Month: May 2022

Michigan Tech held the second annual Husky Exchange this spring to gather unwanted items from students during move out from the residence halls. In sum, students donated nearly 9,000 items, keeping over two tons of materials out of the landfill and headed toward others in need.

The most common donations were nonperishable food (~3,500 items), clothing (~1,000 articles!), and pool noodles (~700). All of those items, with the exception of some expired food, will go back as donations to students next academic year. We partner with the HuskyFAN food pantry in Fisher Hall for our food donations and the new clothing closet in Douglass Houghton Hall for our clothing articles to provide students access to these items throughout the year. Its a great example of how we all have to work together to make better use of our resources and work towards a more sustainable campus.

Many of the remaining items will be made available to our newest Huskies moving into the residence halls before fall orientation. Over 95% of the items will be available free of charge, or for a charitable donation, while a handful of higher value items like refrigerators, microwaves, and box fans will be sold at a steep discount to cover the costs of running the program.

Finally, we partner with non-profit organizations in the area for the remainder of the donations, including linens, lightly expired food, and other items of need. We included a handful of photos and a full list of donations below to get a better picture of the program. Thank you to the staff and students who put many hours in to collect and sort the donations!