Jim Harwood, Lewiston, tests his purchase. (Alexander Hulse ’15)

In a display typically reserved for midnight premieres or Black Friday, a line began forming at daybreak.

Some savvy veterans of Clean Sweep even brought collapsible chairs with them, waiting out the line in relative comfort.

It would be hours before the Underhill Arena doors officially opened, but ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ 14th annual “garage sale” was certainly worth the wait. Hundreds of items donated by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ community in order to keep them out of the waste stream translated into great deals for the Lewiston-Auburn community, and some $22,000 for participating nonprofits.

The 7:30 a.m. line. (Alexander Hulse ’15)

As customers in line discussed their hopes for the event, snippets of conversation concerning refrigerators, sound systems and Tupperware could be overheard. Gina Thompson of Sabattus was particularly looking forward to the “goodie bags,” $4 plastic bags filled with a variety of small items.

Amidst this background talk of what would be found at Clean Sweep, Mike Thibodeau of Lewiston pithily observed that “the first thing they have is a long line.”

Thibodeau had a point. By 7:30 a.m. the line stretched from Underhill to the landmark Bobcat statue near Leahey Field — then nearly doubled its length in the next half-hour.

When the doors finally opened, there were cheers as the crowd poured into Underhill. The selection of sale items was baffling at first, with areas dedicated to shoes, pillows, glassware, printers, a forest of lamps and enough books to outfit a library, among a menagerie of other pieces.

The gates open at 8 a.m., and Clean Sweep 2014 begins. (Alexander Hulse ’15)

The section was perhaps the most competitively priced — small couches and futons cost as little as $15, with larger items similarly affordable. These deals attracted plenty of attention, and many tired shoppers took a minute or two to test the comfort of a chair or futon.

Furniture requiring extra effort to move, Clean Sweep offered customers the opportunity to reserve pieces for up to an hour, allowing time to arrange for transportation.

After taking in this sight, many would look down and realize that the floor itself was on sale! The ground was lined with an eclectic variety of rugs, each with its own handwritten price tag.

Opinions about the event, produced by the college’s Office of Sustainability Initiatives, seemed overwhelmingly positive. Auburn resident Debbie Mansur observed that Clean Sweep is a “good opportunity to give back to community programs,” while Keagan Cody, Lewiston, said only, “These swords are awesome!” about his swashbuckling find of three foam cutlasses. Clean Sweep clearly has a wide appeal!

Deals by lamplight. (Alexander Hulse ’15)

This glowing response was reflected by the  folks staffing the event — volunteers from the local nonprofits that shared Clean Sweep proceeds. One of the many three-year Clean Sweep veterans, Nenman Estes of Sabattus, a volunteer from the Loaves and Fishes program of the Dominican Sisters, said, “It’s great helping local charities, food banks — there’s a lot of need for that right now.”

Between reducing waste, supporting these charitable endeavors and creating a positive relationship between ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ and local residents that lasts through the years, it’s not at all surprising that next year Clean Sweep will be celebrating its 15th anniversary.

Located in Lewiston except as indicated, the nonprofits that participated this year are:

• Catholic Charities of Maine’s Seek Elderly Alone Renew Courage and Hope (SEARCH) Program
• Community Partners, Inc.
• The First Universalist Church, Auburn
• The Justice, Ecology and Democracy Collective, Greene
• The Life Center at John F. Murphy Homes, Auburn
• The Loaves and Fishes program of the Dominican Sisters, Sabattus
• Lots to Gardens
• Lutheran Social Services, Auburn
• The St. Martin De Porres Residence, a homeless shelter
• The Share Center, Auburn
• TriCounty Mental Health Services and its Social Learning Center
• The Trinity Jubilee Center

For the seventh year, a team of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College students is coordinating a that matches fellow students with volunteer opportunities in the Lewiston-Auburn region.

The seven Student Volunteer Fellows at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ during the 2008-09 academic year are seniors Jessica Adelman of Waban, Mass.; Hiu Man Christine Chiu of Hong Kong; Anne Fischer of Far Hills, N.J.; Erin Gilligan of Windham; Julie Miller-Hendry of Bedford, Mass.; and sophomores Chelsea Pennucci of Mamaroneck, N.Y. and Diane Saunders of Durham, N.C.

The Student Volunteer Fellows support the volunteer program run by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½, a center designed to weave together campus and community for the enrichment of both liberal education and public life.

The Fellows coordinate volunteer projects for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students, with each Fellow responsible for a partnership with a particular community program. The Fellows help structure the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Volunteerism Program as a whole, they recruit and coordinate volunteers, and they participate in the various volunteer activities themselves.

Opportunities for volunteer work involve hundreds of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students every semester in projects ranging from Make-a-Difference Day to efforts with local youth like the Longley School Mentoring program.

Volunteering “is a way for me to connect with the community that I live in,” Miller-Hendry says. “ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is lucky enough to have a wonderful program through the Harward Center that is committed to working with the community partners to really benefit both the students and the residents of Lewiston.”

Miller-Hendry coordinates the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ volunteer program at Blake Street Towers, a public housing complex for residents who are elderly or disabled. Adelman works with the Hillview Afterschool Program, a ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½-run program at the Hillview Apartments community housing facility that provides homework help, games and activities for children.

Chiu facilitates ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ involvement with Lewiston Adult Education through the Lewiston Adult Learning Center and the College Transition Program, while Fischer works with the Longley School mentoring program. Gilligan coordinates the Montello School Reading Club and the America Reads and America Counts programs for Lewiston children.

Pennucci works with the Trinity Jubilee Center, recruiting ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students to volunteer in the soup kitchen. Saunders coordinates group volunteer programs for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ clubs and teams looking to make a difference in our communities.

“I strongly believe that what is important is not to force students to do community service, but instead make it clear that community service is not one specific thing,” Miller-Hendry says. “There are so many opportunities, from mentoring children to building houses to playing bingo with the elderly. Our goal as Student Volunteer Fellows is to make these opportunities as easy as possible for students.”

The eighth annual Clean Sweep, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College “garage sale” of appliances, furnishings, electronics and other goods donated by departing students, raised nearly $12,000 in proceeds that will be divided among 14 local nonprofit organizations.

A community tradition, the June 14 sale drew droves of eager bargain-hunters to the college’s Underhill Arena, on Russell Street.

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ is one of a number of colleges and universities nationwide that benefit both local nonprofit organizations and the environment by selling useful possessions donated by students as they head out at the end of the academic year.

The sale both keeps unwanted possessions out of the waste stream and raises money for the organizations. Nonprofits supply volunteers to help staff the event, and in return receive a share of the proceeds proportionate to the amount of time volunteered.

“More than 115 volunteers from the nonprofits put in a total of about 1,000 hours collecting, sorting, cleaning, organizing, pricing and selling an arena full of items that would have otherwise gone to waste,” says Julie Rosenbach, the college’s environmental coordinator.

“It made a difference,” she says. “I estimate that we sold approximately 85 percent of the items collected,” with the participating nonprofits and ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ employees taking their pick from the remainder. “In the end, less than 1 percent of everything we collected went into the trash.”

Items donated by ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ students and the community included appliances, furniture, sporting goods, housewares and electronics, books, toys, clothes and shoes.

The beneficiaries of the June 14 event were: Caleb Community Garden; Common Ties; First Universalist Church; Justice, Ecology and Democracy Collective; Life Center; Literacy Volunteers; Lots to Gardens; Maine Fair Trade Campaign; Maine People’s Alliance; Our Lady of the Rosary; Sandcastle Preschool; Share Center; Somali Bantu Community Association; and TriCounty Mental Health Services.

This year’s sale raised $11,897. Last year, 18 local school and nonprofit organizations divided $17,648 in proceeds. The total for 2006 was around $10,000.

– Office of Communications and Media Relations