A thrift swap at the University of Florida.
It was on a biweekly 2020 lockdown Zoom call (remember those?) with four friends from the University of Florida that the idea for Thrift Club at UF was sparked. As avid thrifters ourselves, we were reminiscing on the Gainesville thrift shops we used to frequent— usually together— and realized there was a big opportunity for connection there.
We wondered... How could we create a community for UF students who love to thrift? How could we educate others on the benefits of secondhand shopping? Is there a way to partner with and learn from other sustainability orgs on campus? It was decided— we were going to take the leap and start an official campus organization!
We gathered regularly after that to try to figure out the logistics of starting a new club. Between the five of us, we discussed what Thrift Club's mission statement would be, our visions and mood boards for how it might look, who would step into various needed leadership roles, what our finances would look like, and ideas we had for how to reach potential members. (Now that I've taken a business course for my Masters, I'm realizing just how many parallels we were unknowingly drawing to creating a business model canvas!)
Over the next year (which also happened to be my senior year), we got Thrift Club off the ground! We organized thrift swaps with other organizations, general body meetings, and interactive educational workshops (i.e. How to Embroider, Black Influences on Fashion & Environmentalism, Let's Talk About Fast Fashion, "Made In" - Rethinking Where We Shop, etc.). Our club grew from the five of us to hundreds of active members and over a thousand followers on Instagram. Now, Thrift Club is hosting Thrift Galas (like prom but wearing secondhand outfits), even bigger thrift swaps that contain both clothes AND furniture, eco markets, and more! The club is truly known and is making waves across campus.
