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ACT’s ‘The BIG Sale’ at Appalachian State University Raises over $21,000 and Diverts 70 Tons from Landfills

Aug, 26, 2013. The annual BIG Sale event, held Aug. 17 at Appalachian State University diverted 70 tons of material from landfills and raised more than $21,000 to support energy efficiency projects at three local nonprofits. Proceeds will also support scholarship funds at Appalachian.

Three agencies benefitting from the BIG Sale are Hospitality House of Boone, WAMY Community Action and Joy Cove Group Home. 

imgresThe indoor yard sale-like event, sponsored by Appalachian and the Community Together (ACT), featured donated household items and items that were salvaged from residence hall rooms at the end of the spring semester as part of the Don’t Throw it Away campaign, also sponsored by ACT.

This year’s sale was a success, said Kate Johnson, associate director for community service at ACT. She said the success is largely owed to the hundreds of volunteers, customers and campus and community partners who made the event possible.

Appalachian students are motivated to coordinate this complex event by the knowledge that they are providing necessities like clothing, food and furniture at affordable prices while helping nonprofits and reducing their impact on the environment,” Johnson said.

Including the amount raised at this year’s event, BIG Sale as raised more than $141,993 since 2001, according to ACT.

About the BIG SALE

Natalie Knight started the BIG sale in 2000 in an effort to reduce and reuse items that students were throwing away at the end of the school year. Knight collected items herself and donated them to OASIS, a domestic abuse shelter. The volume of donations led Knight to pair up with Dump and Run, a national organization that helps organize events like the BIG Sale on college campuses. The first BIG Sale event took place in 2001 at Duck Pond Field and raised $3,342.27 for Watauga Department of Social Services Foster Care Program.

For more information, visit http://act.appstate.edu/big-sale.