ISU's 'Fix It Friday' and RRFM promote material-based sustainability to community members

On Saturday, Illinois State University’s Office of Sustainability group, "Fix It Friday" partnered with the Bloomington-Normal “Really Really Free Market” to spread their message about sustainability to the community at Miller Park.

Organized by Torii Moré and Kelby Cumpston, the Really Really Free Market is a market where members of the community can drop off unwanted items. Other people are welcome to come and take home anything that they want for free.

"We were dumpster diving in 2011 and rescuing things from the curb, and we saw the volume of things that people were throwing away,” Moré said.

“We thought that we should create a community space where people can drop those things off, and people can pick them up for free. It's been wildly successful, and people absolutely love it. It's fun and it's also helping people in the community."

Senior fashion merchandising student Hannah Oesch was at the event with Fix It Friday to offer mending services to attendees.

“Most of the time, we are informing people. A lot of the time, people also bring us things that need to be mended,” Oesch said.

“We don't do anything major, just things like armpit holes, missing buttons, hemming pants and stuff like that. Stuff should be mended rather than being sent to landfills."

The event had multiple tables filled with various articles of clothing, toys, CDs and more for attendees to sort through.

“I really like the fact that the community comes and supplies everything, and people come and just pick through all of the stuff, and it's free. It's definitely something that our community needed," attendee Taylor Railey said.

RRFM creates bonds within the community through its events.

“It's neighbors helping neighbors. If you need something, come and get it. I think that this is something to be proud to be a part of. It's a great way to repurpose things that would have probably gone in the garbage," attendee Hannah Sellmyer said.

The goal of both Fix It Friday and the RRFM is to inform the community on how to be more sustainable and how to repurpose items.

“We need to use our clothing more and not fall into the throw-away culture of buying stuff quickly and just throwing it away,” Oesch said.

To learn more, visit the Fix It Friday website and the Bloomington-Normal Really Really Free Market Facebook page.