Minooka students give through thrifting

Two Minooka Community High School students, senior Alaina Frazier and junior Morgan Moreno, co-founded the nonprofit, Gifting For Thrifting, in 2018.

The purpose behind Gifting For Thrifting is to gather as much donated clothing as possible from friends, family, and the surrounding communities, and then hold “pop-up” thrift stores at various locations where anyone can stop by and shop for free.

Earlier this year, the two National Honor Society members held their first “pop-up” thrift store event and boasted over 2,000 items of donated clothing. The event drew over 100 guests within the first hour.

“Whether in need or just looking to have a fun shopping day, Gifting For Thrifting provides people of all ages, and sizes, the opportunity to come and add some new items to their wardrobes,” Alaina Frazier, co-founder of Gifting For Thrifting, said in a news release, adding. "Although it is a lot of hard work, the results are incredibly rewarding."

After becoming a nonprofit corporation this year, the MCHS duo decided to host two “pop-up” events for the community. The first event was held Nov. 23rd at St. Mary’s Parish Center in Minooka.

Donations were collected for the November event through the Shorewood and Channahon Village Halls, as well as Walnut Trails Elementary School.

The second event will be held March 14, 2020. More information is on Twitter –@giftforthrift – as well as Facebook (Gifting For Thrifting) and Instagram: @giftingforthrifting.

Hannah Keppner, MCHS Spanish teacher, secured the MCHS South Campus cafeteria during a Saturday before the first event so the girls would have a large place to sort and fold all the donated clothing.

The teens held their first event last February, according to a 2019 Herald-News story.

In that story, Moreno and Frazier discussed their love for thrifting and how they wanted to provide the opportunity for anyone on a limited income to thrift shop for free.

"When we go thrift shopping, I feel really good wearing the items to school," Moreno said in the story. "Even though they are not new, they are new to us. It's a good feeling and we wanted to make other people feel good."