Needs From: Winthrop University

The 2026 Second Chance Move Out Donation Collection Drive will start on April 24th and end on May 8th.

Volunteer opportunity open to Winthrop student residents, RAs, RLCs, and authorized staff. 

Winthrop University’s Office of Sustainability is partnering with Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont again this year to help divert usable items from the landfill. On average, university students generate an estimated 50 to 150+ pounds of waste when moving out of residence halls.   In 2025, Winthrop diverted nearly 13,000 pounds of household items, school supplies, and clothing from the landfill.   However, this was made possible by the generous time volunteers took to remove items that we cannot accept due to sanitary and safety concerns, such as pillows, foam pads, broken items, torn, dirty, wet clothing or bedding, and any items that Goodwill cannot accept.

Volunteers will remove items from donation bins that cannot be accepted due to sanitary and safety concerns, such as pillows, foam pads, broken items, torn, dirty, wet clothing or bedding, and trash in Winthrop Residence Halls Courtyard, East Thomson, West Thomson, Lee Wicker, Phelps, Roddy, and Margaret Nance.

When signing up, please let us know which building you will be volunteering in.  Volunteers will be asked to check bins regularly, but the amount of time will depend on the rate of donations.  We will provide additional details before the collection begins.

Processing Winthrop's recycling strengthens Environmental Literacy, illustrates the application of Circular Economy principles, and instills civic responsibility and leadership.  

Students develop a sense of responsibility to educate others when learning about recyclables and observing what contaminants are commonly placed in recycling stations.  During the event, students are encouraged to ask questions: What items are made from this material?  Does it actually get recycled?  Where does it go from here?  How much does Winthrop recycle, and how much trash do we send to the landfill? 

Recycling Right contributes to social justice, ecological integrity, and economic vitality.  However, we must also consider the importance of reducing all types of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). 

Service to others demonstrates how joining together in service can transform your life and the lives of others.  Service not only improves the community, but it also has the power to unite people, build bridges, and heal divides.

While sorting recycling can be perceived as gross, and sometimes it is.  However, this is why we must learn from this experience what the sorting process entails, and why curtailing contamination improves the lives of the employees sorting this material at the Material Recovery Facility (MRF).  

The Office of Sustainability supports service and volunteerism, demonstrating how joining in service can transform your life and the lives of others.  Volunteerism not only improves the community, but it also has the power to unite people, build bridges, and heal divides.

There are two themed gardens on the north side of Tillman Hall, facing Margaret Nance.   Installed by Eagle Scouts, this service will honor their contribution.  Volunteers will weed, cut back dead plants, and mulch.

Litter clean-up participants move beyond theoretical environmentalism, bridging the gap between classroom knowledge and real-world application by developing collaboration, practicing problem-solving, assessing normative thinking, and illustrating systems thinking regarding waste streams.  We must be vigilant in improving ourselves in natural and human environments.

Earth Day was never intended to be a celebration.  Rather, it brought attention to the environmental crisis and its effects on human and natural systems.  It brings people together to express their shared values and illustrate how daily actions are crucial to protect the planet and its inhabitants from threats like climate change and pollution for future generations.

Therefore, we need to move beyond theoretical environmentalism. In the context of "Sustainability Education Competencies" (often aligned with UNESCO frameworks), these activities bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and real-world application by developing collaboration, practicing strategic and integrated problem-solving, understanding, and negotiating values and ethics, and illustrating systems thinking regarding waste streams.

This litter clean-up is open to STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF.