FAYETTEVILLE — The University of Arkansas helped some families in need this week through a donation to a Northwest Arkansas organization.
University housing donated used dormitory furniture to LifeSource International at 602 S. School Ave. in Fayetteville. LifeSource International is a nonprofit organization offering services such as a food pantry and counseling, according to the organization’s website.
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The organization picked up most of the furniture Monday, said Jimmie Conduff, executive director. The group received 24 mattresses with frames, 24 desks and 24 dressers, said Jeff Vinger, director for residential facilities in university housing at UA.
University housing donates furniture to the organization two to four times a year, Conduff said. The organization got about 300 mattresses with frames along with other furniture last summer.
“Our clients love when they donate furniture to us,” he said.
The majority of the people the organization helps can’t afford furniture, Conduff said. Some families have children sleeping on floors and couches and with multiple children in one bed.
Low income families use a lot of their income on basic necessities, such as food, shelter and transportation, said Laura Kellams, Northwest Arkansas director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. High quality home items don’t generally fit into that. Getting those items for free can take a burden off those families, she said.
People can visit the food pantry on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and can get furniture at the same time, Conduff said.
“This goes directly right back into the community,” he said.
Most of the furniture from this week’s donation had been claimed as of Wednesday, Conduff said. About 400 families used the pantry during each week in June.
Vinger said the donated furniture came from Gregson Hall, which has 203 beds. The furniture was purchased in 1995.
Most dormitory furniture at the university lasts an average of 10 to 12 years, Vinger said. The furniture in Gregson Hall lasted longer, because it was more heavy duty than furniture the university purchases now.
University housing partners with the business affairs office at the university to process furniture removed from dormitories, Vinger said. The majority of used furniture items are stored in a warehouse, then auctioned during the campus’s next public auction.
Because the warehouse was full, university was authorized to donate the remaining furniture, Vinger said. The university can’t donate to any organization that will profit from the furniture. Vinger said he’ll have worked in his current position for four years this October, and university housing has donated furniture to LifeSource International at least as long as he’s been there.
Donating the furniture also benefits the university, because it helps avoid the cost of throwing the items away, Vinger said. It’s costly to throw away furniture, because there’s a fee to have trash containers dumped at a landfill.
University housing replaces dormitory furniture in the summer, so it doesn’t interrupt students while they’re in school, Vinger said. New furniture was placed in Gregson Hall on Wednesday.