Leftovers, etc.

• The organization was founded in 1989 and became fully operational in 1997
• The organization is dedicated to supplying children and educators the basic tools and materials needed for creative learning/living made available by surplus resources donated by business, industry and the local community committed to the development and advancement of Education and the Arts
• The organization began developing Learning Center activities in 2005
• Facility is open to the public 32 hours per week
• Facility is open an additional 20 hours per week for internal and outreach educational activities

Our 10,000 sq. ft. Resource Center
• Impacts 250,000 to 300,000 children a year in the metropolitan area, many of them coming from low-income families who can ill afford even the cost of a notebook.
• Supports 65,000+ professionals throughout the metropolitan area
• Involves 60,000+ community members who routinely donate the resources we provide
• Supports all metropolitan public and private schools, Parents as Teachers and early childhood centers within the school systems, homeschool educators, Universities, not-for-profit organizations working with under-privileged, at-risk and developmentally disabled children and adults, churches, Scouting groups, independent early childhood centers, occupational and physical therapists, government offices and the public
• Supports professionals from 48 surrounding MO counties
• Supports professionals from 10 surrounding Illinois counties
• Supports professionals from 18 U.S. states seeking the creative materials we offer
• Includes a Book Exchange program for children and adults providing an outlet for books to be reused
• Includes a Gift Shop with low cost items that have been donated but are not useful for educational purposes but too good to be recycled
• Has donated supplies to hurricane victims in Texas and Florida
• Has donated pens, pencils and crayons to an orphanage in Zambia, Africa assisting the One Dream Foundation
• Keeps 75 tons of material out of the landfill annually
* Our organization is providing resources to schools free of charge to assist their students with virtual learning, and is assisting food pantries in St. Louis County and St. Charles County with basic resources for food distribution since the beginning of the pandemic to present

Our 5,000-7,000 sq ft. Learning Center
• Teaches children how to explore creative learning activities ("think outside of the box") thus becoming our thinkers of the future.
* Conducts Girl Scout and Boy Scout Learn and Earn Workshops, providing badge workshops on an "as-requested" basis.
* Has an active Home School Enrichment Program - Workshops focus on supplementing the schooling being done in the home.
* Our Art Academy - "Pinterest" and "Do-it-Yourself" (DIY) Activities - Activities for adults and children sparked by the interest in Pinterest projects.
* Provides a Rehabilitative Program for Developmentally Disabled Children and Adults - in-house activity allowing participants to learn new skills
* Conducts Summer Camps - morning fun, innovative and imaginative activities on a variety of subjects and afternoon workshops supporting weekly theme
* Conducts Traditional School Field Trips - in-house and outreach services provided on an "as requested" basis.
* Provides Early Childhood Education and Training - In-house and outreach activities demonstrating imaginative ways to teach fine and gross motor skills to pre-school children.
* Provides Teacher Education and Training - in-house and outreach activities providing curriculum development and technical assistance in methods to demonstrate imaginative thinking
* Houses Center Stage Performing Arts - classes in all levels of performing arts for both neo-typical and developmentally disabled children and adults
* Home of "The Champions" - Performing arts program for the Down Syndrome Community in cooperation with the Pujols Family Foundation providing Ballroom, Creative Movement, Musical Theater, Country Line Dance, Choir, Theater, private Guitar, Piano, Voice and Percussion classes

Our expansion plans include:
• Offer "free" school supplies and fun activities for area Veterans and their families in cooperation with The Kaufman Fund
• Develop exclusive programs and activities for Senior Citizens
• Provide a work/volunteer program for developmentally disabled adults with competitive wages
• Expand our activities for the developmentally disabled community
• Expand our operating and internal educational workshop activity hours
• Expand our outreach activities in the community
• Provide workshop scholarships for low-income Scouting groups and homeschool families
• Unite the Resource Center activities and our program for developmentally disabled adults thus providing a safe, enjoyable work/volunteer environment where they can grow to their full potential and actively participate in the community...