“Not a lot of college students have the opportunity to work with so many people who are willing to talk with them and be involved in their lives.”

Meet Lily, one of our college students who can work in almost any area of the store and who has been at New 2 You since the COVID era.

Lily first started by volunteering as a high school student at Grand Rapids Christian High School, earning money for her Winterim trip to the Galápagos Islands. As a Winterim student, she vacuumed floors, dusted shelves, hung up clothes, and received a small introduction to New 2 You through hands-on experience.

When she was hired as a Saturday staff member, she primarily worked as a cashier. During her first shifts in this role, she remembers speaking to customers through masks and plexiglass and sanitizing the packing tables every few minutes—she has been glad to leave those COVID procedures in the past.

Now Lily works across days and shifts, greeting customers at the donation door, pricing housewares, sorting clothes, managing, and sometimes still cashiering. She has loved being able to grow at the store by working in different areas and learning about everything from top glassware names to how to close the store at the end of the night. She also brings home funny stories, like when a can of sardines was donated three days in a row. Working in the donation center is her favorite because she loves imagining the stories behind donations—particularly vintage ones—and sorting items away, which she finds very satisfying.

Best of all, Lily gets to know volunteers across shifts. Most volunteers have specific three-hour shift times, but since her schedule is fluid, the number of volunteers she meets multiplies. She loves talking with them and seeing how even new volunteers find corners of the store that interest them and then take ownership of their work.

Working at New 2 You is just one of Lily’s many activities. She is currently a junior at Calvin University studying biochemistry on the pre-medicine track. With this semester being lighter, she is studying for the MCAT. Between being on Calvin’s Improv team and serving in Knight-a-Thon leadership, her college experience is very well-rounded. Improv is something she has loved since her time at GRCHS, and Knight-a-Thon is a creative, skill-building way for her to work with a team to fundraise for Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. She also loves to read, travel, rock climb, hike, and camp.

Lily is such a blessing to both our New 2 You community and the Calvin community. We are so thankful she has chosen to spend so many of her high school and college years with us. Thank you, Lily!