Queen’s helped hundreds of students divert thousands of items from the landfill and give back to the community during Housing and Ancillary Services’ Drop or Swap Event. The university held the event in the Rideau Hall parking lot April 27-29 to promote a sustainable and community-minded move out for residence and off-campus students as they left Kingston at the end of the academic year.

Students brought a variety of gently used household items to the event, including furniture, small appliances, kitchenware, electronics, office supplies, clothing, linens, and non-perishable food items. Other students and community members then selected things to bring home free of charge.

“We had great turnout, both for dropping off and picking up items” says Adam King, Off-Campus Living Advisor. “Students showed their commitment to sustainability and the community by helping to make sure items they no longer needed found new uses in new homes.”

Queen’s also worked with several Kingston non-profit organizations to direct donations to them, in some cases setting aside particular items they needed. All items that hadn’t been picked up by the end of each day were given to charity or, when necessary, responsibly disposed of. Habitat for Humanity, St. Vincent de Paul Society, and The Goodway were all on hand to collect items, and donations were delivered to other organizations as well.

“Habitat for Humanity aims to provide affordable housing for people in need, and donations from the community help us achieve our goal,” says Gary Lees, Director of ReStore and Community Engagement for Habitat for Humanity Kingston Limestone Region. “The donations we received from Queen’s students moving out will really help hardworking families in Kingston furnish their homes with the things they need. It’s great to see the community spirit students have when they choose to pass their gently used items along instead of sending them to the landfill.”

Learn more about how Queen’s has been promoting sustainable and respectful move-out practices on the Off-Campus Living Advisor webpage.