From TU dorms to a good cause
Proceeds from yard sale items donated by Towson University students will benefit local nonprofits
By Kyle Hobstetter on June 8, 2018
At the end of the spring term, Towson University’s 5,000+ resident students load up their belongings and head home for the summer.
While packing, some find they no longer need some of their clothing, household items and perishable food.
Instead of seeing usable goods and edible food tossed into a Dumpster, the Rev. Laura Sinche decided to put them to use. She teamed up with TU’s Office of Sustainability, the Ascension Lutheran Church and ABM — TU’s contracted company for custodial and janitorial work — to collect students’ castoffs for a Move Out Yard Sale.
This year’s Move Out Yard Sale will take place on Saturday, June 9, in the parking lot of the Ascension Lutheran Church – located at 7601 York Rd, Towson – from 9 a.m. to noon. The sale will feature clothes and shoes of multiple sizes, as well as household items. Everything was donated by TU students.
All yard sale proceeds will be donated to Prologue Inc., a homeless outreach center located less than a mile from TU’s campus. This is the second year for the event, with last year’s yard sale raising over $800 for the Assistant Center of Towson Churches (ACTC).
Sinche, who works with The Table, TU’s Lutheran campus ministry, was thrilled with the students’ willingness to donate their unwanted possessions. “It’s a really energizing experience,” she said.
She arranged to divide the students’ donated food among multiple organizations. ACTC—which serves as the Towson area’s main food pantry—received 56 boxes. Donations have also gone to several locations in the West Baltimore area, as well to TU’s FoodShare pantry.
The group has also donated goods to Project PLASE, an organization that addresses homelessness in Baltimore by providing transitional housing, permanent housing and supportive services to homeless adults. Project PLASE received over 20 bags of the students’ donated bedding, towels, lamps and other household goods.
In addition, the Baltimore Teacher Supply Swap received sixes boxes. The organization provides educational materials to teachers and students in the Baltimore area.
Sinche is thrilled to be able to distribute students’ donations in the community. “The realization that we are getting rid of something because it doesn’t fit into our life anymore, helps us to realize that in some way we can be connected with our brothers and sisters who have less,” she said. “That is a good thing.”
This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel's priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.