Photo by Emily Alonge.

Moravian’s United Student Government (USG) officially launched The Thrifty Hound, a new student-run thrift store. The pop-up event took place on Friday, Sept. 6, on the 1742 Splotch, where for the first time students had the opportunity to purchase second-hand clothing and jewelry at an affordable price right on campus. 

The Thrifty Hound was created by Caillie Fish, ‘25, a communications and media studies major and the USG’s Senator of Campus Engagement. Fish’s goal was to provide an on-campus thrift store where students could donate unwanted clothing and household items and purchase second-hand finds. The idea came about after Fish had a conversation with her hometown friend, Jennah Reibsome, who attends the University of Pittsburgh. Reibsome told Fish about a sustainability program at her school called University of Thriftsburgh, a student-run thrift store that sells clothing, kitchen tools, and bathroom essentials. After hearing about it, Fish began thinking about all of the waste Moravian accumulates during midterms and at the end of the fall and spring semesters. 

“People just toss stuff out that they don’t want when it could be easily donated or reused by other people on campus or just other people in general,” said Fish.

In January 2024, Fish decided to bring the idea of a student-run thrift store to the attention of USG.

She created a presentation to share with USG and other executive staff. Her proposal included a timeline of the project, how donations would be collected, what items would and would not be accepted, pricing, what types of advertising would be used, who would be involved, and the expenses needed for this program. The response from USG and the staff in attendance was enthusiastic.

Last semester, Fish attended multiple meetings with USG and members of staff, including Vivianna Samite, former associate director of Student Engagement, Yasmin Bugaighis, director of Facilities Management, Planning, & Construction (FMPC), who assisted in providing storage space, Dean Nicole Loyd, executive VP for University Life, and Meghan Santamaria, director of Campus Life. Fish was given active feedback from USG and staff about the program in these meetings. From there, Fish and USG began organizing a day for students to donate their unwanted items.

In the spring 2024 semester, two collection days were set up for students to donate clothes. On Wednesday, April 24 and Sunday, April 28 multiple tables were set up across both campuses to ensure that all Moravian students could participate in the donation process. North campus residents could visit tables stationed outside of the Hillside houses, Dorm Circle, the Jo Smith picnic tables, and the volleyball court located near the Beck & deSchweinitz Houses.

South campus residents were able to make their donations within that same time slot at either The HILL shuttle stop or near the Benigna statue. Students who donated were rewarded with a 20% off coupon that could be used in the first sale.

Students were limited to one bag of donations each. Among the acceptable donation items were shirts, pants, jackets, windbreakers, dresses, suit jackets, gloves, scarves, umbrellas, jewelry, pots and pans, plates and bowls, Brita pitchers, school supplies, organizing supplies, small storage bins, and sunglasses. All clothing had to be pre-washed and in new or lightly used condition. Any clothing that was stained or ripped (except ripped jeans) would not be accepted.

Fish’s family supplied a clothing rack and clothing bags for the clothing to be stored in over summer break. 

Community members donated clothing hangers, but due to the number of donations received from students, Fish and USG needed to purchase additional hangers and storage tubs. After the donations were hung on the clothing rack and folded into storage tubs by USG, everything was stored in the basement of Nitschmann, also known as the trunk room.

After returning to campus for USG’s summer retreat, all of the donated items were sorted. The next step from there was to decide when to host the first event. Originally, there was discussion about doing it during Orientation weekend. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the event was pushed to a later date

Just two days before the event, The Thrifty Hound was blessed with a huge surprise: eight contractor bags full of business casual clothing were donated by Lea Grigsby. Additionally, the president’s wife donated a shoebox full of jewelry.

On Friday, Sept. 6, Fish, USG, and Suzanne Moyer, executive director of Conference & Event Management, set up shop by the 1742 Splotch in the Academic Quad, and The Thrifty Hound officially opened for business! From 5 p.m. – 7 p.m., students browsed tables piled high with student donations – and thanks to Grigsby, a clothing rack full of business casual attire and a table full of jewelry.

With the help of Santamaria and CrowdChange, a fundraising platform, students were able to purchase the clothes at affordable prices. Sticking with USG’s goal of giving back to the Moravian community, Fish decided that all of the funds would be given back to the students by donating the profits to Mo’s Cupboard. By the end of the Sep. 6 pop-up the total amount raised was $774.50.

“We don’t get a single cent from what we did. Everything goes directly to Mo’s Cupboard,” Fish said.

Mo’s Cupboard is there to provide students with food who can’t afford to go grocery shopping. Additionally, Mo’s Cupboard has request forms for students who need specific items like textbooks. The Thrifty Hound is fulfilling the needs of students who may not be able to afford clothes. Something that Fish is particularly proud of is the fact that students who may not have business casual attire, or cannot afford to purchase those kinds of items, now have a viable option.

“Some people might need business casual clothes for internships,” Fish said. “That’s kind of why we linked our ideas to Mo’s Cupboard. It’s a great way to give back to the students.” 

“We are so grateful for their donation and support,” said In-Chi Chow-Rivera, Moravian’s executive administrative assistant of Student Life.

Fish recognizes the help she received from all of USG; however, she worked especially close with USG’s president, Kayla Biege. Together, the two created flyers, worked out the kinks in planning, and overall ensured that they were following campus community rules.

“I’m so glad they [Fish and USG] brought this sustainability initiative to Moravian by lessening campus contribution to landfills and redistributing affordable clothing, jewelry and other items to our campus community! Great work, USG!” said Loyd.

Since Fish is a senior, her time as Senator of Campus Engagement is limited. Fish’s biggest hope before she graduates is to find a permanent location for The Thrifty Hound where students can go and shop anytime they please. She has even thrown around the idea that this could be an on-campus student job, as someone will need to collect payments for the merchandise. Fish also hopes to have another collection and sale before the end of the fall semester.

Students can get involved with this new initiative in many ways. The biggest help would be donating clothing or other acceptable items to USG. There is a need for more men’s clothing, especially men’s business attire.

Another great way to help out is to talk about it. Tell your friends about the program and get involved. If either of those options don’t speak to you, there is always the opportunity to help sort and fold the merchandise for future events.