Furniture from old residence halls at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania is impacting people in need as the beds, dressers and desks find new homes through local non-profit groups and charity networks. More than 500 dressers, desks, beds and other furniture mostly from the old Hawthorn and Hemlock residence halls has been given away by the university. The two student residence halls were replaced this year by modern apartment-style residences which opened in January as Hawthorn Suites and Hemlock Suites. Other furniture came from residence halls where rooms had temporarily been used as \u201ctriples\u201d to house three students and now were returning to \u201cdoubles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe old halls are about to be torn down, but much of the furniture in them was still serviceable and has found new purpose,\u201d said David Campbell, associate director of residence life and housing. \u201cWe\u2019ve been at it since early February, but the bulk of what we got rid of happened in the last six to eight weeks,\u201dCampbell said. \u201cIt has been well worth it, knowing we were able to help some people out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting rid of surplus furniture is a new experience for ESU. Before the new suites were built, almost every year the university was adding beds and dressers wherever it could to serve a growing student enrollment.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re usually in the market of looking for surplus,\u201dCampbell said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a pleasant change, and heartwarming to hear \u2018thank you, this is to going to help out a homeless family.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
The university reached out to every local non-profit organization it knew of that might be able to use the furniture, then turned to some national charitable networks.<\/p>\n
\u201cBasically, it was first-come, first-served,\u201d Campbell said, noting that once he connected with an organization in need of what ESU had to give, arrangements were made for the group to collect what they could use.<\/p>\n
Most of what has been given away is furniture added in recent years as student housing needs increased. The original rooms in the dorms, built in 1965 and 1970, were furnished with built-in loft units: all-in-one pieces with a dresser connected to a desk and a wardrobe, with a bed at the end.<\/p>\n
Big and bulky \u2014 6 feet long, 6 feet high, and 3 feet wide \u2014 each loft unit has to be taken apart to be moved, and ESU still has 50 of them to give away.<\/p>\n
The next step, Campbell said, may be to advertise them on Craig\u2019s List. The university is restricted in how it disposes of material goods, so if no other charitable organizations want the loft units, they may be made available to the general public in exchange for a donation. Here is a list of furniture ESU has donated to charitable organizations:<\/p>\n
\u2022 60 beds and mattresses to four Boy Scout camps in the area.<\/p>\n
\u2022 55 desk chairs, 10 lounge chairs and eight tables to the Stroudsburg Little League to help furnish its new field house after the previous building was destroyed by an arsonist.<\/p>\n
\u2022 50 dressers, 15 desks, 10 wardrobe units and 10 beds went to Twin Pines, a Christian camp and retreat center in Stroudsburg.<\/p>\n
\u2022 15 dressers, five wardrobes and a desk to Family Promise of Monroe County, which supports low-income families with food and shelter.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Six dressers to New Bethany Ministries, which shelters the homeless and mentally challenged in the Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
\u2022 25 loft units to Keystone Rescue Mission Alliance in Scranton.<\/p>\n
\u2022 34 beds and mattresses, three loft units, 12 wardrobes, 22 dressers, 22 desks and 22 desk chairs to a Scranton boarding school.<\/p>\n
\u2022 30 beds and 15 mattresses to Equipping The Saints, which provides used and bargain goods to ministries around the world.<\/p>\n
\u2022 100 mattresses to Harvest International, which has shipped them to Haiti. The group helps meet the physical needs of the poor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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