At Turlock High, a student-run thrift store builds community, rewards kindness

When the lunch bell rings, students rush to shop at Turlock High School’s thrift store. Packed with dresses, unique finds and school gymwear, the store reinforces positive behavior, teaches students valuable skills and helps students in need.

When students exhibit responsible behavior, their teachers may reward them with Bulldog Bucks, a currency the teens can use to buy items at the thrift store. Merchandise ranges from shoes and clothing to prom dresses and other community-donated items. The store is run by students, for students, and is spearheaded by English teacher Virginia Barr.

The store emerged out of a need to address student engagement after the COVID-19 pandemic. At a time when the school community felt distant after online learning, the initiative served as a way to motivate and engage students upon their return to campus.

“Especially after COVID, children had a disconnect from school, and we’re trying to get them reconnected,” Barr said. “It is an initiative in order to try to motivate students to be the best they can be through tapping into their needs and their wants and getting and providing rewards.”

Getting the thrift store running was a community effort. After getting a city certification to run a thrift store, the next step was getting enough clothing racks, which were essential but expensive. Only through donations could the effort succeed.

“We had a gentleman who had closed his business and he actually donated a lot of the racks that we use,” Barr said. “Then the marching band was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got racks that we don’t use, do you want to use our racks?’”

Getting students to shop at the thrift store wasn’t hard. Kristen Cole, a Turlock High counselor and member of the school district’s Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports team, noted that thrifting has gained wide popularity among youth as an environmentally friendly way to address overconsumption.

“It seems like the younger generation is a little bit more aware of overconsumption and our environmental footprints and those types of things,” Cole said. “ We’re able to reuse and really find homes for these items in a full-circle way. Students feel like they’re making an impact on the environment.”

The students who shop the thrift store are from all different backgrounds, she said. “You have students volunteering from the cheer team or you have students that are refugees. It doesn’t discriminate. There is no certain type of person who’s shopping in the thrift store. It takes away the stigma.”

Turlock High’s thrift store not only serves as a fun spot to shop, but also a place where students have learned valuable skills that they can apply after they graduate. Seven student volunteers help run the shop as part of the Thrift Club, where they learn how to restock and store items. Student shoppers and volunteers learn to save money, make financial decisions and develop friendships amid it all.

“It helps being able to connect with the people at this school, because you see a lot of people come in here and oftentimes, you wouldn’t talk to them unless you’re in a classroom with them,” junior Ruby Linn said. “It allows for a lot of face-to-face communication.”

In the past two years, the thrift store has made over $4,000 in Bulldog Bucks, which go back into circulation after purchases. The store has sold 178 jackets and 170 prom dresses, which helped students who couldn’t afford formal wear for special events.

Students even have found ways to provide for their families through the thrift store, buying a wedding dress, a television and other goods.

“We had an Oscar De La Renta tuxedo donated,” Barr said. “We actually put it up for 10 Bulldog Bucks. It gave one particular gentleman the motivation he needed to get his work done, to improve his behavior, because he wanted it just so bad.”

The thrift store has also extended help beyond the high school community. Barr recalled when a family, unaffiliated with the school, was starting over after its house burned down. The thrift store provided donated furniture and other necessities free of cost.

Other common uses of the thrift store are finding a change of clothes if a student is dress-coded and finding gym clothes for class when students forget their own or can’t afford them.

Some items, like hair ties, deodorant, socks and toothbrushes, are free to students. Barr supplied these items on her own because she believes it is essential for a student’s needs to be taken care of, no matter how small they might seem.

“When I started teaching 22 years ago, I realized a kid’s attitude completely changes when a small fix is done,” Barr said. “When you don’t have to have your hair in your face, when you get a hair tie, you automatically have a change in attitude. You become much happier, and happy students really do make life so much easier for teachers.”

Students like senior Xavier Bettencourt, who volunteers in the store, hope to see more high schools start similar initiatives. He’s grateful for the way the store has opened doors to friendship and connections that will last beyond high school.

“It’s not just customers who I have met through this,” Bettencourt said. “There’s so many people I’m glad to call close friends of mine who I never would have ever talked to without this opportunity. The acceptance we experience is something that I’ll really take away from this store.”

This story was originally published August 25, 2025 at 8:23 AM.