Opportunities From: Center for Community Engagement

Are you a UC student looking for volunteer hours—and want to make your time count in a stylish, sustainable way? Join Mary Magdalen House and the UC Thrifting Club for an exclusive opportunity to thrift essential clothing for our unhoused neighbors in Over-the-Rhine (OTR). The thrifting is only about an hour long, but extra time is allocated for transportation. We meet in the parking lot at St. Vincent DePaul facing Chickering Ave between 8:50 and 9:10(+-). Please ensure that you are at this location and not the warehouse on Este. You must contact the program manager @Brian785-684-2324 upon arrival or send an email beforehand (brian@marymagdalenhouse.org). 

✨ This Isn’t Your Average Thrifting Trip:
Through a special partnership, you’ll get exclusive early access to clothing before it hits the thrift store floor(in case you want to buy something while you're out), plus a behind-the-scenes look at how donations are sorted and processed.

How it works: You meet a guide or liaison before the mission starts to get a debriefing. You'll receive a “shopping list” with specific needs and sizes—your target: find clothing that brings dignity and style to our guests.

♻️ Why It Matters:
This is more than shopping. You’re giving quality clothes a second life, reducing waste, and helping people feel seen, respected, and confident in what they wear.

If you're mobile and are looking to fulfill a few hours of service, we have the perfect opportunity for you! All that is required is loading up as much as you can haul (or that we have) into your Smart car, Prius, S10, Van-life van or whatever and transporting our sorted goods to be rehoused. Whether you want to take it to your favorite non-profit organization or just want to rehouse it to one of our partners, the choice is up to you. We can help with the loading but if you want to bring a friend with you to help with the unloading, no problem! 

*Valid Driving License and insurance required, MMH is not responsible for vehicle damage or personal injury while supporting our organization. By signing up for this shift you release MMH from any liability. Any questions you can read more in our Volunteer Code of Conduct Policy form.

!IMPORTANT INFORMATION AT END!

Guests who arrive usually have cleaned clothes that they have previously left to be laundered. Once clean, we store a guests bag until they return. We are looking for individuals interested in assisting the process of going-for (go-pher this or go-pher that) guest bags, searching for shoes, helping to restock clothing that is provided to new guests and bringing the freshly laundered clothes downstairs to the front desk for distribution. If working in a non-profit and directly helping those in our community sounds like your thing, come give us a hand:)

*Note: this position requires minor lifting and walking with stairs involved. Those who cannot easily navigate both conditions may find this to be a difficult task and may want to look at a different opportunity offered by MMH

**Before you arrive on Republic call the front desk at (513)-721-4811  in order to let you in off the street. We do not open until 8:30 and guests start to congregate in front of our building.

MMH is looking for a few hands to help us sort and organize our mountain of donations that we receive weekly. Supplying the unhoused OTR population with dignified clothing, creating care packages, and helping receive donations, we are looking for a few friendly hands to help us every week. Besides directly helping our downtown neighbors you will also gain a sneek-peek into future endeavours that MMH is cooking up! Don't hesitate to invite a friend and become a regular helping-hand at the original OTR shower and laundry house :)