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Student 'Good to Give' donations benefit local community

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Community collaboration
News
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picture of clothes rails at a community swap shop

A new Good to Give programme collected 480 bags of goods during the student tenancy changeover period for the benefit of the local community.

The Sustainability Service worked in collaboration with Leeds Beckett University to pilot the new programme for the 2022 student tenancy changeover period. Good to Give is aimed at reducing waste and benefitting local organisations. Successfully, it redirected 16.49 tonnes of items worth nearly £30,000 to good causes in the local community.

The programme saw waste reduction information and distinctive blue donation bags supplied to approximately 7,000 households across neighbourhoods popular with students. Doorstep collections of unwanted clothes, shoes, electricals, bedding and kitchenware then took place over a three week period in June.

A communications campaign highlighted places to donate unwanted items and promoted recycling and correct waste disposal, and was further supported by our partner Unipol.

Items collected through the programme were sorted, checked and donated to our partners; Gateway Church, Rainbow Junktion, and MEMEC (Middle Eastern & Mediterranean Community). Moreover, free pop-up shops distributed these to the local community. Furthermore, donated bedding items were distributed to the homeless through Leeds Central Library and Love in a Box, a charity associated with Leeds Grand Mosque.

An image showing donated clothes and shoes displayed on the floor and tables at free shops

Additionally, we are grateful for the support of Leeds City Council, particularly their Cleaner Neighbourhood team and Councillors. As well as Leeds University Union, Beckett Student Union, Unipol, landlords and, of course, the student community who donated items.

We continue to work with our partners to develop initiatives to promote recycling and correct waste management throughout the year. In addition to developing plans to build on the Good to Give programme in next year's tenancy changeover period.

If you are a local organisation or Leeds-based charity and would be interested in getting involved in this initiative, please email sustainability@leeds.ac.uk.

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United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

We use the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to guide our activity. Our work on Good to Give is linked to the following SDGs:

  • Goal 1: No Poverty
  • Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities
  • Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
  • Goal 13: Climate Action
  • Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Find out more about our impact on the SDGs.