The Brown & White

The annual Move Out Collection Drive and Great South Side Sale, organized by the Community Service Office for the past 11 years, will take place again as this semester comes to a close.

The programs first started when Professor Kim Carrell-Smith and her husband, Professor John Smith, were walking around campus and saw all of the good-conditioned items students were throwing away. They started taking goods from the dumpster to donate to the local South Bethlehem agencies, according to the Director of the Community Service Office Carolina Hernandez.

"Over the years, the program has evolved to a more coordinated effort, with the conclusion being a sale in the community where proceeds benefit children and youth programs in South Bethlehem," Hernandez said.

The Move Out Collection provides affordable items to families of the Bethlehem community, according to CSO staff member Lisa Kobayashi, '08.

"The sale also allows members of the community to feel that they are earning the purchases they've made," Kobayashi said. "It is not just a 'handout.'"

Not only does the sale offer essential living items like clothes and house wares at a reduced price to locals, but all the proceeds go toward South Bethlehem youth programs.

There is also an environmental benefit to the Move Out Collection because instead of these items being wasted and redirected to the landfill they are put to good use, Kobayashi said.

Beginning early next week, the CSO will mark designated drop-off locations in all dorms on campus and in Ulrich Student Center. Students can find fliers in the residence halls marking where they can leave items to donate. Students can give any item in decent condition including, but not limited to, bikes, printers, furniture, clothes and shoes.

Then, starting on Thursday, April 30, members of the CSO will drive to the designated locations on campus and pick up donations, which will then be brought to Kenner Theater to be sorted for the sale. Volunteers will go through the items and sort the food, which goes directly to the local food bank at New Bethany Ministries, and the clothing and house wares which go to the sale. The sorting of the items may take a few weeks, so the CSO welcomes all the volunteers they can get.

Although students may be feeling the effects of the bad economy, Hernandez still expects a good number of donations from students, even if they are thinking twice about what they keep and what they donate.

"We may not get the higher-end items that we usually get, like refrigerators or TVs, but anything we get will certainly benefit the greater community," Hernandez said. "We are happy to continue this great program."

Kobayashi also notes most of the donations come from students who are moving out of their dorms and houses and are looking to get rid of some items they no longer need. Either way, she said she hopes that students will still feel the need to donate to the collection.

"I can only hope that there will be a conscious effort from the Lehigh community to give more, because they realize that our South Bethlehem neighbors are hurting from the economic situation we are currently in," Kobayashi said.

It is possible the poor economy will drive more people in the community to attend the sale because of the great deals offered. The CSO has already received phone calls from friends and families in South Bethlehem asking about the sale.

"As expected, there is a great need in the community," Hernandez said. "And I think it's safe to say that we might have a bigger turnout than usual at the sale."