The Aspiring Educators club held the first Greyhound Market event in the University of Indianapolis Hall A in Schwitzer Student Center on Dec. 11, 2022, a fundraising event to bring the community together, according to Vice President of Aspiring Educators and junior elementary education major Cassandre Thrash. Local small businesses and students on campus were invited to set up a booth to sell their homemade products, Thrash said.
“We wanted something where we could reach out to the community because we spend a lot of time at local schools and are involved with other teachers and parents and we wanted a way that we could bring the community together because that’s something as a group we strive for,” Thrash said.
Thrash said President of Aspiring Educators and junior elementary education major Grace Silcox came to her with a fundraising idea and Silcox was there to help. Silcox made sure the room was booked, the marketing aspect taken care of and was the go-to person if Thrash had any questions or concerns.
Silcox said this idea started in September 2022 with selling teacher appreciation gifts and then transformed into a market for Christmas gifts. She said the Greyhound Market was like a holiday bazaar and craft fair with different booths, including a photo booth. In addition, Grady was invited, The Perk was open and a raffle was offered, Silcox said.
“It’s really just a place where you can go buy gifts for the holidays for friends, family, yourself [and] just promote local small businesses. We also have a lot of students on campus who have their own businesses that are selling their stuff,” Silcox said.
Thrash said there were some booths that sold jewelry, clothing, candles, sweets and treats and handmade crocheted items. This is something they hope to continue in the future to help promote small businesses and the Aspiring Educators club, she said.
Senior elementary education major Haley Harper had a crochet booth at the market called Haley’s Creations. Harper said she started crocheting around seven or eight years old when her grandma taught her a few stitches. One day, she started crocheting again and is now selling her products at the market, she said.
Harper said she crocheted hats, scarves, blankets and headbands, as well as a baby bundle which includes a beanie, diaper cover, booties and a pacifier clip. Her mother-in-law was also a part of her booth, and she made cricut items with wood and wine bottles.
“I was wanting to get people excited about wearing [and] having a handmade hat or beanie. And I have been wanting to do something like that but I haven’t had enough gumption to do it,” Harper said.
Silcox said that they hope this is something they can do annually and make it bigger and better as the years go on.
“I think it’s so important to get the community involved on campus, especially for the kids and families around here, [to] show them what a college campus is like and get them excited about coming to the college and going to college…,” Silcox said.
