Last modified: Thursday, August 2, 2012
Hoosier to Hoosier sale to take place Aug. 11
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 2, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The third annual Hoosier to Hoosier Community Sale will take place 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, at Indiana University Bloomington's Gladstein Fieldhouse, providing area residents with an opportunity to buy used merchandise at bargain prices while contributing to community sustainability.
Hoosier to Hoosier (H2H) is a reuse program that aims to:
- Divert reusable items from the landfill during student move-out
- Prevent additional resource consumption by selling collected items to students and community members
- Raise funds for local charities and other organizations.
The program works to achieve these goals by collecting donations from students in residence halls, fraternity and sorority houses and off-campus residences through the spring and summer months and then selling the items at the annual community sale in August.
Sam Park
Customers look through the merchandise at the 2011 Hoosier to Hoosier sale.
Attendees of the sale will also have the opportunity to donate non-perishable food items to Hoosier Hills Food Bank, which will have several collection barrels at the stadium on the day of the sale.
"H2H is building a great record of success in diverting reusable items from the landfill and benefiting the community at the same time," said Jacqui Bauer, sustainability coordinator for the City of Bloomington. "We've diverted nearly 50 tons of waste in the first two years, and we hope to surpass our previous record of 27 tons this year."
The effort diverted an estimated 20 tons of waste in 2010 and 27 tons in 2011. Organizers hope to divert 32 tons of waste at this year's sale.
A broader purpose of H2H is to further develop a community consciousness about waste minimization. To promote this goal, the Hoosier to Hoosier planning committee also organizes the Bloomington Resale Trail in conjunction with the H2H sale. The Resale Trail joins together events and vendors throughout Bloomington that sell used goods. In addition to H2H, participants include Habitat ReStore, Vintage Vogue, Discardia, IU Surplus Stores and Unitarian Universalist Church. Most of the locations offer additional promotions for the event. This will be the second year for the Resale Trail.
"The Hoosier to Hoosier Community Sale is a great way to encourage a sustainable mindset and really helps out students on a budget, the community, and the environment," said IU Office of Sustainability intern and H2H coordinator Erica Bramlet. "We're so grateful to all the donors and volunteers who make this possible, and we really hope to see the entire Bloomington community at this year's sale on Aug 11."
The H2H Sale is open to the public and free parking is available at Gladstein Fieldhouse, located just north of 17th Street on Fee Lane. There will be a $5 charge for early-bird admission to the sale from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.; admission will be free from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The line will start on the southeast entrance of the fieldhouse.
Sale items will be priced to sell and all transactions will be cash only. Examples of items for sale include furniture, clothing, kitchen items, small appliances, working electronics and entertainment systems, household items, books, magazines, toys, sports equipment and games. The entire H2H collection has been tested for bedbugs.
Hoosier to Hoosier is a partnership between United Way of Monroe County, Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, the City of Bloomington, IU Athletics, the IU Office of Sustainability and IU Residential Programs and Services.
Aside from a small percentage that will be set aside for administrative costs associated with the sale next year, all proceeds from the sale will benefit Habitat for Humanity and United Way of Monroe County. A small percentage (5 percent each) is used to support sustainability programs at IU and at the City of Bloomington.
H2H is entirely run by volunteers, and still has open volunteer shifts, both to help stage the sale and to help on sale day. Visit the volunteer page to sign up, or email h2h@indiana.edu for more information.
