 pounds of cleaning supplies
- 1,800 pounds of bed linens
- 7 tons of books
- 23 tons of clothes
- 8 sets of crutches
- Numerous lamps, irons, ironing boards and more!
Over 5,000 hangers were collected from students. Rather than give them out to charities, thus forcing students to repeat the cycle of purchasing and then discarding the hangers, staff gave them to the Penn Environmental Group (PEG). PEG then redistributed the hangers to incoming freshmen during New Student Orientation as an innovative way of bringing attention to campus sustainability efforts.
Penn's second PennMOVES was even more successful; instead of donating the goods directly to charities, the goods were made available to the public in a massive, low-cost sale. With the proceeds from this sale, PennMOVES was able to donate $30,000 to United Way to assist West Philadelphians in need.