The UMKC Women’s Center hosted its Spring Clothing Swap on April 16, offering students the chance to trade in their old clothes for new ones, without price tags.
Held in a small room at the back of the Women’s Center, the space was filled with tables piled high with donated clothes. Loose shoes and scarves littered the windowsills.
Items ranged from casual tops and jeans to even occasional high-end pieces. Staff at the Women’s Center said one student picked up a black, velvet blazer worth $200.
The event was co-hosted by the Financial Wellness Center, the Dr. Raj Bala Agrawal CARE Center and the Resources, Intervention, Support and Education (RISE) Office.
Senior program coordinator for the Women’s Center, Chelsie Duckworth, said the clothing swap started two years ago.
“We originally planned to donate extra clothes to domestic violence shelters, but we found out they already get a lot of clothing donations,” she said. “Students were really into it, so we decided to keep doing it every semester.”
The clothes come from students, staff, faculty and community members. Leftover items are stored in the Women’s Center for future swaps, one of which is held every semester.
Sophomore mathematics major Farjena Rafi browsed the tables looking for tops and a skirt.
“I’ve found two tops, but no skirt yet,” she said, holding up a pair of unicorn slippers. “But, I did find these.”
Mandy Honors, a 2005 pharmacy alum, attended the Spring Clothing Swap for the first time. She took home a large crochet blanket in UMKC colors.
“My husband and I love coming back [to UMKC] because there’s so much fun stuff to do,” she said. “I used to love coming to the Women’s Center in particular as a student, because I got to study in peace and quiet.”
Honors took time flipping through a pile of scrubs, eventually picking up a brightly patterned one. A few others chimed in with scrub-related banter — someone mentioned wearing them to cook, while another joked she wasn’t “out there enough” for such a bold print.
The event will return in the fall with the leftover clothing from the spring.
