From microwaves to bedding to an array of Freshman Interest Group T-shirts, shoppers could find nearly anything a college student could own at the 2011 Tiger Treasures rummage sale.

Tiger Treasures opened Saturday morning for community members to purchase donations from MU students, with the proceeds going to Heart of Missouri United Way. The event benefits both United Way and the university.

At the end of the spring semester, students could donate items they did not want to keep after they left the residence halls and Greek Life houses instead of sending these supplies to a landfill.

“Tiger Treasures saves us money from throwing things away,” Sustainability Coordinator Steve Burdic said. “We collected about 20 tons of materials, which saved us $1,500 in trash hauling and disposal.”

Burdic coordinated MU’s side of the event with United Way. He helped move the donations out of the residence halls, and United Way sorted and priced everything.

According to [its website](http://liveunited.org/), United Way is an independent, nonprofit organization that works to build strong families, help kids succeed and promote health and independence. The local chapter partners with 31 agencies serving seven counties in central Missouri.

For shopper Beth Bearce, this was her first time coming to the event, though she donated materials while she lived in the dorms.

“I got the emails about it, and my boyfriend and I decided to check it out,” Bearce said. “There’s a lot more stuff than I imagined there would be. It’s amazing what people are willing to give away. I saw a pair of True Religion jeans over there, and those are a $300 pair of jeans.”

Last year, Tiger Treasures collected about 18 tons of donations, according to the event’s website. Burdic said even with the rise in donations, the sale went well.

“There’s a lot more stuff this year,” Burdic said. “We have generous students, and stuff seems to be flying out of here.”

Volunteers at Tiger Treasures acted as cashiers, loaded cars and helped direct customers. CariAnne Behr was a bill recorder, totaling the cost of a purchase before sending a customer to the cashier. This is her first year at the event, and she said she was impressed with the community’s interest.

“There were so many people in the first 20 minutes, and they all went straight to appliances,” Behr said.

Behr, like many other volunteers, helped out because she had an interest in helping others.

“I do a lot of community service,” Behr said. “The kids are older, so it’s time for me to give back. I work for IBM, and IBM employees commit to eight hours of a service a month.”

Behr also appreciates the message behind Tiger Treasures.

“It’s nice that it’s about recycling,” she said. “It keeps people from throwing stuff away.”

Along with promoting recycling and giving to United Way, the sale also helps a lot of members of the community, Burdic said.

“It’s great because a lot of people who wouldn’t normally be able to afford this stuff can get a bargain and save money,” Burdic said. “It’s win-win-win-win, all the way around.”