Finding time to go to the mall doesn’t always fit into students’ busy schedules, so on Wednesday, students had the chance to go to a thrift shop right on campus to buy or swap clothing and accessories, all while donating items to local charities.
Hillel’s Committee for Social Justice hosted its first “Thrift Shop” in the Old University Union, where they collected over 300 articles of clothing to donate. The female clothing was given to RISE, which provides shelter for women and children in the process of leaving their homes. Other pieces went to Catholic Charities, which works with people below the poverty line to get them jobs, homes and food.
Leora Lyon, director of the committee and a junior majoring in psychology, said the event was meant to serve as a bridge for members of campus to help the community.
“We don’t think about it when we’re encompassed in our world of homework and essays and tests, but it is important,” Lyon said. “We live in a bigger Binghamton community, and it’s important to be a part of that and recognize their needs as well as ours.”
Upon entrance, students received three tickets for each piece of clothing or accessory they brought, or were able to purchase each ticket for one dollar. The thrift shop, which was co-sponsored by Circle K, Evolution Dance Company and the Student Volunteer Center, was sorted by shirts, dress clothes, jackets, jeans, accessories and men’s clothing, with prices averaging one ticket per item of clothing.
Amanda Levy, a member of the committee and a sophomore majoring in human development, said working with non-religious organizations was a good experience.
“We’ve done a pretty good job of working with other organizations this semester,” Levy said. “Which has been kind of exciting because there’s a lot of parallel organizations on campus that have a committee for social justice so it just makes sense that we work with as many as we can.”
According to Adin Fuchs, an undeclared sophomore on the committee, the event was promoted via Facebook and with posters on campus before and during winter break so people could bring clothes from home to donate. She added that the committee was considering making it an annual event.
“We know that people are always looking to get rid of clothes, especially here,” Fuchs said. “It’s much better than throwing them out or stuffing them in the back of the closet.”
In addition to clothing, the committee set up tables along one of the walls where students could buy hand-crafted Valentine’s Day cards for $1 with the proceeds going toward the charity Save a Child’s Heart. Red rubber bracelets were also sold for $1 toward the American Heart Association.
Natalia Martirosova, a sophomore majoring in business management, said that the thrift shop was a good idea because everyone has clothes in their closet that they rarely, if ever, wear.
“It’s a great turn out, and I know a lot of the stuff is going to be, not one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Martirosova said. “But it’s very nice that everyone could help out each other. A lot of this stuff is really cute and interesting finds that you wouldn’t find in stores.”