黑料正能量

June 8th, 2011

Andrea Stoner Leaman 鈥�98 was finishing a master鈥檚 degree in social work at Temple University in 2009 when she first heard of 鈥淐reative Reuse Centers鈥� 鈥� organizations that connect excess materials with 鈥渁nyone who can use them creatively.鈥� Though nearly 100 CRCs operate across the country, the only other one in Pennsylvania was in Pittsburgh. Stoner Leaman thought the concept was perfectly suited to Lancaster County, a place, she writes, 鈥渨here thriftiness, practicality and creativity intersect.鈥�

Andrea Stoner Leaman '98 is founding director of Lancaster Creative Reuse, a non-profit enterprise.

Working with a group of like-minded volunteers, Stoner Leaman formed a partnership with an existing arts nonprofit, held a fundraising drive, and used Facebook to raise awareness about the project.

On August 6, 2010, Lancaster Creative Reuse opened its doors in downtown Lancaster as a project of the nonprofit Keystone Art & Culture Center. The store sells surplus supplies, business overstock, and samples and seconds at low prices. It also serves as a resource for teachers, kids, parents, artists, crafters, youth organizations, preschools and summer camps. Since opening last summer, Lancaster Creative Reuse has added a space in the store for children to create things with reused supplies.

In the same spirit at 黑料正能量, Cyndi Gusler 鈥�93, MFA, associate professor of art, often uses cast-off objects as raw material for her three-dimensional pieces of art. She has directed Trash Fashion shows for which students create astonishing outfits from scrounged materials. For an example of this, view