You may have thought that hoodie you bought at Bear Necessities was just a fashion statement, perhaps even a way to show a little school spirit. But what you may not know is that when you wear that hoodie you’re showing community spirit as well.

Bear Necessities, that common site next to Bear Mart, is more than just a place to take your parents on Parents Weekend; it’s also a not-for-profit store, which means all the proceeds go to student scholarships and Wash. U. community programming.

Bear Necessities was started in Wohl Center in 1966 by the University’s Women’s Society, which continues to own and operate the retail outlet.

“The Society has 600-plus members, primarily women in the community who have an interest in creating a connection between the University and the community,” said the Society’s Secretary to the Board of Trustees Ida Early.

Bear Necessities provides a great outlet for Society members to accomplish their goals. Store manager and buyer Mary Hovland explained that the store has two main purposes, the first being to provide students with “necessities” without having to walk all the way from the South 40 to the bookstore. As a point of clarification, Bear Necessities is not affiliated with the bookstore in any way. The second mission of the store is to put the shop’s proceeds to good use. The Women’s Society uses part of the money made at the store towards the Elizabeth Gray Danforth Scholarship endowment. This scholarship program is specially designed for students who have completed two-year community college programs within the St. Louis area and have been accepted to transfer to Wash. U. as juniors.

“These are kids who would probably never have a chance to go to a place like Wash. U.,” said Hovland.

For the past two years, the store has been able to fund four full scholarships. The store has a history of enabling talented and unique students to pursue a Wash. U. education. Hovland recalled a transfer student and scholarship recipient from her early years at Bear Necessities who had been a carpenter for 20 years and then decided he wanted to be a doctor. He transferred into Wash. U. and went on to practice medicine.

In addition to sales, the Women’s Society gets funds from membership dues and gifts. The funds that aren’t used for scholarships go towards various programs hosted in and around the Wash. U. community. Society secretary Sharon Britt explained that the Society awards five to 10 grants each fall to different campus groups. Groups must submit proposals to even be considered, and can receive either partial or full funding.

To be selected for a grant, a group or project has to meet certain criteria. According to Britt, each project in question needs to achieve the goal of reaching as many people as possible. Some of the associations that the Society helps to fund include Dance Marathon, Give Thanks Give Back, the Office of Student Activities and Edison Theatre. The Women’s Society has also supported programming for international students for over forty years. In an effort to help international students adjust to St. Louis, the Be Our Guest program matches international students with members of the local community. Students are invited to local homes for dinner, and often these initial meetings turn into ongoing relationships.

“The goal of the Society is to be ambassadors for Wash. U.,” said Britt.

It seems then that the name “Bear Necessities” truly encompasses the mission for the store: to fulfill every student’s needs, be they pencils or scholarships.

“We’re there because we want to serve the students-which is why we like to hear what they want [and] what they need,” said Hovland.

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