Free Store
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The Free Store is a space for the on-going free exchange of clean, functional, durable items like clothing, shoes, accessories, housewares & kitchen items, linens, bath/beauty/cleaning supplies, electronics, small appliances, books, school & art supplies, and more.
The Free Store is open for the fall, with expanded hours:
Mondays 11am-7pm
Tuesdays 11am-6pm
Wednesdays 9am-7pm
Thursdays 12-6pm
Fridays 10am-6pm
The Free Store is closed whenever there are no classes, including University Holidays, Breaks, and Emergency Closures.
Located in SAC W303C, the UofL Free Store is run by interns and volunteers who help process donations and keep the store tidy and organized in an effort to keep useful items out of the landfill while meeting the needs of their peers. In 2023-24, the Free Store diverted 5,012 pounds of items from the landfill!
Donations of clean, functional items can be made any time in the small bin outside the door of the Free Store or in the large red bins at the Garden Commons next to the Baptist Center. Please do not drop off torn, broken, soiled, moldy or damp items. Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to mend, repair, or clean donations.
Donations can be made anytime the Free Store is open, or in the small bin outside the Free Store, or 24/7 in the large red bins at the Garden Commons next to the Baptist Center.
UofL promotes an inclusive environment for all, regardless of gender identity and/or gender expression. The Free Store is a Transgender-Friendly space.
The store is open to all UofL students and employees during set hours each week during the regular academic year. Volunteers wanted!
If you would like to volunteer (sign-up here!) or have questions about the Free Store, please contact our 2024-25 Free Store Manager:
Amber Ritter (609-462-7193).
Volunteer!
The UofL Free store relies on volunteers to help us create an efficient, safe, and excellent service for the campus community. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, sign-up here, or contact us at uoflfreestore@gmail.com.
Typical volunteer responsibilities include:
- Greeting patrons with a friendly and welcoming attitude
- Protecting the confidentiality of patrons
- Cleaning and organizing the Free Store
- Keeping store a clean, bright, and welcoming environment
- Emptying waste bin into recycling/trash as needed
- Weighing and tracking donations into our donation chart
- Canvassing campus with promotional flyers, chalkboards, and other materials
- Reporting any issues to Free Store manager
- Checking donation bin when needed and restocking store
All Volunteers must commit to one hour shift of volunteer work per week during the fall or spring semester. Volunteers are recommended not to overwork themselves and keep their curricular work, mental and physical health, and personal health a priority.
Free Sales!
The Free Store organizes monthly pop-up Free Sales at the Red Barn (outside in good weather) throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. In 2023-24, they were offered on last Tuesdays of each month from 4:30-6:30pm.
Thank You!
The Free Store is grateful for support from the Kroger Zero Hunger | Zero Waste grant in support of UofL's sustainability initiatives!
History & Press:
UofL Free Store Trash to Treasure Move-Out to Move-In!
Starting with the 2023 Move-Out, the Free Store launched a new annual campaign to collect useful items as students move out from campus residence halls. The message to students is to skip the landfill dumpster and fill up the Free Store! We collect TONS of great stuff, then sort and store the items over the summer in order to give away as students return to campus for Move-In. We host two very popular pop-up Move-in Free Sales during Welcome Week to help students skip the trip to Target and get things they need for their new home without spending a dime. In 2023 alone, this initiative repurposed over 2,000 pounds of useful items! Why waste money on new stuff when we've got everything you need for your dorm and your wardrobe, all for FREE?!
UofL and the Free Store help December grad break the poverty cycle (UofL News, Dec. 7, 2022)
New University “Free Store” aims to combine convenience with sustainability (The Louisville Cardinal, Nov. 11, 2021)
Students in Group Recycling And Sustainable Solutions (GRASS) first joined forces with the UofL Sustainability Council and Campus Housing in Fall 2013 to open a permanent Free Store which was originally housed in the basement of Unitas Hall through Spring 2019. In 2017 alone, the Free Store helped keep over 700 pounds of items out of the landfill!
Sustainability at UofL: GRASS develops Free Store
(The Louisville Cardinal, 4/3/13)
