University YMCA’s Dump & Run Scheduling Free Pick-up for Furniture, Bikes in Champaign, Urbana, Savoy on August 17
Want to purge some stuff from your home, and benefit the local Champaign-Urbana community? Have some time to volunteer? Like to thrift shop or garage sale? Thinking about redecorating – on a budget?
All of the above are reasons why you might want be interested in the University YMCA Dump & Run Sale. Dump & Run is a program which collects household items, furniture, electronics, sports equipment, gently used clothing and more for Champaign-Urbana’s largest fall garage sale. It focuses on campus where there is a constant churn of students moving in and out of dorms, houses and apartments, which can generate a lot of waste, however the sale is open to the entire Champaign-Urbana community.
Here’s how to get involved:
- Donate items. Drop off accepted items for the Big Sale at the U of I Stock Pavilion, 1402 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, on Wednesday, August 14 from 9 am to 4 pm; Thursday, August 15 from 9 am to 7 pm; Friday, August 16 from 9 am to 4 pm; and Saturday, August 17 from 9 am to noon.
- Have large items to donate? Have them PICKED UP from your home! Dump & Run volunteers will pick up furniture or bikes in Champaign, Urbana and Savoy on August 17. Best of all – it’s FREE. Community members may fill out a request form for furniture/bike pick up at the Dump & Run Sale website.
- Volunteer. Volunteers are needed between Thursday, August 8 through Monday, August 26 to help collect, sort, and sell reusable items. Volunteers are also needed to help clean up once the sale ends. Volunteer orientation will take place at the Stock Pavilion at the beginning of the volunteer’s shift. No heavy lifting is required. Want to shop early? Volunteer 6+ hours for first dibs during the August pre-sale. Sign up for shifts here.
- Shop. Sale is open Saturday, August 24, 2019: 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. $4 admission (International U of I Students get in free with ticket); and Sunday, August 25, 2019: 11:00am – 2:00 p.m.: $3 bag sale and 1/2 price furniture; 2:30-3:00 p.m.: “Free sale”. The sale is at the U of I Stock Pavilion, 1402 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Urbana.
Proceeds from the Dump & Run Garage Sale support the programs of the University YMCA, which include many initiatives open to the broader community. One example is the New American Welcome Center, which helps immigrants fully integrate into American society and prepares receiving communities around Champaign County to be welcoming and inclusive.
The recycling event keeps at least six semi-trailers of reusable goods out of C-U landfills each year.
“Dump & Run is a sustainability program that serves not just our student population but our community at large. It takes hundreds of volunteers each year to keep literally tons of reusable items out of our landfills,” said Marc Alexander, University YMCA Development Associate and Dump & Run Coordinator. “Volunteers who work at least 6 hours are the first to shop in August before the sale is open to the public. We receive a ridiculous amount of great items, so please come out and volunteer for this great cause.”
For a list of accepted items, go HERE.
Looking for other ways to enrich our community by donating your gently used items? Check out our “where to donate” guide HERE.