Full Circle thrift store supports the youth of Orange one donation at a time
Full Circle, a local nonprofit thrift store, raises money to support underprivileged youth at the Youth Centers of Orange through the sales of their secondhand items. Photos by EMI THOMAS, Staff Photographer
For sophomore business administration major Chantelle Chan, she can engage in her passion for thrifting while getting paid for it. She looks forward to her work study job at local nonprofit thrift store Full Circle — located on Glassell Street in Orange — every time she has a shift. Chan sorts donations, maintains the store’s cleanliness, works the cash register and makes displays for special sales. She thought Full Circle was a great fit for her when she was deciding where to fulfill her work study.
“I like the environment and I like the cause that (Full Circle) is supporting,” Chan told The Panther.
Full Circle — which sells donated clothes and other second-hand items, such as games, books, toys, jewelry, artwork and more — is a branch of the local nonprofit The HUB OC. The thrift store uses 100% of its profits to support the Youth Centers of Orange. These programs provide free after-school care, summer camps and organized sports for children living at or below the poverty line in Orange.
“Full Circle is about changing lives,” Full Circle Director Diane Reynolds told The Panther. “We are the full-time fundraiser for The HUB OC. The main initiative is transforming lives, whether it’s the youth, the unhoused population or our volunteers.”
“Full Circle is about changing lives. We are the full-time fundraiser for The HUB OC. The main initiative is transforming lives, whether it’s the youth, the unhoused population or our volunteers”
Full Circle is a branch of local nonprofit The HUB OC and sells donated clothes, games, books, jewelry and more.
At Full Circle, Chan sorts donations, maintains the store’s cleanliness, works the cash register and makes displays for special sales. She is one of many Chapman students who fulfill their work study at Full Circle. About 50 work study students as well as volunteers help at Full Circle every week.
As a whole, The HUB OC is a nonprofit organization that has a simple mission of helping people who are in need of support. In addition to Full Circle and the Youth Centers of Orange, The HUB OC’s other branches are the HUB Resource Center (HRC), which supports the local unhoused population, and Allelous, which aids people around the world in improving their communities. Full Circle gives some of its donations to the HRC in addition to selling them.
“Full Circle is an incredible full-time fundraiser for The HUB OC,” said Taylor Ferguson, the director of fundraising and marketing at The HUB OC. “In and of its existence, it is a model for sustainability for nonprofits.”
The HUB OC CEO Holiday Zimmerman started Full Circle in 2020 after the Youth Centers of Orange reached out to her for help keeping their programs going. When thinking of a fundraiser for the Youth Centers of Orange, she realized that it would have to be self-sustaining to be effective.
Zimmerman set-up a month-long pop-up on Glassell Street in 2020 to see how it would do. The temporary store did well, so The HUB OC received a lease for the current Glassell space. Full Circle has been at its current location since March 2021.
Chan likes knowing that the time that she spends working at Full Circle helps many kids in Orange.
“It’s nice knowing that — even if I’m getting paid for it — my time is spent doing something that helps these kids and gives them fun activities that they like,” Chan said. “It’s motivation to go in for work, even if my week is super busy. It creates a more positive work environment because you’re like, ‘I want to keep people coming back to this business so that they can continue to support the youth centers of Orange through their sales.’”
“It’s nice knowing that — even if I’m getting paid for it — my time is spent doing something that helps these kids and gives them fun activities that they like. It’s motivation to go in for work, even if my week is super busy. It creates a more positive work environment because you’re like, ‘I want to keep people coming back to this business so that they can continue to support the youth centers of Orange through their sales.’”
For Reynolds, the most rewarding part of her job is giving back to the community.
“It’s a great feeling to help those in need,” Reynolds said. “The best thing about Full Circle is that we’re able to give back constantly and share what we have. The goal is to be a community and a destination where everyone is welcome and everyone can thrive.”
The HUB OC is eager to open more Full Circle stores depending on the popularity of the thrift store.
“We would definitely hope to do that,” Ferguson said. “‘To fill whatever need there is’ is our motto. We go where there is a need and help build around that.”
“It’s a great feeling to help those in need. The best thing about Full Circle is that we’re able to give back constantly and share what we have. The goal is to be a community and a destination where everyone is welcome and everyone can thrive.”
