University students will buy clothes that they will never wear, fill their presses with food that they will never eat, and collect random objects that they will never use. As the academic year comes to a close, each student is then faced with the unenvious task of packing his/her life’s worth into a suitcase and returning home.
For the majority of university goers, bin bags become a commodity of their moving out routine as they chuck everything from high fashion labels to dirty old shoes, filling bag after bag, and giving bin lorries a run for their money.
However, NUI Galway’s Rover Society had different plans this year.
Following the success of its Electric Picnic collection last September, the society decided that more could be done, and launched a new campaign.
“Last September, the society collected over 1,100 sleeping bags from the aftermath of Electric Picnic which were donated to COPE Galway. Following this, we met with COPE to see if we could help the ongoing homeless situation in the city,” said Cathal Breathnach, auditor of NUI Galway’s Rover Society.
The society aimed to help students with their departure from campus locations by hosting collection evenings where students could go along and donate everything that would otherwise be put in the bin.
“COPE was in need of everyday items, such as clothes, blankets, duvets, footwear, unused food, books, DVDs or art materials,” said Breathnach, “and we realised these are items typically used by students during the year that they wouldn’t always bring home.”
In December, the society ran a small scale collection and was astounded with the amount of donations that it received. It also recognised the potential of running a large scale operation, and began researching possible methods.
Modelled on a US scheme, the initiative involved a series of drop-off locations throughout the campus and in convenient locations around student accommodations.
Students and staff were then able to leave unwanted items at these locations with the hope of improving the life of another person.
Martin O’Connor, assistant CEO of COPE Galway, stated that the donation would be put to good use.
“I would like to thank everyone for their time, effort, and commitment. It is not the first time that students have got involved, and it is a lot of work, but the end result is very pleasing,” said Mr O’Connor.
“It is hard to put a value on the items that we received but the funds will be very important.”
To date, the Rover Society has collected countless boxes and bags, and filled almost 10 transit vans, which then transported the items to COPE Galway.
COPE will now sort through the donations, and the items that it cannot use immediately will either be stored for the future, or placed on sale in COPE’s charity shop on St Augustine Street to raise much needed funds. Of the EP collection, Mr O’Connor said that it would have enough sleeping bags for two to three years.
The society is hoping that a similar scheme could be implemented in other universities across the country in order to reduce waste and pass unwanted items on to those who need them most. And Mr O’Connor reinforced their message, saying, “I think that rather than students wasting or dumping these items, they should be donated and this will be of benefit to people who need it directly.”
For more information on the work carried out by the Rover Society or to donate unwanted items visit the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NUIGRoverSoc/
And for more information, contact COPE Galway on 091 778750.
