Patriot Packout (PPO)

• University Sustainability’s Patriot Packout (PPO) program hosts recurring pop-up Free Store events throughout the year to meet its goals of 1) addressing basic needs insecurity within the George Mason community and 2) preventing useful items from ending up in the trash.  
• PPO’s Summer Free Store prioritizes the free redistribution of donations to ensure that all George Mason community members can access items that help meet their everyday needs and wants. 

• You’ll find new and gently used clothing, accessories, shoes, books, art and academic supplies, household items, small furniture, small appliances, electronics, and more at the Summer Free Store! 
• Donated items are organized into categories with accompanying signage to make it easy for visitors to find what they’re looking for. 

Many George Mason Patriots experience basic needs insecurity, and we want the Summer Free Store to be a resource for all members of the university community! There are no limits, just keep in mind your fellow George Mason Patriots may want to use this resource.

Yes, all donations are available for free! Donated items at the Summer 2026 Free Store were donated by George Mason students, staff, and faculty during Patriot Packout’s Spring 2026 Move-Out Initiative, hosted in partnership with Housing and Residence Life.

The Summer Free Store aims to support George Mason Patriots and removes the cost barrier to ensure folks have access to the resources they need to live safe, comfortable, and fulfilling lives. Everything is free so that the George Mason community can easily access any donated items at the Summer Free Store that they need and want.

• All donations at the Summer Free Store are available for free bug select furniture/equipment items are PPO supplies used to organize, store, and display donations.
  • PPO purchased furniture/equipment items are labeled “PPO PROPERTY” to help visitors identify them. PPO Property is not available for Summer Free Store visitors to take. 

• Please ask a PPO staff/volunteer member about a furniture/equipment item you are interested in. Do NOT empty any furniture/equipment that is being used to store or display items.
  • The PPO staff/volunteer will inform you if it is available and if so, will review the reservation process with you.  

Yes, there is parking available at The Globe and nearby surface lots.

• PPO’s Google Map resource with parking directions is available here: Patriot Packout Summer 2026 Free Store Parking Directions
• Written directions are also included here

Yes, you are welcome to come back and visit the Summer Free Store again! There are no limits on the number of times you can visit during the Summer Free Store event. We encourage you to invite others to visit the Summer Free Store with you! 

This event is open to George Mason students, staff, faculty, and alumni only. Yes, you can bring people with you, and you are welcome to bring small groups (2-3 people maximum) of friends and family from outside the George Mason community. 

• Family and friends of George Mason Patriots must be escorted by their George Mason Patriot the entire time they’re attending the event.  
• All attendees must register to attend the Summer Free Store: go.gmu.edu/freestore 

Unfortunately, we have limited staff and volunteer capacity and cannot assist you in loading or transporting donations outside of the Summer Free Store event space. 

• If you have a heavier item, like furniture, there are 30-minute parking spots available at The Globe’s front entrance to support loading items. See Patriot Packout Summer 2026 Free Store Parking Directions here. 

If you may need to come back later in the day to transport items, we can set your items aside for you and you can pick them up during Summer Free Store hours that same day. 

• Reserved items that are not picked up during Summer Free Store hours on the same day they were reserved will be returned to the Summer Free Store the next day, unless an alternative pickup window is arranged and confirmed in writing with a PPO staff member. 

• There are 30-minute parking spots available at The Globe’s front entrance to support loading items. See Patriot Packout Summer 2026 Free Store Parking Directions here. 

The Summer Free Store is a community resource for George Mason Patriots. Many Patriots experience basic needs insecurity and may wish to use the Summer Free Store. We don't ask visitors to justify what they select from the Summer Free Store; however, we encourage visitors to remember others may need these items – if one visitor picks all of the computer monitors, there won’t be any available for other Summer Free Store visitors. 

If we have multiple items of a specific category remaining once the Summer Free Store closes, we may be able to provide you with those items. Please contact a Patriot Packout team member to express your interest during the final week (July 20 - July 22) of the Summer Free Store.  

We weigh the items you select from the Summer Free Store to track the weight of donation categories we redistribute to George Mason students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other community members. This also helps us collect the total weight of donations made to Patriot Packout during the Spring 2026  Move-Out Donation Collection Initiative.  

We use this data to evaluate and communicate Patriot Packout’s impact, and to improve resources and planning for future Free Store events – data helps us showcase our success and learn how we can make Patriot Packout even more impactful! 

Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to wash every piece of clothing and every kitchenware item due to the volume of donations. We launder a portion of clothing, but we cannot clean all donated items! 

Patriot Packout team members manually review every donation we receive for quality and cleanliness. Items that need to be cleaned before they’re displayed are cleaned. Items that are broken beyond repair or too unclean are appropriately disposed of.   

We highly recommend and strongly encourage visitors to appropriately clean all items they select from the Summer Free Store before they are used.  

Unfortunately, we are not able to accept donations during the Summer Free Store event. 

However, we will be sharing additional information about Patriot Packout events where we will accept donations during Academic Year 2026-2027. Our Patriot Packout website and our email list are the best ways to stay updated:   

• Visit our website: https://go.gmu.edu/PatriotPackout 
• Request to be added to our email list by selecting that option in the registration form for the Summer Free Store: https://go.gmu.edu/freestore  

After the Summer Free Store event concludes, Patriot Packout will transport all remaining items, including unclaimed reserved items, to secure storage provided by Facilities and Campus Operations. Those items are redistributed at a variety of Patriot Packout’s events, like Pop-Up Swap and Hops, mini-Free Stores, Free Stores, skill-sharing workshops, art making workshops, and more.  

• Select donations are also donated to PPO’s donation partners based on their donation lists/need. Donation partners include both university resources (ex. Patriot Pantry, TCCR, Art Supply Sharing Cabinet, etc.) and community nonprofit partners who also redistribute items for free (ex. Food For Others and Serving Each Other).

Yes, Patriot Packout typically hosts events, workshops, and other activities about once per month during the academic year (August – May). We host select events, workshops, and activities during summer (June and July), like the Summer Free Store.  

Our Patriot Packout website and our email list are the best ways to stay updated:

• Visit our website: https://go.gmu.edu/PatriotPackout 
• Request to be added to our email list by selecting that option in the registration form for the Summer Free Store: https://go.gmu.edu/freestore 

Yes! Our Patriot Packout website and our email list are the best ways to stay updated about PPO volunteering:   

• You can sign up to volunteer here
• Request to be added to our email list by selecting that option in the registration form for the Summer Free Store: https://go.gmu.edu/freestore 

There are many opportunities to get involved with, contribute, and support PPO. In addition to volunteering, PPO offers custom student internship opportunities (for credit and not for credit) and part-time wage positions. Available part-time wage positions are advertised on Handshake (typically available starting in the Spring Semester or Summer). Students interested in internship opportunities can email [email protected]. We also partner and collaborate with various on-campus resources to host unique and impactful events, activities, and workshops.

• If you would like to share your own unique ideas for collaboration or participation in PPO, or if you have any questions, please reach out to us at [email protected]. 

The best place to find all Patriot Packout information is here on the University Sustainability website: https://go.gmu.edu/PatriotPackout  

• Follow the University Sustainability office on Instagram @SUSTAINMason for updates.
• You can contact the PPO team with questions at [email protected] 

Join the Patriot Packout Planning Committee – submit your interest form today!

Resources:

• Patriot Packout's Summer 2026 Free Store Registration Form
• Zero Waste Mason webpage
• University Sustainability Instagram @SustainMASON

Early donation initiatives began in 2003, when Mason Facilities staff members collected clothing items and transported them to the Salvation Army to divert them away from move-out trash bins.

In 2007, the Office of Community Relations (now the Office of Community and Local Government Relations), began and officially named Patriot Packout (PPO) as a program to give students who were moving out of their residence halls an outlet to donate their unwanted clothes, appliances and unopened food items to local charities. Tasked with creating community engagement opportunities for the university, the Community Relations team researched programs at other universities and adapted the various move-out programs they found to fit George Mason University and the needs of the community. The Office of Community Relations collaborated with George Mason’s Facilities Management and University Sustainability teams gaining support and partners in PPO.

In 2010, the program won the Green Carpet Award from the Virginia Recycling Association in the category of Outstanding New Age Recycling Performance.  Since 2010, PPO has diverted 152,000+ pounds of reusable goods, electronics/appliances, non-perishable food supplies, and toiletries through not-for-profit donations!

Past donation partners included on-campus resources like Mason’s Patriot Pantry, the Trans Clothing Closet, and the Art Supply Sharing Closet. However, most PPO donations were typically distributed off-campus through partnerships with non-profit organizations like Food for Others, Goodwill, the Salvation Army, AmVets, and the Clock Tower Thrift Shop. 

The PPO initiative was officially moved over to be led by University Sustainability in 2014.  In 2023, University Sustainability launched the Patriot Packout Planning Committee to expand PPO’s impact on campus, with the goal of prioritizing the free redistribution of donated goods to the Mason community and those in need.

PPO Benefits:

• Reduces the waste disposal of usable items and transfers them to folks in need. 
• Donates food and toiletry supplies to students through the Patriot Pantry and other Mason resources. 
• Provides a safe donation and disposal alternative for hazardous and universal waste items.
  • Reduces improper dumping of broken appliances and furniture and pollution, protecting Housing and Residence Life and Facilities staff members. 
• Decreases waste hauling and disposal costs while reducing staff time spent on waste removal and monitoring. 
• Streamlines the move-out process by providing students and families with a resource to donate items.   
• Provides service-learning and civic engagement opportunities for all participants.