This is a guest post from Maddie Conway, Member of Emma Green at the Emma Willard School in Troy, NY. 

Hey Emma Girls… Can we go thrift shopping?

Well yes, in fact, we can. At Emma Willard School, an independent boarding school in Troy, New York, the school’s environmental club, Emma Green, has opened a thrift shop. Students can donate clothing they no longer wear in bins around the dorms and the club will wash everything and put it into a classroom dedicated just to the thrift shop. Club members man the check out desk during their free periods and send out emails reminding the community that the shop is open for business.

There are many great finds at the thrift shop for everyday wear, spirit day costumes, and even formal attire for class dinners or prom. Everything is priced very reasonably and there is great selection. You never know what you are going to find.

This is just one of the many projects run under the Emma Green club’s umbrella.  There is also the Raising Awareness team, the Million Tree project, and the Garden. Even though we split up for meetings, we all come together and intertwine with one another. For example, all of the proceeds of the Thrift Shop go to the Million Tree Project, a foundation that raises funds to plant trees in China. The club is dedicated to making a difference and encouraging the rest of our classmates to do the same. Getting the word out to the community about how to be green is not always easy, but we work hard to create fun and informational videos to enlighten the whole community.

Right now, we’re gearing up for an Earth Day celebration on April 27th where we’ll clean up the campus and the trails of the school’s back 40 acres, and do a tie-dying event to raise money for the Million Tree Project. It is amazing how a school that is just over 300 hundred students can have such great aspirations and accomplish so much. Every action helps create change, even if it is small things like encouraging recycling.

So this spring, instead of going out and buying a bunch of new clothes, go to a thrift shop like your buddy Macklemore or have a clothes swap with your friends. Not only will you be slashing your carbon emissions, you will also be saving money and probably find some awesome unique items.

Check out EmmaGreen’s Facebook page to check out what the club are up to and see some of its awesome videos. You can also pledge to Do One Thing (DOT) like thrift shoppin’ on ACE’s’ Facebook page.