Residence halls are quiet over the summer, but they were recently a campus hub for making an environmental impact. TCU’s second annual ReFrog grew exponentially this year to repurpose items during move-out and save them from the landfill.
Increasing its donation stations from two to six, ReFrog collected more than 10,000 items, up from an estimated 2,000 in 2023.
“There are two sides to this story: helping TCU be more sustainable by diverting usable items from the landfill and helping people get items they need,” said Wendy Macias, associate dean of undergraduate studies in the Bob Schieffer College of Communication and ReFrog cofounder.
New this year, ReFrog saved some popular dorm items like headboards and organizers to help Horned Frogs moving in for 2024. As always, donating students, faculty/staff and volunteers were able to shop the items for things they needed, and many items went to community partners like The Welman Project, which serves local schoolteachers, and Inspired Vision Compassion Center, which serves those in need locally.
More 2024 ReFrog results by the numbers:
- 30 dumpsters full of items diverted from the landfill
- 164 volunteers
- 500 estimated items collected by TRIO
- 300 volunteer hours served
- 4 hours: longest distance driven by teachers to collect items
- 65% of volunteers were TCU staff members