PennMOVES, the University’s annual charity drive to collect and redistribute the clothes, furniture, kitchen appliances and non-perishable food items that students leave behind at the end of the school year, is seeking volunteers to help with all aspects of the event.

The sale, set for Saturday, June 5, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Penn Ice Rink, 3130 Walnut St., is first-come, first-served. Early bird admission, from 8 to 10 a.m., is $5. Admission after 10 a.m. is free.

But before the sale can happen, helping hands are needed to transport, sort and organize the donated items. Volunteers are being asked to work two-hour shifts May 10 through June 5. The shifts will run Monday through Friday: 9 to 11 a.m.; 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; 1 to 3 p.m.; and 3 to 5 p.m. Volunteers can sign up for more than one shift and are especially needed on the day of the sale.

Last year, more than 45 tons of objects that would have otherwise been sent to a landfill were collected from campus residence halls and sold through PennMOVES, raising $30,000 for the United Way. Proceeds from this year’s sale will again benefit the United Way for distribution to West Philadelphia charitable organizations.
 
“I am especially proud of the PennMOVES project,” says Marie Witt, vice president of Penn’s Business Services Division, which oversees the program. “It supports the University’s Climate Action Plan by keeping usable items out of landfills. It supports the Penn Compact by working with United Way to distribute the proceeds from our sale to local charities. But just as important, PennMOVES is fun. I encourage everyone in the Penn Community to get involved.”
 
For more information or to register as a volunteer, visit www.pennmoves.info or email pennmoves@upenn.edu.