The annual Pack it Up, Pass it On event is scheduled to take place May 19-20 from 11-4pm in the UW-Eau Claire Water St. parking lot. 

The annual event allows students to bring furniture, household items and mattresses to the lot to be donated or disposed of, free of charge. Students must have their Blugold ID in order to drop off or dispose of items. 

The event is sponsored by the Student Office of Sustainability, otherwise known as SOS, and coordinated with the Eau Claire City-County Health Department. 

Fourth-year environmental geology student and graduating director of the Student Office of Sustainability, Maddie Loeffler, said the purpose of the event is to save students the trouble and cost of finding a place to put their unwanted things. 

“Our purpose in it is to both attempt to save items from the landfill, but also to take that burden off of students, so even if things ultimately do go to the landfill, it’s not students that are footing the bill for that,” Loeffler said. 

Loeffler said that the stressful move-out time and ‘homeless week’ that many students experience in between leases would cause a lot of items to end up curbside if the event wasn’t put on. 

The SOS event is sponsored by the Green Fund, an annual student-segregated fee allocation that allows SOS to plan projects, programs and events on campus and for UW-Eau Claire students. 

In collaboration with the Student Office of Sustainability, the Eau Claire City-County Health Department primarily coordinates and supervises the event.

Eau Claire City-County Health Department official Iris Casey has been with the health department for seven years, following her graduation from UW-Eau Claire in 2015. Casey has overseen the program for the past six years. 

Casey said that to her knowledge, this spring is the 20th annual pack it up, pass it on event. In the past twenty years, the program has grown substantially. 

According to Casey, the SOS began funding the event in 2019. This change made the donation and disposal process free of charge to students. Most recently, Casey said that mattress and scrap metal recycling will be added to the event this year. 

Casey said the event began as a place for students to bring their items to properly dispose of, and it has grown into a big event for both reusing and recycling items. 

“I think this event allows both students to kind of find a good place to get rid of the things that they need to get rid of, but also keep the community looking nice for all of their neighbors that maybe aren’t students,” Casey said. 

Family Promise of the Chippewa Valley and Habitat for Humanity will both be at the event, collecting whatever donation items that they can use. 

New this year, students are also able to stop by and pick up items they want or have a use for, Casey said. Officials will be putting items aside that are unable to be donated, or that students might particularly have a use for. 

Casey said the event is organized with the collaboration of many partners throughout the Eau Claire community. 

“We coordinate it, but without all of those other groups we wouldn’t be able to put this event on, make it as successful as it has been and allow it to grow year after year, so we really appreciate all of our partners,” Casey said. 

The Water Street parking lot can be accessed by 2nd Avenue. Casey said that there will be volunteers and personnel directing and overseeing the event. 

For more information or questions about the event, contact the Student Office of Sustainability. 

Schoenemann can be reached at [email protected].