The document discusses Boston University's partnership with Goodwill for its annual "Goodwill NOT Landfill" move-out donation drive. It provides statistics on the growth of the program over three years from 2010 to 2012, with increasing numbers of student donors and tons of goods collected each year. It describes how Goodwill works with BU to plan and promote the drive, including placing donation bins in dorms and tracking daily metrics like pounds collected. The drive has been successful in diverting waste from landfills and saving the university disposal costs. BU's partnership with Goodwill for this program was recognized with a third place award from the higher education organization NASPA.
Goodwill NOT Landfill, Boston University Move-Out Event
1. Goodwill NOT Landfill
Boston University Move – Out Event
Presented by Bill LaBelle
Director of Operations
Morgan Memorial Goodwill of Boston
2. Goodwill NOT Landfill history - BU
May 8, 2008 Goodwill Store opens at 965 Commonwealth Ave in
Boston – Boston University (BU) Campus
April/May of 2009 BU and Big Brother Big Sister partner for a drive and
collect 6.75 tons
November of 2009 Goodwill contacts BU about a drive partnership
February of 2010 initial drive planning meeting occurs and Goodwill
becomes the sole drive partner for BU
2010 Goodwill NOT Landfill runs from April 26th
to May 19th
– 1,762
student donors and 35.24 tons collected
2011 Goodwill NOT Landfill runs from April 28th
to May 26th
– 2,060
student donors and 41.19 tons collected
2012 Goodwill NOT Landfill runs from April 30th
to May 23rd
– 3,058
student donors and 61.18 tons collected
3. How to get started
Contact the Sustainability Department or Recycling Team directly
Calling the main desk is only going to get you someone’s voicemail. Do your homework
and seek out an individual.
Set a planning meeting
Talk about a “Landfill Diversion” and “Recycling” program. Stay away from using words like
“sales” and “store revenue.” Address the cost saving potential; example – you collect 40
tons of goods that would have normally been thrown out, if the university spends $85 per
ton, you just saved them a minimum of $3,400.
Request to be inside the dorms…….then request again
Convenience is the key to the success of Goodwill NOT Landfill. Place donation bins in the
common areas of dorms where the students have to walk by. Run a school age drive in a
town where you already have a store or ADC. Keep things simple…..no extra effort, just
donate.
6. Communications
Get the word out with posters,
flyers, and emails.
Set the drive dates
Include all locations
Note what you want for donation
and what you DO NOT
7. Start your drive!!!
Show the drive as an event and communicate its success
Develop and report key performance indicators daily (KPI)
1. Total pounds/tons collected
2. Bins Collected
3. Donation Pick-ups made
4. Compare to a benchmark when possible
8. 2010 tons v. 2011 tons
2010 Tons v 2011 Tons
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10. NASPA AwardBU Honored for Recycling Program with Goodwill
By Rich Barlow
From the Sierra Club to the Princeton Review, bouquets for BU’s environmental efforts are blossoming like spring crocuses. The latest is an
award for a partnership with Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries that recycled 35 tons of clothing and housewares last May.
The Goodwill Not Landfill program won a third-place Excellence Award from NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education), an
advocacy and development group of administrators from 1,400 campuses worldwide. The six-year-old awards, which recognize innovative
services in various areas of student administration, drew 205 nominations this year, says NASPA spokeswoman Kaaryn Sanon.
University sustainability director Dennis Carlberg hopes to run the Goodwill collection program at the end of every semester. (A collection at the
end of the fall semester garnered more than three tons of goods, he says.) A list of the items that will be accepted at the end of this semester is
here.
“This is the first time that BU’s received an award from that organization,” Carlberg says. “It shows we’re being effective.” He’s not kidding: the
35 tons recycled during last May’s Move Out of students leaving campus for the summer was five times the amount recycled during the 2009
Move Out.
The Goodwill Not Landfill program is the most formal partnership that Goodwill has with a school, says the nonprofit’s spokesman James
Harder, although there have been sporadic pickups on other campuses.
Goodwill, founded in 1895 in Boston by Methodist minister Edgar Helms (STH 1893, Hon.’40), provides job training and other services to those
facing barriers to employment and runs a network of thrift stores. Under the Goodwill Not Landfill initiative, the University and Goodwill have
placed collection bins in dorms and in the George Sherman Union and encourage students, faculty, and staff to deposit unwanted clothing and
housewares there.
The award caps a string of honors for BU’s environmental efforts, since President Robert A. Brown launched the Boston University Sustainability
Committee in 2008.
The Sierra Club last year put BU on its fourth annual list of “coolest schools” for sustainability initiatives. Last year’s Princeton Review Guide to
286 Green Colleges cited the University as well. And on the latest College Sustainability Report Card, issued by the Sustainable Endowments
Institute and surveying 300 campuses, BU earned a B, its highest grade ever. The report card cited the University’s efforts to cut its greenhouse
gas emissions and the fact that it has several staff, including Carlberg, devoted to sustainability measures.
BU has also been cited by the Massachusetts utilities group Mass Save for its energy-efficiency program and by the Massachusetts Innovation and
Technology Exchange for its sustainability website.
This article first appeared in BU Today on February 17, 2011. Rich Barlow can be reached at barlowr@bu.edu.