Organized by Gillian Wallis, Manager, Residence Transition and Community Engagement, on January 8, 2026, we hosted a clothing swap for residents in the Walter Gage Ballroom.
With over 70 student attendees, the swap gave residents the opportunity to clean out their closets, contribute to UBC’s circular economy and hopefully help reduce waste during move out in April. “Winter coats and rain jackets were really popular items,” says Gillian, “and the swap also helped a number of exchange students who had just arrived and needed warmer clothes.”
Clothes left over from the swap were donated to Big Brothers, but also to Germaine Koh, an artist and Assistant Professor in UBC’s Department of Art History, Visual Art and Theory, who makes use of textiles in her artistic practice.