Sustainability Initiatives
Jane’s Closet
Jane’s Closet provides members of our campus community with commonly used items–free of charge. Our aim is to offer support to community members experiencing financial hardship, divert waste away from landfills, and promote the adoption of a sharing economy on campus. All members of the campus community are welcome to use Jane’s Closet.
We accept the following new or gently-used items:
- Books
- Clothing – Excluding underwear, bras, socks, or pajamas
- Shoes
- School Supplies – Must be unopened and unused.
- Refrigerators < 4.0 cubic feet
- Microwaves < 1.1 cubic feet
- Fans
- Crockpots
- Coffee makers
- Electric kettles
- Scented wax warmers
- Vacuums
- Accepted items are not limited to this list. Please review the residence hall policies for a list of items that can be used in campus dorms.
You may drop donations off in the donation bin in Fisher Chapel outside the Jane Addams Center office.
RU Green?
RU Green is our Earth Day celebration. Earth Day is recognized on April 21 each year, but we expand the activities into a full week.
In celebration of Earth Day Week, we have collaborated with organizations in the Rockford community, including Severson Dells Nature Center and Rotary Club of Cherry Valley, to challenge students to make sustainable choices and get into Nature.
The Center has sponsored and co-sponsored a wide variety of activities and programs to educate students about the importance of sustainability and green initiatives. Students have tried plant-based meals in the RU Dining Hall and participated in iNaturalist activities through Severson Dells, and have been encouraged to make choices like walking instead of driving through participation in the RU Green? campus challenge. Our aim at JACCE is to engage individual students as well as clubs and athletic teams on our campus in RU Green? activities. To kick off the week in 2024, for example, the RU football team participated in a State Street cleanup.
Community and Butterfly Gardens
The Butterfly Garden was dedicated in Spring 2024 in remembrance of student Dejan Kuljanin, who was a student in the Education Pathways program at RU. The memorial garden is located out the back entrance of Fisher Chapel.
Plants in the garden were carefully chosen to attract pollinators, including butterflies and bees, and to help sustain insects and birds living in our stressed natural environment. The garden is maintained by students in the Education Pathways program.
Our Community Garden was established on campus in 2022 to help educate students about sustainability issues, encourage gardening as a way to manage stress, and improve awareness of fresh foods for a healthy lifestyle. Located between the softball field and the RU Maintenance Building, the Community Garden offers a chance for students, faculty, and staff to work together on a sustained project that helps benefit out environment.
To promote the garden, JACCE has sponsored cook-offs featuring dishes created by RU faculty and staff. Students get the opportunity to vote for their favorite dish. If you are interested in participating in the Jane Addams Community Garden, please email us at jacce@rockford.edu.
