Clothing & communing

The Community Closet opened to all students on Thursday, April 24, during Help Block and continues to be available every Thursday in May. Originally, the space was created to support students who might not have access to the clothing they need for formal dinners or even school day dress. It has already proven to be a hit, attracting many students.

At the end of each school year, Mercersburg Academy hosts the Cheap Thrills Sale, to which students, faculty, and staff donate unwanted items. These items are then sold at low prices to the community, and unsold items are moved to the Community Closet.

“[The idea] came from Renata Williams, our director of DEI last year,” Emily Parsons, Director of Experiential Education. “She left in the middle of the year. So she had this idea, and then it sort of turned into this small faculty group.”

Initially, the Community Closet didn’t attract much attention. “Nobody knows about it. Nobody uses it,” said Lisa Wei ’26, one of the student organizers.

Recognizing student interest in free clothing, Parsons and the faculty group decided to expand access. “Over the course of this year, we've kind of realized that more students just want to have that experience and have access to free clothes,” Parsons said. “So we decided to open it up to everybody these Thursdays in May to see how it goes while also making sure that the students who need it can have access to it.”

To get the project running, Parsons reached out to Community Engagement interns Wei and Reese Alter ’26. They sorted through donations with a student perspective in mind. “We unloaded a bunch of clothing donations from the bag, and then we sorted them into things that should just be donated to Goodwill,” said Alter, “and then things that we think students here would actually wear or maybe faculty. Then we put them up on the shelves in hangers.”

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. “I was surprised at how many students showed up,” said Wei. “On the first Thursday that we operated, a lot of people showed up, and people even found me and Reese asking when it would open again. And then next week, there were even more people.”

Students reported finding a wide variety of clothing. “It was really exciting because I found a shirt which was the same shirt that I was wearing, just in a different color, and I was very excited, and it was a very good find,” said Ally Snyder ’28. She added, “My eyes sparkled as I entered the room of paradise… So many fire pieces… I love it.”

“I think this is a really good idea to just give out clothes for free… because it makes student[s], feel like they bought clothes in a shop, but, actually, we didn't spend money,” Riley Choi ’28 said.

Maintaining the space is an ongoing effort. “You have to keep organizing it,” said Wei. “So Ms. Parsons, Reese, and I are thinking about trying to work on organizing and unloading clothes every Monday during PGA time.”

After their initial success, the team is looking toward the future. “How do we keep interest and keep the inventory kind of interesting, keep kids wanting to go up there if there might be some new things?” said Parsons. “I think we have to figure that out and make sure that we're rotating things in and out too with the seasons.”

As the Closet’s popularity grows, so does the hope that it becomes a lasting part of campus life. “I hope that in the future, people can continue what Reese and I have been working on,” said Wei. “I hope that future community engagement interns and just people who want to help out would be able to expand this project to help more people in our community.”