Photo: City of Ames
(Ames, IA) -- The City of Ames says their annual Rummage RAMPage event was a big hit this month. Organizers say they found new homes for more than 90-thousand pounds of furniture and 30-thousand pounds worth of housewares. Ames started this tradition five years ago to divert unwanted, but still usable items from the landfill. A lot of it comes from I-S-U students moving out after the summer.
In its fifth year, Rummage RAMPage increased proceeds by almost $7,000 compared to results from 2019. Rummage RAMPage was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic.
The City of Ames, in partnership with the ISU Office of Sustainability, held the sale from July 30 to Aug. 7 at the Ames Intermodal Facility, 129 Hayward Ave. Twenty-eight non-profit groups sent dozens of volunteers to staff the event, provided more than 1,000 hours of volunteer labor. The non-profits will share $40,000 in proceeds based on the number of hours of donated labor.
More than 100 couches, 100 upholstered chairs, and 250 dining and office chairs tables, along with more than 30,000 pounds of housewares were sold at the event, and thus diverted from the landfill.
“This year’s sale was truly exceptional especially in the number of donations, purchases, and volunteers,” said Merry Rankin, ISU Sustainability Director and City of Ames Sustainability Coordinator. “The success or failure of Rummage RAMPage rests in the hands of the community, and once again, the response was overwhelming. This was a phenomenal show of support.”