At CCRx our goal is to build a city-wide creative reuse economy that provides materials, generates ideas and fosters creativity and community for educators, artists, arts and nonprofit organizations in Chicago.
Our third year operating at the Envision Unlimited Frick Center in Auburn-Gresham, and our first at getting back to somewhat normal operations... CCRx grew in many ways! We...
Redistributed surplus to over 500 Chicago teachers + nonprofits, hosted 250 volunteers and collected materials from 170 material donors. Teachers need all sorts of things, so we take in everything from feathers to books. That’s fun, but challenging to measure. Our educated guesstimate is that CCRx diverted 54,400 lbs from the landfill in 2022. Highlights included yoga ball chairs from Wuensche USA Inc., shells from the Shedd Aquarium, and carts from the Field Museum.
Launched The Creativity Bus, a collaboration with T.H.U.G.hippie that brings creative reuse projects and activities to communities on the SW side during the summer months. We enjoyed working with more than 200 young people (and several grownups) during our first 8 “bus stops”.
Creative Reuse Workshops and Drop-in Maker Days featured artists Bonnie Tawse, Sylvia Moreno, Cynthium Johnson-Woodfolk and others. Special thanks to Joanne Vena and Changing Worlds.
Our 2nd annual Teachers’ Back2School Rx-travaganza provided all types of materials to aid in classroom teaching. Special thanks to Evanston Skokie District 65 for over 12 pallets of school supplies! And the Chicago Furniture Bank for helping us store them : )
CCRx Recyclo-Products + Kits are for sale at the Buddy Shop in the Chicago Cultural Center, on our website and pop-up markets, including new Recyclo-Totes + Origami Wallets. We also provided materials and activities to our neighbors at Envision Unlimited Frick Center. Their 100+ members make fabulous Shag Carpets, Pouf Pillows and Recyclo-Ponies, and help us with various tasks.
Follow Us! - www.creativechirx.org is our website, but we now have a lively presence on Facebook and Instagram thanks to CCRx Team Member Jen Cullerton Johnson, while CCRx Team Member Mark Molenda is actively listing some of our more unusual, less educational items -- from printer toner to an Elvis Phone -- on our Ebay Charity Sales page. Check it out and find a deal.
Team Spirit In 2022 CCRx welcomed Team Members Mark Molenda, Feather Hicks, Matt Ryerse and Jen Cullerton Johnson. We bade farwell to Craig Schmidt, Macus Alonso, Kaiyla Wriddley, Tong Pan, Arianna Banjaree, Michelle Morrison , Breanna Muldoch, Mary Juras, Paige Dirkes-Jacks, Jamila Johnson, Drew Vernor, and Mari DeOleo. And benefitted from our summer interns Breanna Moldoch (School of the Art Institute of Chicago). and Camila Linares (University of Chicago).
We are grateful for dedicated volunteers, especially Evelyn Nabors, Ilene Siemer, Azul Daniel, Nicolas Ferreira, Deborah Riddle, Gloria Fallon, Seemi Siddiqui, Rhaema Brown and the families of Honeycomb Project!
CCRx is for Everyone! While our focus is teachers, we are open to everyone! All are invited to book an appointment to shop the warehouse, volunteer, and take a workshop. Sign up for our enewsletter, follow us on FB, and spread the word -- Trash is just a failure of imagination!
Heartfelt thanks, especially to
Our Funders: Chicago Teachers Union Foundation, Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities at the Chicago Community Trust, Chicago Biz Strong, The Builders Initiative, Harper Court Arts Council, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
Our In-Kind Supporters: Envision Unlimited (especially Sandra and her team) and the Chicago Furniture Bank.
Our individual Financial Supporters, including the amazing auction-averse Chuck Thurow, Barb Koenen & Tim Samuelson, Julie Banzhaf Stone, Grace, Ron Cappucci, John Salvino, Julia Talbot, Jackie Kazarian, Liz Libby, Blue Cross Blue Shield Employee Match, Claire Pentecost, Patricia Joseph, Adam Brooks, Sinead Talty, Rene Cruz III, Elizabeth Burke Dain, Rajesh Goel, Cheryl Hughes, Joan Pomaranc, Michal Safar, Seemi Siddiqui, Constance Spreen, Alison Zehr, Alicia Berg, Linda Kagan, Jan Kallish, Stephanie Labovitz, Amy Lindner, Abbvie Employee Match, MaryBeth Seifert, Chris Weber, Gabby Garay, Luis De La Torre, Debra Del Campo, Shawna Hall, Mary Patten, Lisa Roberts, Sharon Skalko, Megan Williamson, Terra Calamari, Emma Leff, and Samuel Long.
Our 2022 major Materials Donors: AbbVie, Academy for Global Citizenship, ACT Recycling Solutions, After School Matters, Agitator Cooperative Gallery, Amsted, An Authentic Skid Mark, Ancona School, Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago, Caitlin McLeod LLC, Catherine Cook School, Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago Park District, Chicago Teachers Union, Cicerone Certification Program, Cook County Forest Preserve, Covington Fabrics, DePaul University, Evanston Skokie School District 65, Farr Associates, Field Museum of Chicago, Field Park Elementary, Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, Franklin Fine Arts Center, Free Street Theater, Illinois Green Alliance, J.N. Thorp, John B. Drake Elementary School, , Kaiser Mfg., LaSalle II School, Liberty School, Lipman Hearne, Literature for All of Us, Lurie Childrens Hospital, McCaw Creative, Nice & Neat with Niecy , O’Toole Elementary, OperaMatic, QST Industries, Inc., Russell Reynolds Associates, Saint Agnes of Bohemia.org, Salo, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, , Shedd Aquarium, SmithGroup, Social Justice High School, St Viator, The Graham Foundation, , The Kindness Connection, The Trade Desk, The University of Chicago, Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago, Unfuss LLC, Visitation-Elmhurst, VisMed-3D, Vulpinic Vestements, Wuensche USA Inc. / Vivora Inc., and ZeroLandfill.
And everyone else who donated, shopped, volunteered, reused and reimagined.
