City of Manhattan announces annual Furniture Amnesty Day

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The City of Manhattan is announcing its annual Furniture Amnesty Day.

City of Manhattan officials said this year’s Furniture Amnesty Day (FAD) event will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 26 in City Park in Manhattan, Kan.

FAD is a free community event that gives people the opportunity to donate or pick up used furniture at no cost. Anyone can participate. There are no income requirements or forms to fill out to choose from the donated items.

City of Manhattan officials said registration for furniture shopping begins at 8 a.m. in City Park. Free shopping will be scheduled in 15-minute time slots from 11 am to 4 pm

FAD participants can return to the park at their scheduled time and take home up to five (5) furniture items at no cost. Items in a set, such as a table and chairs, only count as one item. No additional paperwork is needed. Furniture will continue to be gathered and dropped off throughout the day, so there will always be a fresh selection of goods available. Shoppers must be able to haul away any furniture they select. Delivery service is not available.

This year, due to ongoing construction, Fremont Street will still be closed from 12th to 14th streets. Therefore, participants will need to access City Park from 11th Street via Fremont to Central Park Road.

Parking will be available in lots along North Park Road, south of the closed Fremont Street intersection.

“August is the most common month for people in Manhattan to move,” said Ryan Courtright, assistant chief of risk reduction for the Manhattan Fire Department. “We used to see a lot of furniture abandoned at the curb every August. Since some refuse companies do not pick up those large items, we were issuing a lot of code violation notices and furniture just sat and deteriorated. Furniture Amnesty Day grew out of an idea to help solve that problem and get that furniture to people who could use it.”

City of Manhattan officials said furniture can be donated in two ways: 1) residents within Manhattan city limits can sign up online by 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 24 to have volunteers pick up their donated furniture at the curbside of their residence; or 2) donations can be dropped off at Miller Field in City Park from 8 am to 3 pm Friday, July 26.

Acceptable donations include sofas, couches, desks, recliners, dressers, headboards, chairs, entertainment centers and end, coffee and kitchen tables.

Donations that will not be accepted include FAD will not be accepting mattresses, dishwashers, pianos, grills, refrigerators, washers, dryers, televisions, monitors, computers, lamps, or other electronics. “Generally, we don’t accept anything that needs to be plugged in,” Courtright explained.

Volunteers are available to pick up furniture donations at the curb for anyone living within Manhattan city limits. Volunteers only will pick up a maximum of five (5) furniture items per location. Again, furniture sets such as a table and chairs still count as only one item.

To register for pickup service, please sign up online at cityofmhk.com/furniture or call the City Manager’s Office at (785) 587-2404 during regular business hours. The deadline to register for pickup service is 5 pm Wednesday, July 24. All items for donation pickup need to be at the curb by 7 am Friday, July 26. Volunteers will not enter homes or private property to pick up donations.

Donations can also be dropped off at Miller Field from 8 am to 3 pm July 26.

City of Manhattan officials said any furniture left unclaimed at 4 p.m. on the day of the event will be open to the general public without registration. At 4:30 pm, the event will end. Any remaining pieces will be hauled away by staff and volunteers.

City of Manhattan officials said if weather prevents the event from taking place on July 26, it will be canceled.

Officials indicated it takes lots of help to make Furniture Amnesty Day happen. HandsOn K-State is organizing the volunteer effort this year. Anyone interested in helping should fill out a volunteer form HERE. Volunteers can decide which three-hour shift works best with their schedule. Drinks and snacks will be provided.

Manhattan’s annual Furniture Amnesty Day is hosted by the City of Manhattan, the Staley School of Leadership Studies at K-State, HandsOn K-State, and Konza United Way. For more information, please visit cityofmhk.com/furniture.

More information about the City can be found online at www.cityofmhk.com, or by following the City on Facebook or Twitter