There are many opportunities to donate items both on and off campus at Catholic University.

Move-Out Donation Drive

Every April/May, Catholic University hosts a move-out donation drive for any students to donate items they do not want to take home with them over the summer.

How to Participate: The final week of the semester, donation boxes are placed in every laundry room on campus and emptied daily. Drop off small items (clothes, room accessories) in the laundry room boxes. Drop off larger items (furniture) during our day-long donation events.

Spring 2024 Dates:

  • Laundry room collection: May 1 - 10
  • Day-long donation events: May 3 - 4

Volunteers are essential to this effort - to volunteer to make the move-out donation drive a success, email sustainability@cua.edu. 

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    Move-Out Donation Drive 2023

    During the 2023 move out donation drive, volunteers collected over 100 bags of clothing and bedding and a full 20-foot shipping containers' worth of residence hall room essentials. Items were donated to Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland, Goodwill, Cardinal Cupboard, and Cardinal Closet. In addition, many of the items were made available for free during Project Move-In as part of a free thrift store open to all students.

Office Supplies

Every June, the Office of Campus Sustainability hosts an office supply swap for faculty and staff to donate items they no longer need. Every office on campus is invited to drop off items they no longer need and claim new items they do need for free. Announcements about dates and details are made in ThisWeek emails.

During the year, if you have office supplies that are not owned by the University that you would like to part with, join the sustainability-office-swap@cua.edu Google group. Sign up (instructions) to receive notifications when others have items to share, and post your items to find them a new home. 

Food

Cardinal Cupboard, located on the first floor of the Pryz in room 107F, is a food pantry available to all students, faculty, and staff. If you have any non-perishable items to donate, bring them directly to Cardinal Cupboard. 

If you are planning an event and expect to have leftover food that you would like to donate, email sustainability@cua.edu to set up a food recovery.

Clothes

Cardinal Closet is a free thrift store located in Gibbons B17. Open to all students, staff, and faculty, Cardinal Closet has a large collection of casual and business clothing, maternity clothing, shoes, and accessories. Everything is free and donations are encouraged.

Other donation opportunities:

  • Books

    In addition to the move-out donation drive, you can sell, swap, or donate your books.

    • Sell Textbooks: For books that you are not using, consider selling the textbook to the Catholic University Barnes & Noble. You may get up to 50% cashback on your resale. Check out their website to learn more. You can also sell your textbooks online. Many websites allow you to sell textbooks directly with them.

    • Swap Textbooks: Use social media to swap textbooks with other students.

    • Donate Your books: Regardless of the condition, consider giving your books away as a donation. Here are a few places you can drop them off.

    If you’re already at home, consider donating books to local charities and libraries near you.

  • Clothes

    In addition to donating clothes to Cardinal Closet or the move-out donation drive, you can: swap clothes with friends, donate, or sell your clothes in-person or online on Craigslist, ThredUp, and other online retailers.Here are a few brick-and-mortar thrift shops to donate to:

  • Furniture

    For staff and faculty, if you have any bulk furniture that is not owned by the University that your department or office would like to donate off campus, contact sustainability@cua.edu for assistance coordinating a donation pick-up.

  • Electronics

    If your electronics are still usable, try repairing or reselling them. If your electronics are broken or otherwise unsalvageable, see our Recycling & Waste page for instructions on how to recycle them.

    • Repair It: If your electronic is salvageable, get it fixed. There a several electronic repair shops nearby:

      • uBreakiFix – 3510 Connecticut Ave N.W., Washington, DC 20008 and 425 8th St., S.E., Washington, DC

      • Geek Squad – 3100 14th St., N.W., Washington, DC

    • Try re-selling any working electronics.

  • Food

    In addition to donating food to Cardinal Cupboard, the on-campus food pantry in Pryz 107F, consider donating food off-campus or composting.

    Donate Off-Campus

    Compost on Campus

    • Compost receptacles in the Pryz and Garvey Hall

    Compost Near Campus

    • Brookland Farmer’s Market – 716 Monroe St., N.E.: The City manages a pop-up compost drop-off station at the Saturday farmer’s market. Check the schedule to see when it’s available.

More Resources

This blog includes only a few of the many resources available to reduce waste from entering the landfill. For more information, check out the District of Columbia’s ZeroWaste DC website.