Creative Reuse YYC

The Cause

The non-profit Creative Reuse YYC will solicit donations from businesses and individuals of unwanted and surplus materials that will then be reused and repurposed for art. These materials will be made available, free of charge, to schools, non-profit organizations and professional artists.

Creative Reuse YYC (CRYYC) will spur creativity and community building while reducing waste:

• CRYYC will be a valuable classroom resource for public school art instructors, who often have little or no budget for art supplies;
• CRYYC will be a valuable resource for artists, non-profit arts organizations, such as theatre companies, and arts-based community programs looking for outside-the-box supplies;
• CRYYC will contribute to the City of Calgary’s vision of zero waste (http://www.calgary.ca/UEP/WRS/Pages/About-WRS/Calgary-Waste-Goals.aspxand) and the move towards sustainable, environmentally sound practices.
• CRYYC will build a network of community partners who support sustainability and will act as a hub for industry, businesses and individuals interested in participating in the creative reuse economy.

We are aiming for the official launch of CRYYC to take place in September of 2016 to coincide with the beginning of the school year. Presently we are working with Calgary Arts Development to secure an appropriate space and forge relationships with the Calgary Board of Education and the Department of Sanitation.

Who Will it Benefit?

The planet! Creative Reuse YYC will prolong the life of the materials it collects, saving the energy and resources needed to produce new ones. It will create less pollution than recycling as well as prevent useful resources going to waste or to a landfill.

Teachers, students and their parents! The public school system will have a cost free resource for art materials.

Artists and the art community! Creative individuals who work with non-traditional materials will have a terrific resource at their disposal.

Businesses and individuals! Supporters of CRYYC will have a place to donate unwanted materials knowing they are contributing to creative reuse within their community and not to the landfill, and in the process reducing their carbon footprint.