The Black Student Association and the Office of Campus and Community Resource Center hosted a thrift pop-up sale on Oct. 29, at the Carver League building. The pop-up offered affordable clothing options to raise funds for future BSA club activities.
Hannah Sly, a sophomore majoring in marketing and a BSA club member, said that the event served a double purpose for the club.
“It’s a fundraiser for our club,” Sly said. “That way, we have more for when we want to do other events. But it’s also a way to give back to the community at the same time.”
The sale was planned roughly a week before the event. Sly said that members coordinated and discussed how to prepare and execute the pop-up.
“Then we sent it out to the rest of the club to see what they thought,” Sly said.
The Carver League building was altered for occasion with clothing filling up chairs, countertops, and furniture throughout the room. While the turnout was small, with a few people in and out through the evening, organizers put out new clothing each time. Tyne Ellis, a freshman majoring in social work, went to the sale and came away with a good impression of the club.
“It was cool; it was set up differently than I thought,” Ellis said. “They still had good options on clothing pieces, and the people who set it up seemed really into it.”
Beyond the fundraising aspect, there was a hope that the pop-up would serve as recruitment and possible visibility as well.
“I think that with anything we do, those are our main goals,” Sly said. “People can be noticed in a shirt and say, ‘Oh, it’s from that BSA thrift pop-up,’ and give us recognition.”
The occasion also highlighted a social platform for students to connect while shopping for affordable clothing options. For some attendees, it gave them an introduction to both the club itself, and the space off campus they had not previously been to. For Ellis, this was her first time being in the Carver League building.
“I had never been to that building before, so it was fun to see what it looked like inside too,” Ellis said.
Ellis appreciated the variety and number of items they had available at the pop-up as well.
“They had a lot of good picks and stuff,” Ellis said. “They had a lot more than I thought they would. It was a little different from what I was thinking, but it was still really cool to go to.”
The Black Student Association hopes that this builds on to the momentum they’ve gained, with Sly mentioning that they will host another thrift pop-up in November. Though specific dates and details have not been provided yet.
The organizers offered both shirts and bottoms for $5 each, and accessories for $3, with payments being accepted through Venmo, CashApp, or cash.