Gently used clothing, water bottles, school supplies, and other items can find a new home through the University of Oregon (UO) Student Sustainability Center’s Free Store, which popped up on campus several times during the past semester. The Center is a part of UO’s Erb Memorial Union, and coordinator Zaida Hatfield hopes that the Free Store will soon become a year-round institution that will help students affordably (as in free) find things that they need.
The Free Store originally came about several years ago through the UO InterVarsity chapter’s 21 Day Project, which challenged students to live sustainably by wearing only 21 items of clothing for 21 days. “We partnered with the Student Sustainability Center because we thought they would enjoy being involved in the sale of student surplus items,” said Zach Schwartz, InterVarsity Campus Staff Minister at UO.
Zach said the chapter seeks to partner with other student organizations on campus because they share similar values in terms of caring for the campus, the campus community, and God’s creation. Students in the UO InterVarsity chapter intentionally seek involvement in other campus organizations as a way to find opportunities to share their faith.
“Partnering with student organizations has helped our own reputation as a Christian organization that really cares about the campus,” Zach said.
