There are many opportunities to donate items both on and off campus at Catholic University.
Move-Out Donation Drive
At the end of every semester, Catholic University hosts a move-out donation drive for students to donate items they do not want to take home with them over the break.
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 (such as clothes and room accessories) in the laundry room boxes. During the spring semester only, drop off larger items (furniture) during our day-long donation events.
Fall 2024 Dates: December 6th - 13th
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 and 2024
During the 2023 and 2024 move out donation drives, 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, Bread for the City, 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 in McMahon B05, 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 McMahon B02. 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:
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Books
In addition to the move-out donation drive, you can swap or donate your books.
- Swap Textbooks: Consider swapping textbooks with other students.
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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.
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Woodridge Neighborhood Library – 1801 Hamlin St., N.E., Washington, DC
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Local Little Free Libraries
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Goodwill of Greater Washington Retail Store – 2200 South Dakota Ave, N.E., Washington, DC
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Salvation Army – 3335 Sherman Ave., N.W., Washington, DC
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If you’re already at home, consider donating books to local charities and libraries near you.
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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:
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Prime Thrift George Avenue – 6101 George Ave., N.W., Washington, DC
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Rosario’s Thrift Store – 3616 14th St., N.W., Washington, DC
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Goodwill of Greater Washington Retail Store – 2200 South Dakota Ave., N.E., Washington, DC
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Lenda’s Vintage Thrift – 5800 Blair Rd., N.W., Washington, DC
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Current Boutique – 1318 14th St. N.W., Washington, DC
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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.
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Donate Furniture:
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A Wider Circle – 9159 Brookville Rd, Silver Spring, MD 20910
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Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland – 8380 Colesville Rd #700, Silver Spring, MD 20910
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Goodwill of Greater Washington Retail Store – 2200 South Dakota Ave, N.E., Washington, DC
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Salvation Army – 3335 Sherman Ave., N.W., Washington, DC
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Sell your furniture: There are many ways to offload furniture. Common websites include: Craigslist, OfferUp, Letgo, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Buy Nothing Groups, and Free-cycle.
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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.
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Repair It: If your electronic is salvageable, get it fixed. There a several electronic repair shops nearby:
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uBreakiFix – 3510 Connecticut Ave N.W., Washington, DC 20008 and 425 8th St., S.E., Washington, DC
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Geek Squad – 3100 14th St., N.W., Washington, DC
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Try re-selling any working electronics.
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Food
In addition to donating food to Cardinal Cupboard, the on-campus food pantry in McMahon B05, consider donating food off-campus or composting.
Donate Off-Campus
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Capital Area Food Bank – 4900 Puerto Rico Ave., N.E., Washington, DC
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Crowder Owens Food Bank – 605 Rhode Island Ave., N.E., Washington, DC
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Father McKenna Center at Gonzaga College High School – 19 I St., N.W., Washington, DC
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Food Distribution Center at Catholic Charities – 924 G St., N.W., Washington, DC
Compost on Campus
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Compost receptacles in the Pryz and Garvey Hall
Compost Near Campus
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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.
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