If you walked through the Bryan Center Plaza on Thursday, you may have noticed people dropping off and picking up a very random assortment items, from books and school supplies to kitchen utensils and old personal items.
This take-a-penny table of paraphernalia was this semester’s final run of the Duke Free Store, a program created nearly ten years ago by Duke Recycles as a way for faculty, students and staff to donate unwanted office supplies. Over the years, the program has grown from a small “store” on Buchanan to a regular event on campus, opening every other week in the Bryan Center or on the BC Plaza.
“The craziest things we've had were often the quickest ones gone,” says Mohamed Ismail, a sophomore involved with the Student Sustainability Leaders and the Environmental Alliance. “My favorite has been a jelly bean statue to store jelly beans that sang when you opened it. We had a book by Dan Ariely dropped off and taken within two minutes.”
The Free Store still operates under the original framework, allowing anyone to drop off anything they want—as long as it is not dangerous, living or illegal. Students passing by may freely grab anything that interests them, free of charge.
“The Free Store became so popular for those who knew about it that we ran out of things after about four runs,” said Ismail. “Now we've worked on getting the word out through bus ads, Facebook, a listserv and email blasts to sustainability lists.”
Even though the Free Store has held its last session for this semester, their increased success over the year is a good indicator that it will continue into the future. Look out for collection bins during the last week of classes and as you begin the process of clearing out your dorms. Who knows? You may see something you donate again in just a few months.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.