Geneseo Thrift Seeks to Expand with Petition for Permanent Space on Campus

A Geneseo Speaks petition to establish a permanent space on campus for Geneseo Thrift has garnered over two hundred signatures. Organizers hope that the popularity of the petition can lead to the creation of a space on campus for sustainable clothing practices as well as student life.  

Junior psychology major Joe Vafis, one of the founding members of Geneseo Thrift, expressed appreciation to the Geneseo community for the support. 

“It was really cool to see that petition. We reached our goal in something like two hours, which was incredible to see. I knew that this is something that students would be excited about because I really do think that Genny Thrift would be a great addition to our campus,” Vafis said.  

“To have a thrift store on campus would be really good for the students,” he said.  “It would be a fun thing to see happen but also be really great in order to support the student body and support Geneseo students.”

This support for Geneseo students has been a guiding principle for Vafis in the creation of Geneseo thrift, and he hopes that this principle will continue as the store develops. 

“Really, for me, it's about supporting other students who can't necessarily afford new clothes all the time, or who need help financially in that sense, [and] students who don't have a car to go to Goodwill or to go shopping in Geneseo. They’ll have an option on campus that's both accessible and sustainable too,” said Vafis.

According to Associate Director for Residential Life Meg Reitz, who also acted as a faculty advisor for the team of students who created Geneseo Thrift, the thrift store was also originally conceptualized as a “kind of social justice hub” on campus.  

“There's a core group of students who are really involved in campus, and they had this really great vision for the thrift store as a safe place for students that would be inclusive and welcoming where students can hang out and their needs would be met,” Reitz said. “I think that’s the vision that was set forth by the students who first worked on this last summer, and they spent spring 2021 learning from the InterFaith Center about how to do it and trying to make it feasible. They always worked in the sense of ‘how do we move this forward?’”

The thrift store operated via pop up locations wherever they could find space last semester, which limited their space and functionality.  

“[Geneseo Thrift has] always struggled with location”, said Reitz. “But they were always popular; there were wildly successful drives.  People were really excited, and they loved the types of things that they had for sale and what the effort was all about.”  

In the future, Reitz hopes that Geneseo Thrift will continue in the same spirit of being student-run and sustainability-oriented.

 “I definitely hope it stays a student run thing, and [that Geneseo Thrift stays true to] the idea that it was built on sustainability initiatives,” Reitz said. “That it's all about not throwing stuff away and about trying to get into the idea that making items last longer is good for ourselves and the planet.”

“I think anything is possible; I think that’s the best way to put it,” Reitz said, regarding Geneseo Thrift acquiring a permanent space on campus. “The trick is space, and a lot of space on campus is about getting into the right conversations.  We're renovating buildings right now and some spaces are offline, so when they come back online, can the thrift store be a part of the conversation?  For something like a thrift store that is in line with Geneseo values and has such a strong student interest, if there’s a big student push for it, it does get to be part of that conversation.”  

Beyond selling used clothes and items on campus, Geneseo Thrift is also interested in supporting other on-campus student organizations and local social justice organizations and hopes to continue to do so as the organization grows.

According to Vafis, “We do bring in money, and largely I would like to see it go to student organizations who need extra funding, that aren't getting enough funding from [the Student Association]. And I'd love to see the rest of that money, if there's any leftover, donated to social justice organizations in the area. And we've already started doing that—we’ve donated $600 in total to student organizations so far, it should be $1,100 by the end of the semester if all goes to plan.”

“It’s very nice to see students supporting us, and I would love to see more of everything happening, not just the clothing stores but also local social justice and student support,” Vafis said.  

According to Vafis, Geneseo Thrift is looking for new members, and interested students can reach out to Meg Reitz via email or at @gennythrift on Instagram via direct message.