The Move Out Collection Drive & Great South Side Sale

At the end of the spring semester, thousands of American college students move out of university housing and leave items they cannot or do not want to take with them.  As a result, many college communities find dumpsters overflow and neighborhood sidewalks fill with bags and boxes of usable, but unwanted items.  Lehigh’s annual Move Out Collection Drive and Great South Side Sale combats this issue by providing an avenue for students, faculty, and staff to donate unwanted goods.  

Lehigh has been doing The Move Out Collection Drive and Great South Side Sale since the early 1990s and it has grown by leaps and bounds over the years.  Although the first years were about dumpster diving, The Great South Side Sale now raises approximately $20,000 dollars per year for the South Bethlehem community.  This is pretty remarkable, especially given the fact that MOST items are under $2!  All of the proceeds from the sale go directly back into the community to benefit children and youth programs such as after school homework clubs, field trips, and more for South Bethlehem families.  This sale not only directly benefits the South Bethlehem community through the money raised for youth programs and by redirecting items into the homes of our community at affordable prices, but it also saves thousands of items from going into the landfills each year.  It’s a win, win, win!