Students gathered in the Campus Center Atrium to donate and swap out used items in an event hosted by the Office of Sustainability and the Residence Hall Association (RHA) on April 13. The collaboration is new and inspired by IU Bloomington's event called Hoosier to Hoosier, an event no longer regularly taking place.
While Hoosier to Hoosier was influential in the coordination of this event, the two differ in significant ways. For example, the Bloomington event charged money for the items collected. IUPUI put out the donated items for free. The event was successful according to Jessica Davis, director of IUPUI sustainability.
“It’s the first time we’ve done it and for a first time event, I'd say it went off without a hitch,” Davis said. “There was a lot of interest, so if demand is any signal of success then I would say we knocked it out of the park.”
The event was giving away more than just clothes. They had donations from books, to household wares, accessories, office supplies, games, etc. The group has been amassing these items since March 15th from six different locations across campus.
Cristina Padilla, who is employed by the Office of Sustainability as the sustainability engagement coordinator, worked the event on April 13. While Padilla hoped nothing would be left over, there was a plan in place for remaining items to be donated. The remaining items were to be distributed between various shelters and Paws’ Closet as well.
“We wanted to support the campus community by making everything free and accessible and fair,” Padilla said. "I remember when I was a student at IUPUI, every dollar counted. All the time and effort we put into the event was well worth it once we got to see everyone’s enthusiasm on the day of the swap.”
There are still a few more events hosted by these two groups that students can participate in before the semester ends. For example, this week the IUPUI Sustainability Council invites students to participate in a campus tour of IUPUI’s sustainability features by bike. The registration link can be found here.
RHA has announced an Instagram challenge called “Jags in the Wild” for Earth week. Students can explore campus, take a photo, post it to their feed or story and follow and tag @iupuiwellness and @rhaatiupui in the post/story for a chance to win prizes. Further details are available on the RHA Instagram.
Eliana Bucklin is an intern at The Campus Citizen. She is expected to graduate this May with a degree in journalism and a certificate in museum studies. Outside of her intern work she enjoys reading, keeping up with Formula 1 and various artistic activities Her twitter can be found here.
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