On Wednesday, June 16, local parents could update their baby gear without spending a fortune.
The Penn Women’s Center hosted “Super Swap,” an event at which parents could exchange new and gently used children’s clothing, footwear, books and toys. The swap was held in the first-floor room of Locust House, which houses the PWC.
For a minimum of five dollars and an optional donation of items, participants could take as many items as they wanted.
Most of the available items were clothes.
Jennifer Forbes-Nicotera, an administrative coordinator at the Center for Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics and a member of one of the parent’s groups at the Penn Women’s Center, said that she “always gets a couple good things” at Super Swap events.
This time, she was looking for better-fitting clothes for her younger son, who could not fit into clothes that her older son used to wear.
“I think they’ve done a great job and hopefully they’ll do it again,” Sara Cullen, a mother and PhD candidate in the School of Social Policy said.
Money from the event benefitted the New Parents @ Penn Group and The Working Parents Association, both of which are sponsored by the Penn Women’s Center.
Both Penn parents groups meet regularly to host events — for example, the WPA had a fire safety event and New Parents @ Penn had a CPR event.
Super Swap events have occurred, usually at least twice a year for about 2 1/2 years according to Zoe Beckerman of the WPA. It was one of the first events of New Parents @ Penn and the WPA, according to Beckerman.
Leftover items from the event will be donated to local charities. One candidate is Cradles to Crayons, which will distribute the items among other charities, Beckerman said.
Super Swap has remained essentially unchanged since its beginning.
According to Beckerman, one of the only changes is that participants no longer need to be associated with Penn.
