One student. 850 pounds donated.
Evelyn Navarro-Martinez knows education is more than earning a degree.
As a first-generation student at Cal Poly, she hopes to become the teacher her parents never had — someone who creates classrooms where every student feels supported.
This spring, Evelyn helped launch The Loop, a free thrift store on campus that provides students with everyday essentials.
Evelyn recently shared this note with us:
I wanted to share some stats of The Loop Cal Poly Thrift store, which is now open! Free for all Cal Poly students, staff, and faculty.
First of all, I would like to thank the Vineyard Team for supporting this initiative.
I know Beth came by to donate in the beginning stages.
We gathered over 850 pounds of clothing, kitchen essentials, decor, and small appliances to stock the thrift store, and held our grand opening on April 24th, with 95 visitors taking items.
On our second pop-up date in May, over 150 visitors found items.
617 items were taken from both pop-up dates, for a total of 396.741lbs reclaimed from the thrift!
I was in charge of data collection and marketing. One of our posts had over 28,000 views on Instagram (@calpolygreencampus).
Coming to my full circle moment, I genuinely could not have made this possible if it weren't for the financial assistance the Vineyard Team's scholarship provided me. I am eternally grateful not to be a financial burden on my parents and to be able to do this volunteer work to help other students in need.
Best,
Evelyn Navarro-Martinez
Scholarship supporters helped make this possible by giving Evelyn the financial stability to serve her campus community.