Start Planning your School's Out Green Out!

When school hits the snooze button for summer, stuff inevitably gets left behind. You know -- binders, books, and backpacks that are still in good shape but have been ditched like last year's fashion trends. Calculators, chairs, and chalkboards that need a new home.

That's when it is time for School's Out Green Out! (SOGO!, for short), CCRx's End-of-School-Year Classroom and Locker Cleanout Donation Drive.

SOGO! is an easy and fun way to keep things that are "too good to toss" out of the landfill and share them with someone who can use them. SOGO! is a great way to engage your whole school to appreciate the wealth that is all around us.

How does it work? Just place some boxes in the hallways during the final weeks of school. Label each one for each type of treasure it will contain—notepads, writing utensils, art supplies, sports equipment, you name it!

Keep the boxes around for a week or longer so everyone has a chance to drop in items they no longer need. And so anyone can take whatever they fancy from any of the boxes—SOGO is all about sharing!

When it's all collected, label the boxes, seal them up and bring them to CCRx.

We'll sort, test and organize everything throughout the summer -- then give it away to teachers at our annual Fall Back to School and January Teacher Supply Giveaway!

SOGO is a fantastic project for service clubs, community service hours, and those graduating who are ready to leave their mark.

There are lots of ways to add impact to your SOGO Drive and make it a hit:

• Get your green club to kick off an awareness campaign, weigh everything, and document the drive. Don’t forget to raid those supply cabinets and gym gear!

• Create posters

• Launch a social media blitz

• Decorate the collection boxes

• Weigh the bounty

• Create and document categories — what's the item most donated? The heaviest? The smallest? Most unusual?

• Send us photos and videos so we can share your good work in our enewsletter!

• #creativechirx #SOGOChicago #creativereuse #sharingiscaring

We'll take in SOGO! donations all summer long, but the sooner the better. You can book a donation appointment (http://www.creativechirx.org/book-online) or email us to schedule a specific day and time for a delivery or a pick up (for a small fee).    

What are we looking for?

Writing Utensils (all colors)

• Markers

• Highlighters 

• Dry & Wet Erase Markers

• Sharpies

• Crayons

• Pencils

• Pens 

• Colored Pencils

• Glue Sticks & White School Glue

• Notebooks, Composition Books and Notebook Paper (new or with used pages removed)

• White printer / copier paper

• Construction paper

• Pocket folders

• Scissors 

• Erasers

• Rulers, Protractors, Compasses

• Pencil Sharpeners

• Pencil boxes and bags

• Tape

• Calculators

• Clipboards

• Paper Clips, Binder Clips, Rubber Bands

• Laminating Sheets

• White Boards

• Educational Tools - Brainteasers, Bulletin Board Supplies, Card Games, Chalkboards, Classroom Signs, Dice, Educational Games, Flash Cards, Game Pieces, Handheld Instruments, Letter Tiles, Marbles, Math Manipulatives, Microscopes, Sand Timers, STEM Kits

Questions? Email us at info@creativechirx.org