At the end of each semester there are perfectly usable furniture, clothing, school supplies, etc. being thrown out by students living in the community and residential halls. And thus, the concept for the Free Store was born.
The idea for the Free Store came from seeing the amount of perfectly usable furniture, school supplies, clothing, etc. being thrown out by students living in the community/dorms at the end of each semester. Now at the end of each semester, there are large collection bins for students to donate their gently used items.
The thought then became, if students are throwing all these useable items away, who else might have items they don’t use that they would be willing to donate?
Recently the College of Business Deans Advisory Board has put together a promotional campaign focusing on collecting donations from faculty and staff on campus. The goal is to collect new or lightly used items for students who need it most!
Many international students come with nothing but a suitcase, meaning they need to buy all their kitchen ware, appliances, or recreational equipment. The goal of college is to secure a job, so The Free Store is also a place where students can go if they can’t afford to buy professional clothes needed to wear during interviews! The benefit of coming to the free store is that students can have these clothes for free!
The campaign focused on collecting anything, from pots and pans, electronics and sports equipment, to other household items like pillows and clothes. The hope is that most of what students need will be available at the free store. The Free Store is located in Lourdes Hall, founded by Sarah Olcott, who has been managing the Free Store since its inception. The Free Store is open all school year from 8am-11pm and accepts donations anytime during those hours.
Since we are nearing the end of the semester, as well as graduation, the Free Store is a fantastic place for students to bring their unwanted furniture, appliances, kitchen ware, etc. Instead of scrapping items that are in working condition, the free store allows students to give back to the community that they are apart of! Do good, feel good.
Taking on this project has helped me to build skills aligned with my Marketing major and Professional Selling minor. It has challenged me with the task of promoting the Free Store to our target market; faculty, staff, and business professionals to increase donations of much needed items. I was able to flex my creativeness by creating a flier detailing the problem the Free Store was attempting to solve, as well as the different types of items we were looking to collect. I then relayed information through university wide emails and personally promoted the campaign at local organizations like Visit Winona, Wincraft, and Winona Clothing Co.
Then I was able to put my sales skills to work creating urgency while effectively presenting the benefits of donating to the Free Store. Through the promotional actions taken, whether it be email, fliers, or personally talking with people, I was able to collect hundreds of clothing and household items. These items include: male/female tops, bottoms, jackets, shoes, and professional pieces, blenders, kitchen utensils, lamps, backpacks, and hand bags. I even collected a few non-traditional items such as a boombox, rocking chair, area rug, and microwave. All of the donations have been moved to the Free Store where they are waiting for students to take them home!
#CreateYourMore #WinonaStateCOB
Samuel Koch
Major: Marketing
Minor Professional Selling
Hometown: Appleton, WI