On Friday, October 21, 2022, students crowded a makeshift thrift shop in the Deerfield Athletic Center. Everyone who makes a purchase gets an automatic two-for-one: a new item of clothing and the knowledge that their money went to helping those in need. The Deerfield Thrift Store, founded in Winter Term 2021, gives students a chance to clear out their overflowing wardrobes, get a lightly used and very cheap clothing item and raise money for the Greenfield Family Inn and Shelter.
Stephen Souder ’23, Sloan McClure ’23, Osegie Osayimwen ’23, Campbell Fealy ’24, and Tom Spater ’23 have been working since last spring to prepare for the second ever Deerfield Thrift Store event this past fall. Spater ’23 said he was struck with the idea when, “[he] went to a thrift shop with [his] mom, and afterwards she [said], ‘what if you did it at Deerfield?’” Spater gathered his friends and began planning the first Deerfield Thrift Store in November 2021.
In order to make this year’s thrift shop just as successful as the last, the students underwent a month long planning process. It started last spring when they put donation boxes in every dorm where students could donate their unwanted clothes. Similar to last year, they created a raffle system where students earned tickets for each item of clothing they donated. Once the collection period ended, they sorted and tagged all donated clothing, amounting to over 700 items, which took over 20 hours to complete. The team then purchased racks and hangers and completed the final step: transforming the dance studio into the Deerfield Thrift Store.
In explaining how the organizers chose the prices, Fealy ’24 said, “We wanted [our whole inventory] to be affordable… so even things that were more high end were still 25 dollars or under.” On the whole, customers agreed. Gracie Spencer ’25, said, “I think [the items] were reasonable; they were not overpriced or under-priced.” Despite these student-friendly prices, the event still managed to raise over $2,500 for charity. Last year, all of the money was donated to the Greenfield Family Inn and Shelter, but the organizers haven’t finalized where the money will be going this year.
In the future, the thrift shop organizers plan to expand their influence both on and off campus. They plan on opening applications to help organize future events, and they also hope to create another Thrift Shop in Spring Term. The group also wants to expand their impact outside of Deerfield, raising money all across New England. Regarding logistics, McClure ’23 said, “We have branched out to other independent schools in New England and are now going to be under the term of the New England Thrift Shop Association.” In the future, boarding schools including Andover, Berkshire, Brooks, Choate, Groton, Loomis, Suffield, Taft, and Westminster plan to host similar events to raise money for local charities. These events will form a network of partners within the New England Thrift Shop Association, which started as a small idea shared among friends.