Thousands of 美女做爱 students dropped by the on-campus Free Store for a special back-to-school event earlier this month, stocking up on a huge range of goods for the year ahead 鈥� all without ever swiping a bank card.听
The store 鈥� an initiative run by Dal鈥檚 Office of Sustainability 鈥� collects donations year-round and repurposes them for students to have for free, stocking shelves with a variety of items like room decor, school supplies, clothing, storage units, books, electronics, and more.听
The service first launched a pilot two years ago, moving into a bigger space in the Mona Campbell Building last fall to accommodate growing demand.
This year's back-to-school event drew 2,180 new and returning students over four days. The demand was evident on opening day (Sept. 2), when a lineup snaked around the corner of LeMarchant Street and onto Coburg Road nearly an hour before doors opened.
Jada, a first-year student living in residence, found the 鈥渆xact shelf鈥� she had spent weeks searching online for before 鈥済iving up鈥� because of the prices.听
鈥淭here was one at Home Depot, but it was like $100,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 going to pay that.鈥澨�
Jada with her shelf.
By the time Jada left the store, she鈥檇 also picked up a kettle and a shower caddy that was 鈥渟old out everywhere.鈥澨�
Another student was pleased to unexpectedly check another item of their shopping list: 鈥淥h, they have lab coats. I didn鈥檛 have to go out and buy one.鈥�
Demand keeps growing
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The Free Store has received more than 16,000 pounds of donations valued at more than $100,000 since April, said Vedika Bhardwaj, a Free Store staff member and data analyst with the Office of Sustainability.听Many of those items would otherwise have ended up in the landfill.
The store, regularly open Wednesday and Friday afternoons, has attracted an average of 131 visitors each day it has been open since April. During this year's back-to-school event, that figure jumped to 545 visitors a day.
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Second year students Maggie and Megan, shown above left, were in the process of making their off-campus student houses into homes.听
鈥淓verything is so expensive. I found my couch on the street,鈥� said Megan. 鈥淭his place means I can afford to eat, honestly.鈥�
鈥淢y coffee table is a street sign,鈥� added Maggie. 鈥淚 have nothing in my room right now because decor is so expensive, but now I can use these,鈥� she adds, holding a plant, fairy lights, and two throw pillows she found.
Giving goods new life
Dal student Santiago, a community assistant with the Residence Life team, saw a flyer for the Free Store on campus and went looking for a rug.听
听鈥淵ou can use this place as a reminder of how much stuff people actually own, and where it would have gone if it didn鈥檛 come here,鈥� he said, acknowledging how the project gave new life to old goods.听
Luke, Atman, Kaies, Terence and Juneau, a group of second- and third-year students, took a group trip to the Free Store, leaving with an abundance of items between them. They had things they came looking for like foam rollers and armchairs, and things they found along the way like a microwave and a 鈥渟wanky fish poster.鈥�
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Second year Dal student, Arshiya, went to the Free Store in search of a fan on Wednesday. He left with what he came for but also a backpack and unopened pack of lined paper. He said the Free Store means a lot to him 鈥渆specially as an international student, struggling with things like money.鈥�
Second year Master鈥檚 student Tal came looking for bedding and found a comforter, a blanket, and a mattress topper.
鈥淭he mattress topper was a surprising find,鈥� she said. 鈥淚've been here before. They save me a lot of money.鈥�
Missed the back-to-school event? Don鈥檛 fret: The Free Store is open this semester at the Mona Campbell Building every Wednesday and Friday from 12-4 p.m.听