The newly created Environmental Club at Calhoun High School used their early meetings as brainstorming sessions where students laid out many goals for this year, including a thrift shop set up on Dec. 19-20, where students could donate old Calhoun gear to be sold and therefore repurposed.

“Upon these goals are improving recycling in our school, doing community and beach clean ups, planting trees, and purchasing non-plastic utensils for students to use around Earth Day,” said Daniel Maksimowicz, a special education teacher who co-advises the Environmental Club, along with teacher Christopher Vogel. 

“All of which lead us to fundraising,” added Vogel. “In our effort to raise money for our goals, we realized that everything pitched at our meetings seemed to somehow be counterintuitive to our mission of reducing, reusing and recycling.”

They collectively decided that a thrift shop would be the greatest way they could meet their goal and the thrift shop was born. 

“It involves our entire community, we are recycling and reusing clothing, and as vintage/thrift stores are gaining popularity among youths and current fashion trends, we decided to go all in and reach out,” Maksimowicz added.

Students put up flyers printed on previously used paper saved from recycle bins around school, and they utilized all digital platforms to further reach the Bellmore-Merrick community. 

Additionally, instead of printing their own shirts, they printed their own patches which students ironed onto all donated clothing and will be put on sale this week. In a joint effort, the school’s vocational program was able to wash all of the donations, further incorporating the sense of community and togetherness of Calhoun.