Gaige Furniture Put to Good Use

To prepare for the upcoming demolition of  Gaige Residence Hall, the Millersville University Purchasing and Campus Services Department took on the task of disposing of all the old furniture that was not slated for reuse elsewhere on campus. This job had to be completed during the short interval between the close of the building on May 11, and the start of the demolition sequence on May 24. The University usually tries to find a single bidder to take all the beds, desks and dressers, however, attempts failed to produce a buyer.

“Consequently, to avoid just disposing of 300 sets of room furnishings, Lauren Weitzel, our assistant director of Purchasing and Campus Services, canvassed multiple charitable organizations in the area to see if there was a need,” said David Errickson, director of Purchasing & Campus Services. “She was very successful and, beginning on May 12, had organized the donation of over 1,600 pieces of furniture spared from the landfill, and benefitting four local non-profits – Water Street Rescue Mission, Refugee Resettlement, Habitat Restore and Nuestra Clinica.  In addition, a number of pieces of furniture were donated to Thaddeus Stevens College and Student Lodging Inc.”

 “Weitzel established a schedule with our contracted moving company, Armstrong Relocation, and with Rita Miller of Residence Life and Pat Kulp of the MU Moving Crew, supervised the orderly flow of materials out of the building,” said Errickson.

Refugee Resettlement was the first organization to pick up their furniture. MU donated over 215 pieces of furniture to that organization which provides immigration and refugee services to thousands of refugees fleeing oppression all over the world.  Next, MU donated over 230 pieces of furniture to Nuestra Clinica, part of the Spanish American Civil Association (SACA), which provides rehabilitation support and halfway house accommodations for needy Spanish Americans in Lancaster County.

 MU then donated 175 pieces of furniture to the Water Street Rescue Mission which provides food and shelter to the homeless in Lancaster County, as well as access to medical, dental, behavioral health, spiritual and career support. 

 Finally, MU also donated over 145 pieces of furniture to the Lancaster Habitat Restore.  The Habitat Restore is a donation center that sells new and gently-used furniture to help fund their organization, Lancaster Area Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization which builds and renovates homes throughout Lancaster and Lebanon Counties.

The remaining furniture went to Thaddeus Stevens College and Student Lodging Inc for use in their residence halls and apartments. In addition, a number pieces will be stored on campus for emergency and overflow use in the South Villages when necessary. 

“Interestingly, mattresses are rarely reused and often are not included in furniture sales,” explained Errickson. “With the environment in mind, Lauren set out to find someone to recycle them. She discovered LRP Recycling, which came and recycled approximately 200 mattresses for a nominal fee, thereby preventing the mattresses from being dumped into landfills. All in all the project was successfully completed and Gaige Hall emptied by May 20.”

The building will now undergo asbestos abatement and temporary use as a fire department training site before being demolished in late June or July.