Fox & Found: A Circular Space and Community Hub
By Kelly Behr
On August 30th, Marist’s newest retail space, Fox & Found, opened at 74 West Cedar Street, just across from campus’ Lower West Cedar townhouses. Unlike other shopping opportunities on campus like vendor pop-ups, MPorium, the McCann Pro Shop or the bookstore, all the items at Fox & Found are completely FREE. Functioning as the school’s very own thrift store, all products are the remaining donations leftover from the bi-annual Semester Sweep-Out initiative led by the Center for Civic Engagement and Leadership (CCEL).
Student Director Ari Venture
Photographed l Carlos deJesus
“Fox & Found is a curated marketplace of dorm goods for students…who want to shop with a purpose in the process of moving in,” said Student Director Ari Venture, ‘27. Over the course of the last several weeks, Venture has spent countless hours coordinating with staff across various departments to bring this specific space to life, but she has spent the last few years dedicated to community involvement and sustainability initiatives.
As a Fashion Merchandising student, Venture has participated in the National Retail Federation Student Association (NRFSA) since her freshman year, where she discovered the CCEL’s sweep out when seeking a community event to partner with. Since then, she has worked her way up the ranks as President, as well as the Vice President of Campus Closet, and remains a member of the Ethical Fashion Initiative.
The experiences Venture has collected through her extracurricular involvement have given her the skill set to take on the direction of this new retail space. Alongside CCEL’s director, Melissa Gaeke, the two have advocated for a permanent location, created ticketed inventory management, and a loyalty system utilizing punch cards to keep track of how many times someone’s visited.
“It's not just like take as much as you can…there's a certain yellow to red ticketing system,” Venture said. “Smaller items would be a yellow sticker…medium-sized items are green…and large items are red,” she continued. There are limits to how many items can be taken per category to ensure everyone has equal opportunity for the available inventory.
Photographed l Carlos deJesus
While its grand opening aligns perfectly with the start of the new academic year, Fox & Found will host pop-ups and events all semester long. “There’s so much potential for a space like this,” Venture said. Over time, she hopes the space can turn into a hub for crafting and mending too. “I feel like that's integral to what I see Fox & Found becoming: a place to learn from different students and celebrate reusing and sharing,” she continued.
From ideation to execution, Venture and Gaeke have embodied this community-oriented mindset, recognizing the type of support and organization necessary to bring something of this scale to life. Communicating across housing, grounds, and other departments has been no easy feat, but one of great value.
The success and continuation of this initiative depends on showing up and supporting the cause whether it be through donations, shopping, or volunteering. As the semester continues be sure to follow Fox & Found on Instagram, download the new Marist Groups app to find all of their upcoming events, and if you’re interested in volunteering, reach out to ssomarketplacehub@gmail.com.
