Goodwill offers ‘Scare and Wear’ student discounts

A Goodwill student ambassador, dressed as a witch, greeted customers at the store on Auto Mall Road Thursday.

The store presented its first Scare and Wear, an event aimed at getting customers to come in and shop for costumes, with volunteers helping them.

The event offered shoppers a 30-percent discount for anything in the store if they showed their student ID and offered them food and a chance to win prizes.

“Halloween and October in general is the biggest season for Goodwill,” Katie McClelland, marketing specialist for Goodwill for Central Indiana, said. “So it’s something that we always love to go above and beyond and just make it really fun.”
 
Scare and Wear started in 2012 near Ball State University, and this is the first year the event is taking place near both IU and Purdue University, McClelland said.

“Really, we just want to give students a reason to come and shop, and make it fun. We want to have food, prizes and just make it a fun atmosphere for everyone,” McClelland said. “Everyone’s going Halloween shopping, and why not shop at Goodwill, because you can get it for a few dollars opposed to 20 dollars.”

Goodwill launched its student ambassadors program in 2012 at IU as a way to engage with the college students.

Sam Perry, director of marketing and communications for Goodwill Industries of Central Indiana, said having student ambassadors helps give them insight into what the students are interested in and what gets them to come shop.

“It’s difficult for us as staff in Indianapolis to really have our finger on the pulse of what’s going on on the campuses,” Perry said.

Perry said students who didn’t shop at Goodwill in the past will have a reason to come out and see that they have a variety of items that aren’t Halloween-related.

“We get that students are often shopping on a budget, and that’s definitely something we can help with,” Perry said.

Chelse Carroll, assistant store manager for Goodwill on Auto Mall Road, said events like Scare and Wear help raise more awareness of where their Goodwill location is and let people know that people can find their costumes at Goodwill.

“You don’t have to look for a specific costume, that our whole store can be used to find your needs,” Carroll said.

Follow reporter Alli Friedman on Twitter @afreedz.