Showing GV pride

Visitors to Rivertown Crossings Mall in Grandville will now have opportunities to purchase Grand Valley State University sports apparel at a unique store run by high school students.

But the relationship between the university and retail store School Spirit goes beyond selling Laker T-shirts and sweatshirts. Students who help operate the store can learn more about selling merchandise on a college campus through mentorships with Grand Valley bookstore employees.

School Spirit, located on the first floor of Rivertown Crossings near the Cinemark theater entrance, is in its third year of operation. The store -- the first of its kind in the United States -- sells apparel from 30 area high schools and serves as an off-campus classroom for students from Grandville, Jenison, and Hudsonville high schools. Students take classes at the store and become part of the decision-making process regarding the store's displays, advertisements, budgets, and product lines.

The partnership between Grand Valley and School Spirit sprung from customer comments about carrying university sportswear, according to store manager Deb Bales.

'Grand Valley is popular with the community, and I heard things like, 'I don't want to go to (Allendale)' or 'the bookstore is closed when I get out of work,'' said Bales, who is employed by Grandville Public Schools as the store's business education coordinator.

She said merchandise from Michigan State, University of Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, and Hope College will be displayed at the store, but only GVSU and Davenport University have established mentorship programs.

Jerrod Nickels, Grand Valley's bookstore manager, said the partnership will be beneficial for School Spirit and GVSU.

'I think it will increase our visibility,' he said. 'Then, we'll be able to spend some time with the students and bring them in here to show how we do things on a larger scale of operations.'

Grand Valley bookstores at the Allendale and Pew Grand Rapids campuses sell a wide variety of university clothes and gifts, textbooks, greeting cards, school and art supplies, and general reading books.