CHAPTER 1

As a student housing apartment manager, you are in a unique position to help students navigate one of the busiest, most stressful and important periods of their lives: College.

You see students when they’re most vulnerable: Struggling for rent, caught up in roommate drama, exploring the dating scene and pursuing their education for future careers. You also know more than anyone that finals and move-out week is perhaps the most stressful part of the whole college experience.

​Photo by Keira Burton from Pexels​

You have an opportunity to provide an invaluable service for your tenants during this incredibly stressful time by means of hosting an end-of-the-semester donation drive.

Donation drives can benefit your current tenants leaving for home, future tenants who will be arriving in the upcoming semester, the community, the environment and yes, even you and the apartment complex you manage!

Let’s dive into these different audiences and explore just how each is benefited by donation drives.

Students

College students need stuff, be it clothing, utensils, dishes, etc. At the start of every semester, students will flock to the stores with two goals in mind:

1) Find what meets their needs.

2) Find the most affordable options.

Opting for inexpensive items that get the job done means that it won’t be a huge loss for students when there’s no room in suitcases or car trunks to haul these extra items back home. It’s a seemingly win-win situation. After all, when you’re heading home for the summer, will you really be needing that cheap Tupperware that got you through midterms? Not likely.

When the end of the semester rolls around, students are focused on writing papers, packing and preparing for white-glove clean checks. With limited time and sometimes no transportation to run to charities, many perfectly usable items are abandoned (creating the dreaded “my roommate just left this here!” scenarios) or are immediately thrown into the garbage.

Providing a donation drive in your complex offers students a third option that doesn’t require trashing usable items or burdening their roommates.​

While students may not be needing winter gloves and coats when returning home to places such as Mexico or California, there are m​any students arriving from such places who do need them once they're here.

Many of your student tenants, especially if you house a lot of international students or are a lower income complex, may arrive to Rexburg and not ha​ve everything they need to thrive at school.

If you collect donations at the end of a semester and, for example, acquire an abundance of winter coats, you have an opportunity to email students who you know are in financial need or send out a mass email letting students know coats are available if anyone needed one. You can even include a brief message when emailing incoming tenants their future roommates lists and apartment rules. This could be an invaluable service to your students.

Your Apartment Complex

Hosting a donation drive fosters a spirit of giving. By offering tenants this service, you are not only showing your tenants that you are willing to go that extra mile for them, but you are giving them an opportunity participate and give back, too. Your tenants will also have a deeper appreciation for what you do.

Also, accepting donations can lower the amount of trash your complex accumulates, which then can lower the number of times your apartment complex's dumpsters need to be emptied and thus your trash bill. Some Rexburg apartment complexes have reported that their dumpsters need to be emptied more than double the amount times during the last week of the semester as they do during a normal week! Even if your trash bill is not lowered extensively, having more room in the dumpsters will provide a clean and wholesome appearance as opposed to having trash overfilling with boxes piled up by the road.

The Environment and Community

One of the craziest parts about the chaos that the end of a semester brings is that after thousands of students head home, thousands more will arrive just a few weeks later, ready to hit up the stores for their own cheap, expendable items. It’s a viscous cycle that never seems to end!

According to a study done by dumpandrun.org, the average college student produces 640 pounds of waste each year, with the average student generating 142 pounds of food waste yearly, according to Recycling Works, a program in Massachusetts.

Helping students donate instead of trashing their belongings can help keep hundreds of pounds of unnecessary waste from going into landfills. At the same time, those pounds of clothing, kitchenware, and food that your students don’t need can go towards someone who does need it.

Multiple parties would benefit by your apartment complex hostin​g a donation drive.​

This includes:

• Students moving out with things without time or a ride to get items to a new home.

• International students or students in financial need.

• Incoming students unprepared for Rexburg temperatures.​
  

• Your apartment complex (you're building good relationships with helping your tenants, you're making the dumpsters more accessible for those with actual garbage, and you might be lowering your trash bill too. Win/win/win.)

• Local non-profit organizations who help those in the community in need.

• Our beautiful environment!

​

​The ​why ​behind holding a donation drive is undeniable. Now we can tackle the ​hows. ​

CHAPTER 2

Helping your tenants does not mean you have to accept everything they might have to give away.

You can, of course, but putting out a "Come dump everything you don't want!" announcement to your tenants can and will result in you getting ​everything. ​It will mean you will need more space, containers, volunteers to carry everything out, and it will be harder for you to make sure you find homes for all the donations. Having a list of what items you are willing to accept will limit your stress and strengthen your organization.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels

The most commonly donated items (that can be appropriate to donate) include:

• Clothing
• Shoes
• Kitchenware and utensils
• Food (unopened cans and packages)
• Textbooks
• Notebooks
• Pens and pencils
• Craft supplies
• Bedding
• Cleaning supplies

Some items that could potentially have second lives with friends or roommates are never going to be acceptable to most donation organizations.

• Dirty, ripped, smelly, or excessively stained clothing
• Lingerie, bras, underwear (Note: Check with the organization.)
• Food (opened cans, packages or with a short shelf life)
• Completed or mostly completed workbooks and notebooks
• Mostly used cleaning supplies
  
• ​Broken dishes
• ​Medicine
• TRASH.

When advertising to tenants what you are and are not allowing, make sure your list of "nos" is clear. You can also include instructions to wash all clothing before donating.

​

We can continue narrowing down what your complex will collect through two steps.

Asking your tenants through a brief survey is a good ways to learn precisely what kind of items your students will be wanting to ditch at the end of the semester. ​With the information you receive, you can gauge what local organizations would be best to partner with.

Google Forms

Google Forms make it quick and easy to create a survey you can email a link out to all of your tenants. ​Here is an example survey​​​ that you can duplicate as the image below details.

​If you would like to create your own Google Form survey, the following is a step-by-step procedure:

1. With your Google account, search for Google Forms and follow the link to create a blank form.

Google Forms, continued

2. Fill out your template with the questions you would like to ask.​​Google Forms offers short answer, paragraph answer, multiple choice, checkboxes, and dropdown question options.

3. ​Once you completed your survey draft, you can share it with others by clicking the "Send" button in the top right. This will give you a few options for sharing.

Generally, it's easiest to opt for a URL that you can copy and paste, but be sure to click the checkbox to shorten it so that it's easier on the eyes to encourage tenants to open it.

​Google Forms, continued

4. Once tenants start to take your survey, you can click on the "Responses" tab on the top of your original form (not the link you send to individuals) and examine the results.

Social Media

Along with email, social media is a powerful means of communication with your tenants.

The following is an example of how you can use Instagram stories to poll your followers on social media. You can use this same template for your stories by editing the information on Canva.

Again, although with a survey you will learn what your tenants are needing to get rid of, you don't necessarily need to accept everything they need to ditch. However, if a large percentage of your tenants are needing to donate various, diverse items, it could be smart to partner with more than one organization. What some non-profits might not accept, others might.​​ For example, the Rexburg Free Clinic will accept any donation except for non-medical clothing, while most other non-profits accept clothing and are more selective with other items.

Picking your donation destination before you begin advertising your drive will guarantee you have a place for these belongings to go, which will save you time and stress when items begin to pile up. It also means you won't need to create an extensive list of "acceptables" and "not acceptables" because most organizations provide one.

(In the back of this guide, you will find non-profits local to Rexburg and what they are willing to accept.)

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels​

CHAPTER 3

The point of end-of-the-semester drives is to bring the drop-off location to students, so make sure you do.

Students know already that it’s possible for them to donate their stuff in general, but the number one donation organization that students are familiar with – Deseret Industries – is almost a mile and a half away from BYU-Idaho. It's unlikely to assume that students will make the time for the drive, and it’s unheard of for students to walk that distance to drop off their donations.

​While their own apartment complex is obviously much closer than a mile and a half away, The following are some key objectives to keep in mind when picking a spot for your donation drop-of.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Pick a spot that the majority, if not all, of your students are familiar with. This could be your office, a lounge or lobby, an activities room, etc. If your apartment has multiple floors, shoot for the first floor – everyone has to come down, right?

When your drive comes to an end, donations will need to be transported away. Make the job easier and eliminate unnecessary labor by planning your drive somewhere it will be easier to haul boxes and bags into vehicles. If possible, eliminate stairs and multiple doorways.

Donations need to go somewhere; make sure there is ample enough space for bins or boxes in the first place. You don’t want to create a safety hazard or make life difficult for tenants by blocking doors or entry ways.

For larger complexes: It can be wise to set-up more than one donation drop-off point to make it easier for tenants to access and ensure there is plenty of room. If you have multiple buildings, you can set-up one on each first floor.

For smaller complexes: If your complex has fewer tenants and not a ton of extra room for donation bins in the first place, it might make more sense to partner with neighboring complexes within close proximity. The apartment closest to campus may receive more donations because it's on the way for students passing to classes.

• Students​ are well-aware they could go to Deseret Industries when they are throwing their stuff into your dumpsters: They don't go because they don't have time or a ride.

• Make sure your tenants can easily find your donation drop-off point and that it is easily accessible by vehicles.

• Make sure there is plenty of space for donations.

• Don't create a safety hazard or block up an entry walkway.

• Larger complexes should consider picking a few donation drop-off points.

• Smaller complexes can consider partnering with neighboring complexes; the apartment complex closer to campus may perform better.

CHAPTER 4

The cold reality is that you can have the most perfectly planned donation drive in all of Rexburg, but students won't donate if they don't know about it.

Let's make sure they do!

The following are all excellent means of promoting your donation drive (and I highly recommend that you implement all of them!)

• Emails​

• Social Media​

• Signs​

• End of the Semester Meetings

• Word of Mouth​

Photo by energepic.com from Pexels​

Ways to Promote

Weekly Emails

Emails is how the majority of Rexburg complexes communicates with their student tenants. Definitely be sure to include in your weekly communication a plug for your donation drive. Don't be shy about sending an addition email the day the drive begins and the day it closes as well!

​The following is an example of an email announcement you can include in your weekly email, or send as a separate email to students.

From: Example Housing Complex

To: Student Tenants

Subject: ANNOUNCEMENT: We're Hosting a Donation Drive!

Hello, everyone! We know this time of the semester brings a lot of chaos and stress; the Example Housing family wants to make your life easier by hosting a donation drive!

If you have any of the following belongings listed below that you do not have room for or interest in packing for home and need to get rid of, please leave them with us instead of throwing them out! We will make sure they can go to a new home through ​Example Non-Profit Organization. ​Please do not leave any trash or other items that are not listed here!

​

Donation Drive information:

WHERE: Women's First Floor Lobby

​WHEN: ​December 1 until December 15

​WHAT YOU CAN DONATE:​ Gently used clothing (NO large stains or holes). Shirts, dresses, pants, shorts, socks, shoes, bags, purses are all acceptable. Please do NOT leave underwear or dirty clothes!!

Reach out to us with any questions!

Social Media

Other than emails, social media is probably the most effective way you can communicate with your students! Take advantage of your platforms to get the word out.

Instagram Highlights:

• If you're on Instagram, highlights are a great way to pin important information to your profile. You can post your announcement of the drive, important information like date, time and location, and any FAQs you might receive.

​

How to create an Instagram highlight:

1) Once you've uploaded your pre-made template or created your story directly on the Instagram app, click on the "Highlight" heart button in the bottom right corner. 

2) This will offer you the chance to create a new Highlight or add it to one previously made, where it will show up on your profile page now. 

There will always be those who don’t check their emails or who stay off social media, but every student will need to go home to their apartment eventually! Deck the halls with reminders that the donation drive is happening and what is being accepted!

Great places for signs:

• Lounges
• Activity/Recreational rooms
• Laundrey Rooms
  
• Fitness Rooms
• The manager's office (and even on the front door so the message is delivered when you're not there)

​Signs can be posted within these rooms or on the doors.

The majority of complexes require students to attend an end-of-the-semester meeting to go over check-out and final clean checks procedures. This is a great opportunity to bring attention to the donation drive in-person to the majority of your tenants, or at least one from every apartment.

​

Let the leaders over the YSA wards within your apartment complex know about your donation drive! They would be more than happy to help serve their young ward members and the Rexburg comunity and announce the drive in their meetings .

CHAPTER 5

There are many local nonprofits and organizations who would love to partner with you.​​

Several non-profit organizations local to Rexburg are willing to accept donations, all with different causes that will put your students' donations to good uses. However, each organization has different procedures regarding what is acceptable to donate and what is not. Some organizations will pick-up your donations for you; others will not.

It is strongly advised that you contact these organizations before beginning your drive to ensure that the items will have a home once your drive is completed.

The following are non-profits in Rexburg and their contact information who would love for you to reach out!

Photo by RODNAE Productions from Pexels​

EastIdahoNews.com file photo​

Address: 611 North 2^nd East, Rexburg, Idaho 83440

Phone Number: (208) 356-0066

Website: https://www.deseretindustries.org/​

Description: When Deseret Industries (DI) opened in 1938, Elder John A. Widtsoe established four guiding purposes for it: “First, those who have will be given an opportunity to help those who have not. Second, waste will be reduced by keeping our possessions in use as long as possible. Third, the work of renovation will employ many now unemployed. Fourth, articles in common use, of good quality, will be available at a low cost.”

Accepts: We particularly welcome donations of the following types: Antiques, Baskets, Bedding. blankets, books, clothing, computers, cookware, drapes, DVDs, games, glassware, home furnishing, jewelry, kitchen goods, knickknacks, pictures, plates, radios, seasonal decorations, shoes, small appliances, sports equipment, flat screen TVs, tools, towels, toys.

Does not accept: Food (anything that can be eaten) and drugs (any item used as a medication), wet or mildewy items, items prohibited by the state (such as chemicals, flammables), large appliances, some electronics, weapons,​ mattress and box springs

Instructions: ​Go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rexburg-deseret-industries-donation-drop-off-registration-107512735486 to schedule an appointment!​

Address: 16 E Main St, Rexburg, Idaho 83440

Phone Number: (208) 356-0065

Email: [email protected]

​Website: ​https://familycrisiscenter.wixsite.com/familycrisiscenter​

​Description: "The Family Crisis Center promotes and provides safety to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault while engaging the community.​ Program services include a 24-hour crisis line, shelter, crisis intervention services, immediate on-scene intervention with Law Enforcement, referral to emergency medical services, and legal advocacy. We also provide weekly women’s support groups, weekly children’s support group, individual counseling resources and referral, community education and public awareness, and a community food bank and thrift store.​"

Accepts: Almost all donations: Examples of acceptable donations include: canned food (3 years past expiration date is the limit), fresh food from garden, cleaning supplies, hygiene products, paper towels, toilet paper, used clothing (not damaged and still in good condition), lightly used toys, books, dishes, kitchen appliances, bedding, linens, towels, craft items, décor, DVDs, games, CDs, coats, winter clothing, furniture.

Does not accept: “We welcome all donations, except box televisions, large appliances, wet or mildew items, car seats, old mattresses, and box springs (we do accept mattresses that are within a year of purchase, broken or damage goods.”

Instructions: Please bring donations Monday through Thursday between 8:00 am-4:00 pm. If you have large donations, contact via telephone to coordinate delivery. Please do not leave donations by the back door when they are not open.

Address: 343 East 4^th North Ste 238, Rexburg, Idaho 83440

Phone Number: (208) 252-5995

Email: [email protected]

Website: flourishpoint.org

Description: "We are dedicated to serving the LGBTQ+ community in Rexburg Idaho, by providing mental health resources, an essentials pantry, a gender affirming closet, community education, and a lending library."

Accepts: ​​​Shelf-stable foods (canned goods, baking mixes), essential hygiene products (tampons, toilet paper, unused makeup, etc) all clothing items (shirts, pants, bras, etc) as well as accessories (wigs, purses, jewelry, and more)

Instructions: ​There are individuals who can pick-up donations. Drop-offs can also be scheduled.