From Chicago Tribune Local:

Providing the largest such donation to date to help new refugees as they arrive in the Chicago area, Concordia University Chicago recently recycled 91 residence hall mattresses by giving them to Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights.

Heartland Alliance, the Chicago-based non-profit organization serving more than 200,000 people annually, intends to use the mattresses over the next three months furnish area apartments for refugees from Burma, Iraq and Nepal.

Concordia-Chicago initiated the partnership with Heartland as a sustainable alternative to throwing away the mattresses that are regularly replaced throughout its residence halls.

"It seemed like putting the mattresses in a dumpster is a waste," said Andrew Pollom, Concordia assistant dean of students for residence life, who organized the effort. "With Concordia going 'green,' this project is part of our initiative to use resources wisely."

"This is by far the largest mattress donation we have ever received," said Darwensi Clark, Heartland Alliance's manager for refugee resettlement and placement services. On July 17, Clark and other volunteers arrived at Concordia's Mary-Martha Hall in two vans and a large moving truck to benefit Heartland and two other organizations. With Pollom, they formed an assembly line to load all 91 mattresses into the three vehicles.