Wilsonville’s Leadership 2 class hosted another Pop-Up Thrift, releasing their collected items to students on February 21, 2025. The class sold prom dresses for the upcoming dance for only $5, and everything else for $2.
The annual event is one of the two main fundraisers the Leadership class hosts throughout the school year—a hot cocoa fundraiser at the Holiday Bazaar and the Pop-Up Thrift. The Thrift is an exciting opportunity for students to recycle used clothes, and bring life back to unworn clothing.
With the help of Robert “Bob” Vaughan—Wilsonville High School community liaison—Leadership 2 began working again this year with Schnitzer Cares. This student grantmaking program has helped Oregon by providing grants to schools and nonprofit organizations for over 27 years.
Regan Molatore, the teacher of Wilsonville’s leadership classes, explains, “Schnitzer Cares initially gives the class $7,500, and then challenges the students to raise $750, which they match up to another $7,500. So, they allow the students to raise up to $15,000 if they meet their $750 goal.”
All the money raised by the Leadership 2 class is matched 10-fold by Schnitzer Cares and donated to nonprofits throughout the community that help Wilsonville thrive. For example, some groups provide students with school supplies for the year, if they cannot get these materials themselves.
The nonprofits that receive the money are decided by the Leadership students themselves, and the students also determine how much of the money each group is given.
Molatore adds, “The awesome part on top of that, Schnitzer Care allows us to keep 25% of the money we raise, which helps fund events at Wilsonville, such as our field trips and school programs.”
To initially set up the Leadership 2 classes fundraising this year, Vaughan began working with Schnitzer Cares Program Director, Cecily Lemon. Through her contact, Vaughan was then able to review grant applications and process the data between the school and the program.
To begin setting up for the Pop-Up Thrift, Molatore utilized Facebook and the help of the Wilsonville community. “I used my personal Facebook account, and asked the three main community sites in Wilsonville for donations of young-adult and high-school clothing.”
“The community just donates. They drop it off and the class can resell it!” With reliance on the kindness of the city, events such as this are able to happen each year, and allow the class to sell clothing to students and guests for incredibly low prices.
Other groups within the high school also help, clubs such as Wilsonville’s Broadcast Network (WBN), and Wilsonville High School ASB gained traction for the event by promoting it as well, despite not being directly affiliated.
Besides this, Molatore explained how the class themselves increased engagement, stating that “I (Molatore) sent out an email to every student in the student body. But some students don’t always check their email, so we also released some weekly morning announcements and made a few signs around the school.”
Sophia Best, a student who attended the thrift, explained how she encountered the event, stating, “I first saw it on Instagram, then kept hearing about it during the morning announcements. I love thrifting, and my friends wanted to go, so I was excited to have a fun experience like that with them.”
Attendance at the Pop-Up was high, and bodies filled the school’s Performing Arts Center. The leadership class excellently organized and spread out the clothing, allowing for the many students and community members to browse the items.
Best recalls, “There were definitely a lot of people. The pricing I’m sure helped, and I would definitely go again if they held another.
Throughout Wilsonville, the thrift-craze is notable. Many students use thrifting as a personal hustle- creating their own reselling channels through websites like Instagram or Depop. Besides the cash benefits of thrifting, the environmental benefits also encourage many students to avoid buying new clothing.
Best notes how, “I look forward to being able to recycle clothing, instead of perpetuating fast-fashion culture.”
The good continues after the thrift as well, as Molatore explains, “We typically have stuff left over. Two years ago we had a facilities manager who travels to Mexico and helps at an orphanage, and he was able to take the extra clothes to give away there.”
“Also, Wood (Inza R. Wood Middle School) hosts their own rummage sale, so last year we gave our leftover clothes to them to resell.”
By the end of both of the Leadership class fundraisers this year—the hot cocoa fundraiser and the Pop-Up Thrift—they fell just short of their $750 goal. Making about $200 from hot cocoa sales and an amazing $460 from the thrift in two hours alone, they raised around $14,100 for non-profits and Wilsonville High School.
Vaughan thanks both the Leadership 1 and 2 class, saying, “We couldn’t have done this without the help of our peers. Leadership 1 has helped so much, and our Leadership 2 class has been amazing.”