On Wednesday, the Saint Mary’s Office for Student Empowerment and Center for Faith, Action and Ministry hosted their bi-annual pop-up thrift shop. The OSE and CFAM transformed the second floor of the Saint Mary’s student center into a store full of student donations.
The idea for the thrift shop began in the summer of 2023, when María González-Diaz, sustainability coordinator for CFAM and Christin Kloski, director of the OSE, sought to create something fun and inclusive for the Saint Mary’s community.
“We really wanted to find an event [where] all students could get access to free clothing,” Kloski said. “We really just wanted students to have fun, to shop like they were shopping at a thrift shop [and] make sure that it was free of cost for any students who were attending.”
OSE’s mission is to ensure every student at Saint Mary’s has “the voice, agency, and resources to fully engage in the college experience,” while CFAM seeks to provide a community of belonging in which students can “build a more just world.” The event’s organizers emphasized that the thrift shop encompasses these missions through its encouragement of equability and sustainability.
González-Diaz found that the thrift shop allows for an intersection between sustainability and community. “Community is also a part of sustainability. It’s in Laudato Sí. It’s in the sustainable development goals from the UN ... Community is just a pillar of living life,” she said.
González-Diaz saw good in the broadness of events, bridging members of different cultures. “[It’s] a common space for everyone,” she said.
Describing the nature of the event, Kloski said, “It’s something that’s different and unique, but people like to shop together with their friends, so why not make it an opportunity here on campus.”
OSE and CFAM began collecting donations a month before the event, inviting students to bring clothing or items from their dorms. These donations included winter jackets, jeans and a toaster.
After the event, OSE and CFAM spoke with students about what leftover items they would like to see in the campus’ Free Store, located in the basement of Holy Cross Hall. Then, the rest of the leftover items were taken to Goodwill to be shared with the greater South Bend community.
“There’s so much abundance, especially on college campuses, and I know people are always trying to get rid of items that are gathering dust in their houses. Instead of going to the dumpster, it’s going to the community,” Gonzalez-Diaz said.
Madeline Escamilla-Murillo, a freshman at Saint Mary’s, had never been to an event like the thrift shop before. She shared she appreciated the effort to give every student a chance to access resources.
“It’s a great way, especially during these cold days, [to find items] where you can bundle up and have some clothes that maybe not everyone [has access] to,” Escamia-Murillo said. “I think it’s a very cool thing that students and Saint Mary’s promote.”
Kyaris Hasan, a Saint Mary’s senior, shared her belief that the shop “is beneficial for those who need things, especially at the time of year that they host these events.” She added that as the seasons transition into winter, many students who are not from a cold area like the Midwest may not have coats.
Amirah Pitter, a junior at Saint Mary’s, echoed Hasan’s appreciation for the shop’s winter clothing.
Hasan pointed out that the shop also provides general items too, like professional wear, a resource she said helps continue the College’s mission of building up women.
“There’s a lot of things that I guess you just wouldn’t expect to be here and you’ll be like, ‘Oh! I didn’t know I needed this, but now I have it,’” Hassan said. “I just love this event. I always find cool things and it’s kind of cool to know that my fellow Belles had some of these cool things as well.”
Gonzalez-Diaz expressed gratitude for those who played a role in bringing the Thrift Shop to life, adding, “This is something that every type of student at Saint Mary’s really appreciates.”
