St. Louis Teachers Recycle Centers shares story of growth
Susan Blandford, Executive Director at the St. Louis Teachers Recycle Center
The St. Louis Teachers Recycle Centers (SLTRC) has announced its expansion after being located at the STL Partnership Lemay Business Center for 7 years.
SLTRC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to keeping creative materials and reusable resources out of landfills and putting them in the hands of children, teachers, artists and others for creative and intellectual development. Their mission is to awaken people to their creative potential through cooperative effort, while promoting an ethic of conservation and reuse of valuable reusable resources.
Susan Blandford, Executive Director at SLTRC has enjoyed her business being located at the STL Partnership Lemay Business Center and explains why she chose the center to start her business. “Providing a South County location allowed us to partner with many funders also serving the area,” said Blandford.
Students enjoying the art studio at the St. Louis Teachers Recycle Center
SLTRC will soon be located in Chesterfield Mall. “With our continued increase in clientele and material donations, coupled with the funding challenges associated with being a nonprofit organization, we were looking for a bigger space to accommodate our growth,” said Blandford.
The new location is expected to open August 1, 2020 and will maintain registration protocol due to COVID-19. “Our Play Studio in Chesterfield Mall will be open for family play dates in September,” said Susan. “With our larger space, social distancing will be improved.”
The concept for SLTRC started with Blandford being personally inspired as an Early Childhood Educator. “I was an Early Childhood Educator and went to a conference in Massachusetts. There I met the founder of the Boston Schools Recycle Center,” said Susan. “I was intrigued with how many different kinds of thought provoking materials were being donated by businesses in the Boston area to their center.”
Student enjoying play time at the St. Louis Teachers Recycle Center
Susan also expressed that she was inspired by the mission and positive impact of their program and came home excited to see what materials could be donated. Mentored by the Boston program, she returned several times to further her knowledge on how to contact similar businesses in the St. Louis area.
The nonprofit organization is also engaged with local Chambers, school districts and other nonprofits to enhance the quality of life in communities and looks to partner with more local organizations.
“SLTRC continually looks for new partnerships opportunities and avenues to provide community wide education on the importance of environmental stewardship and providing access to creative reusable materials,” said Blandford.
For more information about the St. Louis Teachers Recycle Centers visit their website here.
