SUNY Fulton-Montgomery Community College unveiled a new no-cost thrift store on campus for students, faculty and staff called Reggie’s Closet on Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
The process began with a small program within the SUNY FMCC Raiders Relief Food Pantry, but eventually Luis Maldonado-Aponte of Amsterdam and a team of his fellow students collaborated with the college to create Reggie’s Closet.
“I have been one of the main members that have been taking this closet into new higher levels,” Maldonado-Aponte said.
Now located on the second floor of the Evans Library at the Student Success Center, Reggie’s Closet offers free access to clothing, household items and limited furnishings.
“Most of our Empire State Corps members work periodic hours through the week,” Maldonado-Aponte said. “It has been a learning curve to not only learn how to schedule people, but also to give people orders in a nice manner.”
Empire State Service Corps is a new state program — recognized by AmeriCorps — for SUNY students to complete 300 or more hours of paid public service work over the course of a year.
The leadership aspect of starting Reggie’s Closet has been a bit of a challenge because most of the thrift store staff are friends, Maldonado-Aponte said, noting it’s hard to be a leader with people that you normally joke with.
FMCC Associate Dean of Student Success Pamela McCall said the stigma around coming to a no-cost thrift store for clothes and other items is hard on people utilizing the space.
“Still, it’s in the public space, but it’s a little tucked away so that if you feel that you need something, there’s no shame,” McCall said. “There’s no stigma attached to needing and wanting.”
She said Reggie’s Closet is primarily for students, but faculty and staff sometimes use it, too.
“Sometimes, money is tight for everybody,” McCall said.
“I’m excited having our SUNY Empire State Corps members lead this. It is really being what it’s like to be peer-to-peer,” she said.
McCall said it gives students more leadership opportunities, builds their resumes, and promotes engagement in the community.
FMCC is holding a clothing donation drive on Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. where donors can drop clothes off at the campus’ Rao Theater.
Article written by Greg Hitchcock at the Leader-Herald.
