LUU’s Leave Leeds Tidy campaigners are working alongside the Leeds Community Project to provide free essential items to those in need this summer. Students are being encouraged to donate unwanted items to the Free Community Shop which will open on the 3rd and 6th of July at All Hallows Church.

The shop, open between 10am and 3pm will be stocked entirely with donated items, the vast majority of which will come from students as they move out for the summer. Leave Leeds Tidy will be running a drop-off point for donations at Hyde Park Picture House every Sunday, 10am – 2pm, until July 3rd, and on Friday 30th of June.

LUU Community Officer, Jaime Ali, said:

“As we approach changeover day, students are getting ready to move out of their student houses and head home for the summer. To ensure unnecessary items don’t end up in landfill, Leave Leeds Tidy encourages students to donate their unwanted items to the members of their community who really need them.

“The free shop is just one of many events throughout the year that the Union helps to organise alongside local charities and organisations  and it is great to see so many students making a positive change to their local community.”

Leave Leeds Tidy welcomes donations of anything from clothes, bedding and toiletries, to larger household items such as furniture, kitchenware and electricals.

Students can also leave items in the permanent donation bins in the Union Building foyer on campus. All donations will go to the Community Shop.

With well over 30,000 students attending the University of Leeds alone, the summer months see a large shift in Leeds’ population. Each student house inevitably contributes waste to landfill sites and to the thousands of tons of food waste Leeds produces every year. Donation initiatives such as the Community Shop and food banks not only help those in need, but reduce Leeds’ negative impact on the environment.

Euan Hammond

(Image: LUU)