By WIBW's Sarah Motter
MANHATTAN, Kan. (WIBW) - Manhattan will host its annual Furniture Amnesty Day on Friday, July 30.
The City of Manhattan says 2021′s Furniture Amnesty Day will be held on Friday, July 30, starting at 8 a.m. in City Park. It said FAD is a community event that gives residents the chance to donate or pick up used furniture for free.
According to the City, anyone can join in the event. It said there are no income requirements or forms to fill out in order to choose from donated items. It said registration for furniture shopping starts at City Park at 8 a.m. on the 30th.
The City said free shopping will be scheduled in 15-minute timeslots from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and participants can return to the park at their scheduled time and take up to five items for free. It said items in a set, like tables and chairs, will only count as one item. It said no additional paperwork is needed.
According to the City, furniture will continue to be collected throughout the day, so there will be a fresh selection of goods for every session. It said to note that shoppers need to be able to take away the furniture they choose since delivery service is not available.
“August is the most popular month for people in Manhattan to move,” said Assistant Chief Ryan Courtright. “We used to see a lot of furniture abandoned at the curb every August. Since refuse companies don’t pick up those large items, we ended up issuing a lot of code violations and furniture just sat and rotted. Furniture Amnesty Day grew out of an idea to help solve that problem and get that furniture to people who could use it.”
The City said the event was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, but in 2019, over 700 pieces of furniture were collected during FAD.
According to the City, acceptable donations include sofas, couches, desks, recliners, end tables, dressers, headboards, chairs and kitchen tables.
The City said donations that will not be accepted include dishwashers, pianos, grills, refrigerators, televisions, computers and other electronics.
“Generally, we don’t accept anything that needs to be plugged in,” said Courtright.
According to the City, volunteers will be available to pick up furniture donations at the curb for those within Manhattan city limits. In 2021, it said volunteers will only pick up a maximum of five items per location. It said residents should note that furniture sets still count as one item in this situation.
The City said donations will be able to be dropped off at Miller Field in City Park from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, July 30. It said any furniture left unclaimed at 4 p.m. will be open to the general public without registration. It said at 4:30 p.m. the event will end and any remaining furniture will be taken by staff and volunteers.
“As an individual who has both donated and acquired furniture through the event, I can attest that Furniture Amnesty Day is a terrific way that the City of Manhattan is able to mitigate waste,” said Cole Srajer, Senior at Kansas State University. “I tell all my friends about it because it is a really cool opportunity to acquire or get rid of furniture. I`ve only lived in Manhattan for three years, but unique aspects such as Furniture Amnesty Day are small things that make me love this community even more!”
For more information about Furniture Amnesty Day, click HERE.