By Alexandra Brewer | Arts & Life Intern
Fountain Mall turned into a sea of color Wednesday as racks of clothes filled the walkway, shoes circled the fountain and students stopped between classes to browse through piles of sweaters, jackets and denim. From a distance, it looked like a regular thrift market — but every dollar spent had a deeper meaning.
Baylor’s chapter of International Justice Mission (IJM) hosted its annual Threads pop-up thrift event from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., transforming the center of campus into a space where fashion met purpose. Students were invited to pay what they felt called to give, with all proceeds supporting IJM’s mission to fight human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
The event took weeks of preparation. IJM officers and volunteers collected donations from across campus, stored them in bins and sorted through hundreds of items before setting up early Wednesday morning. By the time the event opened, Fountain Mall was filled with racks of clothes, tables of shoes and rows of signs explaining how every purchase supports IJM’s anti-trafficking work.
This year’s event marked a strategic shift for IJM’s approach.
“Our goal this year was quality over quantity,” said Charlotte George, a Tulsa, Okla., senior and IJM’s president. “We wanted to represent IJM better, with the type of clothes we were putting out.”
The change came after reflecting on the dynamics from previous years.
“Last year we had loads of people that would get trash bags and pay one dollar, because perhaps they weren’t in touch with the story,” said Chloe McCauley, a Waco sophomore and IJM’s vice president of fundraising.
The strategic changes appeared to pay off immediately.
“Last year our average gift was about five dollars, and this year, within the first three hours, no one’s given less than $20,” George said.
Beyond the fundraising success, the event aimed to spark awareness about the fashion industry’s hidden connections to exploitation. George and McCauley explained how a lot of clothes are made by victims of human trafficking, a fact that many students are unaware of. Threads offered a tangible way to make a difference.
“Fifty million people are enslaved, you’re like, ‘How do I help?’” McCauley said. “And it’s like, ‘Well, here, you can get involved in your college campus. You can donate $20, get a really cute outfit and still play a role in just overall justice,’” said George and McCauley.
Students browsing the racks said they appreciated how Threads connects everyday shopping to a larger purpose.
“I just love the concept of threads; I think it’s so cool,” San Carlos, Calif., junior Caitlyn Reynolds said. “I really appreciate that Baylor does things like this, not only to just raise awareness for it, but also just to put it into practice.”
For the IJM chapter, the event represented something more than fundraising or awareness.
“This is not our work — this is God’s work that he has invited us into, and we get to be a part of it,” George said.
