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• YMCA's Dump and Run kicks off

At the University YMCA’s Dump and Run, one person’s trash is another broke, college student’s treasure. Starting Monday, May 11, you can drop off old furniture, clothes and other household items at the University YMCA on Wright Street in Champaign. Collections will run until May 29, and sales will begin on August 21 at the U of I Stock Pavilion. Whether you’re looking to get rid of the clutter at your dorm or apartment, or looking to nab some second-hand items later on, Dump and Run is the place to be. YMCA program director, Casey Umland, talks with buzz about Dump and Run, including her best and weirdest vintage finds at the sale.

buzz: How did Dump and Run get started?

Umland: The YMCA had done a smaller version of a garage sale eight years ago. The developmental director at the time heard about similar programs at different schools. We felt like it was a way to combine the environmental issue with a way to raise money.

buzz: What organizations are involved with the program?

Umland: Technically, it’s a program co-sponsored between the University YMCA and the International Student and Scholar Services. We consider part of the mission of the program to be for international students who come here with very little. This is a way for them to get low cost items to furnish their places with. But all the Y student organizations and lots of people in the community are involved.

buzz: What can students drop off at the YMCA?

Umland: We take almost anything. Lamps, waste-baskets, clothes, notebooks, other school supplies. Plates, cups, silverware, toiletries. Furniture, small appliances. Bed linens that are still nice, we’ll take. The only things that we don’t take are really large appliances and decorations. We tell people if you think we might take it, bring it. And if we don’t, we’ll either throw it out or find a way to recycle it.

buzz: So what’s the hottest item at Dump and Run?

Umland: Furniture. Couches, chairs, desks, dressers. Every year that’s what goes first. We get a lot of clothes and cups, but furniture is what students tend to come here for.

buzz: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve found?

Umland: One time we found a rock that had been sculpted, and it looked kind of like what I had imagined the [Harry Potter] Voldemort baby would look like. It was just a really weird sculpture.

buzz: The coolest?

Umland: We’ve gotten a canoe. Like a whole eight-foot long canoe. Some of the clothes we get are awesome throw-back clothes from the ‘70s. One time we got a first-edition, signed by J.D. Salinger, copy of Catcher in the Rye. We’ll randomly find books that are signed by the authors. Somebody will have them at library and they’ll donate it. There’re all these “diamond-in-the-rough” things at the Y.

To learn more about the University YMCA’s Dump and Run, or to volunteer, visit the website: http://www.universityymca.org/dumpandrun/