Upcycle's impact in the community

As part of our commitment to inspire all people in our community to explore and create, UpCycle enriches aftercare programs in the City of Alexandria through free, grant-funded outreach programs. One such program, "It's Tinker Time, Creative Aftercare Programs and Materials for Alexandria's Youth," is funded by the Alexandria Fund for Human Services to ensure that children and youth are socially connected, emotionally secure, and culturally competent. The program:

• Provides Tinker Carts and free materials to 10 recreation center sites across our city.
• Engages more than 900 diverse students annually in creative reuse programming to solve problems, gain new skills, collaborate and express positive feelings about participating in creative reuse activities..
• Encourages aftercare teachers to continue creative reuse programming outside of direct program hours.
• Culminates with a community project that demonstrates that unwanted materials are a resource for inspiration and creativity.

This year, students reused materials to create the letters A-L-E-X-A-N-D-R-I-A that are now displayed in our materials center. The collaborative project highlights to everyone that in Alexandria, materials that are destined for the waste stream can be reused to make something unique and eye-catching. Next time you're at UpCycle, check it out!