CREATIVE REUSE TORONTO

News

It is official! We are on our way!
It was announced at a community meeting by the City of Toronto staff this evening, July 20, 2018.
We have a space to begin Phase I: The Sewing for Change Program. We will be able to run a community sewing/textile waste diversion centre in Parkdale beginning in September.
A bit of paint, a few alterations to the space, some furniture, all the details, lots of meetings and sorting, staffing and more, a class schedule, registrations and we will be up and running.
Funding coming on line, thanks to The City of Toronto Waste Management and Community Division, Finance and Administration who are providing the space and the funding - mostly for staff, honorariums and admin costs. We will be providing the materials, most of the equipment and supplies. Contracts being prepared. Staffing model decided.
Fabric donations can come after we open. We have quite a bit already although we also have a large waiting list and it is about to grow!
We will also need volunteers to help with setup, volunteer teachers - and more...
We will need donations of a couple of cutting tables, sewing tables and chairs, good scissors and tools, cutting mats and industrial shelving. If the fair market value of your gift in kind donations is over $500, we can provide an income tax receipt through Greenest City, our Grant Trustee/Community Steward. You can also make cash donations. Mark in the message section that your donation is for Creative Reuse Toronto http://greenestcity.ca/donate/

Creative Reuse Toronto was at the Maker Festival 2018 at the Toronto Reference Library July 7 & 8
We won one of the Best in Show Awards, and our participants diverted 150 lbs. (68 kilos) of mixed materials and textiles in 2 days.
We were able to teach new skills such as sewing, creativity, making t-shirt yarn and more. We weighed the projects - even the tiny ones. We may have missed about 50% of the projects that went home for our weigh-in. Ounce by ounce, gram by gram we can make a difference.
The tables were almost constantly busy and we had almost 20 amazing volunteers to come out and help us. Our email newsletter list has grown by leaps and bounds and we connected with both makers and learners.
Many thanks to Eric Boyd, our volunteers and to the Maker Festival for transporting us, and assisting with logistics.

The Proposal

a facility that Invests in the future of our planet and
sustainable community
in Toronto through:
. creative reuse of unwanted materials
. warehouse/store . donation centre
. skill sharing . workshops . art and craft making
. events . education/training

Background: Why we need a creative reuse centre in Toronto

What stage are we at?

We are currently working on setting up Creative Reuse Toronto and are at the planning stages. We hope to partner with other initiatives and groups that have the same objectives and vision in order to create a larger scale sustainable program.
While we work on feasibility, governance models, legal issues, and all of those details, Phase I is beginning with teaching creative reuse programs and skill sharing, mostly in the Parkdale area of the City of Toronto.
See the diagrams below for part of the facility concept we are working toward.

If you are interested in being part of this initiative or would like additional information, please contact us

If you would like to have a presentation made to your group, please contact us to make arrangements.