Annual Move Out Drive

About the Move Out Drive

The annual Move Out Drive is Georgetown’s end-of-the-school-year contribution to our community and the environment, inviting members of our campus community to “re-purpose their packing” at the end of the semester by donating gently used household items to local charities.

Each May, over 250,000 pounds of unwanted materials are discarded during move out, which can end up in local landfills, harming the local environment and the communities around them. Many students, faculty and staff have realized that there is a better way to re-purpose their packing and help care for our common home.

The Move Out Drive addresses the environmental challenge of the (literally) tons of unwanted clothing, books, school supplies and household goods that Georgetown students discard each year as they move out of their school-year residences. Applying the university’s social justice mission to this challenge, Georgetown partners with local charities to collect and donate these unwanted items, providing every-day basic household goods to meet real life needs of those working to make ends meet in the DC region.

The annual Move Out Drive is a collaboration of the Office of Sustainability, Office of Neighborhood Life, Office of Residential Living, and Department of Planning & Facilities Management.

2023 Move Out Drive Impact

The 2023 Move Out Drive was held May 8 through May 22 at four collection sites around Campus and two collection sites at the downtown campus (55 H St and the Law Center). Main Campus Sites were open noon to 4 daily. The Office of Neighborhood Life and Planning and Facilities Management also held eight pick-up days for off-campus students and neighbors to donate goods.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2023 Move Out Drive! Through the partnership of 17 nonprofit organizations and 20 student volunteers, we collected over 35,000 pounds of clothing, furniture, and household goods valued at $340,000 (including $130,000 worth of women’s clothing!).

Corporate sponsors

Special thanks to Coca Cola Distributing and Mini Mobile Storage Solutions for making the 2023 Move Out Drive possible.

Non-profit Partners

Georgetown works with a network of over 15 non-profit organizations to collect and distribute collected goods. Read more about the Move Out Drive experience of our partners.

Charitable partners include Bread for the City, Central Union Mission, the Salvation Army, and Habitat for Humanity

Through the years, the Move Out Drive has grown to involve the entire Georgetown community, on- and off-campus, to become emblematic of the university’s quadruple bottom line approach to sustainability, serving people, the planet, and promoting prosperity for the common good. The annual Move Out Drive is a collaboration of the Office of Sustainability, Office of Neighborhood Life, Office of Residential Living, and Department of Planning & Facilities Management. We would also like to thank our generous corporate sponsors, whose support helps make the Drive possible: Coca Cola and Mobile Mini Solutions.