Mission Statement

Dump & Run is dedicated to serving the University and College community in waste prevention techniques. Our goal is three fold. First, we desire to reduce the amount of waste generated at Colleges and Universities by extending the useful life of items no longer needed by the student community at years end. Second, to generate capital for non profit environmental and social groups willing to participate in the projects. Finally, we aim to educate the public about the problems regarding consumption of natural resources and the need to conserve those resources for future generations.

How Dump & Run Was Born

Over the years, it has become accepted that the items we no longer have use for are trash. What millions of people fail to realize is that the concept of trash is based on our perception. Dump & Run is an effort to change that perception.

We've all heard the phrase "One person's trash is another's treasure" but few people ever go so far as donating the items they no longer have use for. While at Syracuse University, Lisa Heller, the founder of Dump and Run, lost a ring that her grandmother had given her and decided to check the dumpster for it as a last resort. She never found the ring, but was amazed at what she did find. Upon looking in the dumpster Lisa found many perfectly usable items that had been discarded by students. She found, clothing, furniture, lamps, approximately enough canned food to feed a family of four for a week and even a cigar box full of rare stamps, one of which was worth $400.00.

Lisa was awestruck by the amount of usable items being sent to the landfill. For the rest of her stay at Syracuse and her first year at the University of Richmond, Lisa saved as many things as she could from the dumpsters. She kept some items for herself, and took the balance of the items and donated them to Goodwill Industries. Her second year at Richmond she collected so many things that she had a lawn sale of her own to raise money for the University debate team and again gave the remaining portion to Goodwill. During her third year at Richmond, Lisa was very active in the Sierra Club, and with the help of both Richmond's on and off campus chapters she organized an official effort to collect and sell the recyclable items. The proceeds from the sale resulted in a sizable donation to the Sierra Club. By 2000, the second year of Lisa's official effort, the awareness within the campus community about Dump & Run had increased so dramatically that discarded items at the end of the school year had decreased by approximately 50%.

Shortly after Richmond's Dump & Run event for 2000, Dump & Run was granted it's 501C(3) status and this ambitious non-profit was born. What began as a one-time project has evolved into a cutting edge environmental organization.

Contact Us: info@dumpandrun.org
Dump & Run Inc., PO Box 397, Brookfield MA 01506
(508) 579 7188