On Tuesday March 24, the Salvation Army Student Fellowship (SASF) held their annual thrift store sale in the basement of the Campus Center.
The thrift sale, which happens once a semester, uses clothes, accessories, and other various items from the Salvation Army Store in Wellsville, New York as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army World Missions program. World Missions, according to Salvation Army Officer David Means, refers to “The Salvation Army’s ministries around the world.”
Present in around 128 countries across the world, the Salvation Army funds a variety of services, each dedicated to serving those who are in need. According to Means, a few of such services include churches, hospitals, orphanages, after school programs, agriculture schools, schools for the blind, and even micro loan programs.
All of the money raised during the thrift sale held on campus each semester, as well as day to day proceeds from the thrift store in Wellsville are put towards ministries and other various programs funded by world missions. Each year, according to Means, the thrift store in Wellsville sets a goal of $4,000 with the thrift sale normally contributing between $1,600 and $1,800.
With the fall sale alone raising the amount normally made with both sales and an additional $800 raised with the current sale, this year’s sales, Means said, “blew past years out of the water.” In total, SASF and the thrift sale, Means said, “raised about $2,400 for Salvation Army World Services.”
In addition to helping fund World Services, SASF President, Heather Hart ‘15, said the sale is usually a lot of fun as well, “It’s always exciting to see what outfit combinations people come up with.
Overall, Hart calls the sale a “win-win situation.” She said, “The thing I love about it is that, not only are we able to provide Houghton students and other people in Houghton with awesome clothes and things, but we’re also able to help raise money to help people around the world.”