The Henderson Campus Center was greeted with one more station this week as a student-run thrift store took place in the lobby starting Tuesday, April 25.
A joint effort from the Allegheny Student Government, the Green Students of Color Society and the Students for Environmental Action brought forth this event, displaying a collection of clothing items and accessories.
Green SOCS and SEA have previously hosted a thrift shop and a clothing swap at the start of the year in the space now known as the diversity lounge; following the success of the first event, plans were in the works for something similar, according to Green SOCS President Gloria Ulloa-Soto, ’25.
“We had heard that someone from ASG and the director of sustainability, Kelly Boulton, had a similar idea for a thrift store at the end of the year, so instead of hosting the events separately, we decided to come together and collaborate,” Ulloa-Soto said. “ASG kind of piloted towards the beginning, taking charge of the advertisements and tabiling, while SEA and Green SOCS had designated shifts for the collection period and the store.”
The items were provided by members of the Allegheny Community two weeks prior, given to collection booths located in the lobby of the campus center as described by ASG Director of Sustainability and Environmental Affairs Haley Hersh, ’23.
“We were asking people on campus to donate their clean, relatively unworn things for the entirety of the week in preparation for this event,” Hersh said. “Unfortunately we had a very hard time convincing men to donate. I think we ended up with a single bag for all our men’s attire, which does limit our options for men, but we also do have some furniture, school supplies and even fans that students can buy.”
Having donated clothes and purchased items from the thrift store, Jana Bömer, a German teaching assistant for the World Language and Cultures Department, found it to be a nice experience and hopes to see it at least once a semester.

“It is a good and cheap way to reuse clothes and a nice way to collect money for local charities,” Bömer said. “After I donated, a friend told me the exact time and date for the event so I could come today. I thought it was a great opportunity to clear out the closet and also do something good at the same time. There were a good amount of options, especially considering that those were only clothes collected by Allegheny students.”
All items at the store were 50 cents with an option to fill a bag with anything available for $5. The proceeds are set to be donated to charities such as local food pantries, making it an inexpensive way to help the community while upgrading your wardrobe.
“For any items that are left over, we are planning to also donate them to local thrift stores and/or organizations in town that provide clothes for those in need like the Salvation Army, but right now we haven’t gotten to that stage yet,” Ulloa-Soto said.
The thrift store showed decent reception from the community as excitement was built from past events such as the Trashion Show clothing swap that SEA hosted on April 14.
“I even remember the rush we had in the similar clothing swap event Green SOCS hosted in the fall; we had people lined up within the first five minutes. It seems like people on campus like these events so we’ll see what we can offer next,” Ulloa-Soto said.
Though the event started off on a good note, that is not without some setbacks. The thrift store was initially planned to open on Monday ,April 24, but during the start time of 4 p.m., there were no clothes being offered or booths in sight.
“Not enough people had signed up to volunteer for the booth shifts, and sadly I am not able to run the store by myself so we had to delay the start to the next day,” Hersh said.
Events based on thrift stores and clothing swaps are not new to the campus, but they are few and far between, limited by available resources. It is good to go to them and best to go early.
“I’m really excited people are enjoying this event and I think it’s a great idea and glad it’s happening,” Hersh said.
The storefront will be open for its last session on Friday, April 28, between 4 and 6 p.m. in the campus center lobby.