Students asked to think outside the box during moving days

Every August, thousands of students move in and out of downtown apartments. In an effort to minimize the mess and maximize the benefit to the community, UW–Madison and a coalition of local partners, including the City of Madison, Goodwill Industries and St. Vincent de Paul, are working together on the Moving Days campaign to encourage students to donate usable items to local charities.

“We think UW–Madison has a responsibility to be a good neighbor, and the Moving Days donation drive is one way we can help students have a positive impact on the community,” said Katherine Loving, civic engagement coordinator at UW–Madison’s University Health Services.

Goodwill Industries and St. Vincent de Paul will staff three truck sites in campus-area neighborhoods to collect donations from students who are moving out on and before August 14.

The groups seek donations of clean clothes, good quality furniture, unopened nonperishable food, and other household items in good condition. All ripped, wet, dirty, rusty, broken, stained or smelly items should be left for city pickup on the curb.

In addition, some downtown high-rise apartment buildings will host St. Vincent de Paul collection barrels through August 15 for their residents.

St. Vincent de Paul donations enable the organization to provide furniture, clothing, food, and household items for low-income people. Money raised from store sales also helps with transitional housing operations, emergency shelter and prescription drugs for low-income families. Students from the St. Paul’s University Catholic Center have organized and supported the St. Vincent de Paul donation sites during Moving Days for a number of years.

Andrew Forecki, one of the student group’s leaders and intern at the Port St. Vincent housing program, emphasizes that the Moving Days donation drive is a great opportunity for students to actively serve the community. “It gives us all a chance to go out and do something positive for others. Through my work at Port St. Vincent, I have witnessed the impact of the programs made possible by the donations we receive.”

The sale of items donated to Goodwill Industries during Moving Days helps fund services that help people with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injuries find jobs. The TechWorks program helps people with disabilities enter the information technology world and Goodwill’s housing options allow senior citizens and individuals with mental illness, or on limited incomes, to live in safe, supervised, and affordable places of their own.

Maureen Roche, spokesperson for Goodwill Industries, says, “We sell good-quality donated items in our five Madison-area retail stores at a reasonable price and use the revenue to support our services. Students who donate to Goodwill Industries during Moving Days are making a real difference in the lives of people with disabilities in our community.”

Moving Days is sponsored by the City of Madison, Goodwill Industries, St. Paul’s University Catholic Center, St. Vincent de Paul and University Health Services at UW–Madison. A complete list of times and locations follows:

• Broom and Mifflin Streets, near Capitol Centre Foods: Goodwill truck, 2-6 p.m. Aug. 11-12, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 13-14;
• Gorham and Henry Streets, behind Holy Redeemer Church: St. Vincent de Paul truck 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Aug 10-14;
• Regent and Mills Streets, UW Lot 51: St. Vincent de Paul truck, 9 a.m.-9 p.m., Aug. 10-14;

Collection barrels will be placed at LaCiel at 515 University Ave., Steve Brown Apartments at 625 Langdon St., Palisade Apartments at 535 West Johnson St., and the Park Terrace West at 45 North Randall St.

Information on donations, trash disposal, and recycling can be found at the donation sites and at www.ci.madison.wi.us/streets/streets.html or www.uhs.wisc.edu.