Student Org Spotlight: Carolina Thrift

Meet Carolina Thrift, this week’s Student Org Spotlight! Carolina Thrift holds an annual sale at the beginning of every school year to reduce waste on campus. Learn more about their work from exec. member, Sage Strack.  

1. What is Carolina Thrift all about? 
   Carolina Thrift is a nonprofit sustainability initiative that works to reduce needless waste in Chapel Hill. The project’s purpose is to extend the lifespan of items that are usually disposed of by conducting collections of used items at the end of the school year and hosting a large-scale discount sale in August. Excess revenue from the sale supports our Carolina Thrift Sustainability Fund, which provides grants to student sustainability projects benefiting the Chapel Hill area. Our mission is to encourage socially responsible consumerism, provide the UNC-Chapel Hill area financial relief, and build Carolina’s community. 

2. How do you help students? 
   We sell gently used items to students for their home decor, kitchen, furniture, clothing, school supply needs, and much more. This allows students to get everything they need for the school year at a much more affordable price. We also provide a convenient way for students to donate items they no longer need at the end of the school year. Supporting student organizations is also a big part of our mission that helps students, as we provide grants for sustainability-oriented projects. 

3. What do you like most about being a member of Carolina Thrift? 
   Working as a team and seeing the huge impact from our sale is so rewarding! Waste associated with students moving in and out is an important issue to everyone on the team, so being a part of mitigating that by giving items new life and helping students at the same time is something we all enjoy about Carolina Thrift. 

4. What is your favorite item that you’ve thrifted? 
   I love all of my thrifted jeans, especially my 501 Levis! 

5. How can students get involved? 
   We bring new people onto our team every fall! We have 5 committees and many leadership positions. Applications open every year about halfway through the fall semester. We have volunteer opportunities for all students during our collection period at the end of the spring semester and for our annual sale the weekend before fall semester. You can also attend our events! In addition to our huge annual sale, we have smaller pop-up events throughout the school year. To be added to our listserv to get updates about all of these ways to get involved, email [email protected]. All updates are also posted on our Instagram @carolinathriftunc.