VCU news

By Mike Porter

It’s a challenge at the end of every student apartment rental cycle: student tenants move out and unwanted furniture, mattresses and household items get left behind, piling up on curbs in the neighborhoods surrounding VCU.

This year, the university is working with CARITAS, a collaborative network of people and institutions that help those in need, in an effort to put unwanted student belongings to good use by providing families struggling to overcome homelessness with basic items they need as they move to permanent housing.  

“This year, we are really trying to encourage students who are moving out to donate their unwanted items like furniture, mattresses and electronics to CARITAS,” said Beth Ward, volunteer services coordinator in the University Student Commons. “Students can leave items in the alleys behind where they live and call or email CARITAS to arrange for the items to be picked up.”

CARITAS has dubbed the effort the “Alley Rally.” CARITAS Social Enterprise Developer Lori Schmiege has been working with neighborhood associations to get financial support for the effort and with property managers to help publicize the pick-ups.

“Thus far, I've received only positive replies,” Schmiege said. “The property managers are thrilled there is a solution and are willing to put up flyers on mailboxes.”

CARITAS offers Central Virginia’s only furniture bank and has made a significant impact helping the homeless population in the Richmond area, serving about 800 families each year and providing beds to 2,000 children since 2010.

VCU students planning to move at the end of this month may contact CARITAS at (804) 343-5008, extension 411, or email bbqueen@caritas.org to make arrangements to have their unwanted items picked up. CARITAS will send volunteers out on June 3, June 5 and June 7 to collect the items.

“We chose this time because it’s when leases end for a huge number of students,” Ward said. “And we plan to do it again at the end of July, which is another big time.”

Permanent residents of the neighborhoods adjacent to VCU also will be able to arrange to have their unwanted items picked up at the same time.  CARITAS will waive the normal $30 pick-up fee for items picked up as part of the “Alley Rally.”

CARITAS will pick up nearly anything – except for large appliances – to help those transitioning from homelessness. Items that can’t be used by CARITAS will be sent on to other human needs support groups such as Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity, with a trip to the landfill serving as the last resort.

“In addition to facilitating long-term stability for families, the furniture bank also helps the environment by receiving, repairing and dispersing tons of reusable goods and materials that would have gone to landfills,” Schmiege said.

The environmentally friendly aspect of the furniture bank has drawn the attention of Green Unity 4 VCU, which along with The Humanitarian Endeavor student group, has been spreading the word and offering volunteers to support the effort.

Other options:

Students can discard unwanted items through the City of Richmond’s “Project Clean Move.”  The Department of Public Works placed four large roll-off trash containers across the Fan neighborhood where students can deposit their unwanted furniture and other items. The trash containers were out in late April and will go out again in late July at the northwest corner of the intersection of Grace and Mulberry streets, the southwest corner of Ryland and Grace streets, the northwest corner of Morris Street and Grove Avenue and the northwest corner of Morris and Cary streets.  

With prior planning, students may also have unwanted items that don’t fit in trash cans removed free of charge. Call 311, select the Department of Public Works and ask for a bulk trash pick-up. The pick-up may take three-to-five days, so it is important to secure the trash as much as possible and leave a large note on it, indicating that 311 has been called for a bulk pick-up.    

Additional information from the Department of Public Works is available at http://www.richmondgov.com/PublicWorks/ProjectCleanMove.aspx.

Or visit Off-Campus Student Services for additional tips and a list of recycling and thrift store resources.  

Crime-free moving tips:

VCU Police say a large number of people and activity surrounding moving chaos at this time of year can create tempting targets for thieves. But tenants can avoid becoming crime victims by keeping apartments and vehicles locked and by never leaving belongings unattended.

“As students plan to move, we want to remind them to maintain the personal safety habits we’ve been encouraging all year long,” said VCU Police Chief John Venuti. “The best advice I can give is to always secure your personal belongings. If you don’t leave an item of value unattended, it cannot be taken.”

Additional crime prevention information is available at http://www.police.vcu.edu/.

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