About the Deerfield Thrift Shop

Written by Iris Wong

An event newly introduced to Deerfield students in late 2021, the Deerfield Thrift Shop rapidly gained traction for its community-wide donation and purchase model. In the weeks leading up to the first Thrift Shop opening, leaders of student-run fashion publications Beyond the Valley (BTV) and In the Valley received around 600 pieces of clothing from students. Social Media Manager of BTV Sloan McClure ’23 shared, “I think it is unique to have [a thrift shop] on campus because there aren’t that many places to go. It is exciting to have an event that really anyone can participate in.”

The idea for the popular event sprouted from a spontaneous outing on Fall Family Weekend. Tom Spater ’23, co-leader of In the Valley, shared, “My mom and I had gone to a thrift shop, and she said she knew someone who had done a shop in the community on a bigger scale. She mentioned how many people around us have clothes they didn’t need. I texted Stephen and said I think there is something that we can do.” Stephen Souder ’23 added, “From there, we brought in people from BTV like Osegie, Sloan and Hunter, and it just kind of picked up from there.”

After the team was set, a two-week process of gathering clothes from the student body ensued. Co-leader of BTV Osegie Osayimwen ’23 sent school-wide emails notifying students of collection dates and locations, with each article of clothing donated equalling a raffle entry for rewards. “We did not have particular requirements for the unwanted or unworn clothing,” Hunter Pulliam ’22, fellow co-leader of BTV, added. “As long as they were not items unacceptable for secondhand use, like undergarments or clothes in very bad condition, we accepted the items.”

The most logistically challenging part followed the clothing collections. When asked how much time it took to sort out the clothes, McClure put it simply, “A lot.”

“We had to tag and price everything,” she explained. “We probably spent around one and a half hours everyday for the week leading up to the opening just organizing and pricing the clothes.” Determining sale prices was also a key task. Spater said, “We knew that a big draw would be

On December 10th, 2021, the first Deerfield Thrift Shop welcomed crowds of eager students into the yoga studio. Within half an hour of the opening, many racks of items had been swept clean. There was still a surplus of clothing, however, as only somewhere between 250 to 300 of approximately 600 items had been sold. Student leaders of the two fashion publications donated the rest of the clothing to a nearby Salvation Army in Greenfield. More importantly, the substantial $2000 in profits went to the Greenfield Family Inn & Shelter.

Given the instant success of the Winter Thrift Shop, the two publications joined forces once again to present a second rendition of the event. With their experiences in running the first one, the five student-leaders are keen to host an even better Spring Thrift Shop.

The

As we begin fall of 2022 the Deerfield Thrift shop has collaborated with other schools within our league in order to create the New England Thrift Shop Association.