Viviana Marsano
GIVE Project Coordinator
This year you can make 2013 a zero-waste move out and benefit some amazing Isla Vista programs at the same time. How? Donate your belongings you no longer want or need to GIVE!
The GIVE project accepts donations of clothing, books, furniture, household furnishings, kitchenware, electronics, bicycles, canned and packaged foods, and miscellaneous items during Isla Vista and UCSB’s annual move-out time in June. Each year, over 100 UCSB students and local community volunteers receive, organize, and sort the donations in preparation for the huge GIVE sale. One hundred percent of the GIVE sale proceeds are distributed to non-profits and programs that improve the quality of life in Isla Vista.
The GIVE sale will take place Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the parking lot of UCSB’s Embarcadero Hall in Isla Vista.
Marking its 23rd year, GIVE is one of the first community projects of its kind in the country.
“UCSB students want to protect the environment—they don’t want to just throw away their stuff when they move out of their apartments and campus residence halls,” emphasized Catherine Boyer, Director of Student Affairs Grants and Development at UC Santa Barbara and founder of the project. “Students want a ‘green,’ zero waste move-out and want to give back to their local community. When they’re moving out as soon as final exams are over, students realize that what they no longer need or want can be used by someone else.”
Members of local Optimist Clubs volunteer each year for GIVE. GIVE funds that are raised from the sale allow their organization to provide holiday gifts to children at a local preschool, support the Isla Vista Recreation and Park’s Sequoia camping trip for youth, and help the Associated Students Food Bank. For club member Chuck Champlin “GIVE is a quadruple win. The students don’t have to throw things away. The streets aren’t littered with stuff. The local organizations have a fundraiser when they volunteer. And, it’s the best yard sale around! It makes me proud of our community—optimistic, actually!”
Kathy Walsh, program director for the Isla Vista Children’s Center, said that GIVE sale proceeds are used to buy classroom supplies, for field trips, and special occasion projects to benefit the children. This year some teachers are recruiting parents to volunteer at the sale and hope to purchase an iPad to chronicle the children’s activities with pictures and notes.
According to the 2012 sale final report, GIVE distributed 889 pounds of donated canned and packaged food to the Associated Students Food Bank. An astonishing 17 tons of items were donated to GIVE. Over 115 volunteers donated 1,150 hours of their time and raised more than $26,000, which was distributed to 14 local programs. Beneficiaries included, but were not limited to, the Isla Vista Elementary School’s Science Camp Scholarships, Isla Vista Recreation and Park District’s Adopt-A-Block, Isla Vista Teen Center, Isla Vista Youth Projects, the Santa Barbara Student Housing Co-Op, and the Associated Students Food Bank. Unsold items were donated to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a charity that serves the Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Los Angeles counties.
UCSB senior Vilma Diego is an Isla Vista Teen Center volunteer and has seen how much a little help does for kids. He said, “So the way I see it, GIVE is a win-win for everyone, including the Teen Center.”
For Melissa Albarenga, UCSB graduating senior “The GIVE project is an amazing opportunity to give, buy, and give again! We’re helping the environment, as well as giving back to our Isla Vista community. I hope everyone wants to be a part of this awesome project; whether it is by donating, volunteering or benefiting from the cheap prices at the GIVE sale!”
For more information visit www.sa.ucsb.edu/giveiv or contact Viviana Marsano, GIVE Coordinator, at marsano-v@sa.ucsb.edu.