Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108connect 2017 • 29 for ReCreate and thanks to The Ireland Funds sup- port, the future is bright for this dynamic and inno- vative social enterprise. In its 3 years of existence we have supplied quality art materials and educational supplies to over 150,000 children and adults all over Ireland via our membership base of 1700 schools and community groups. We have also completed over 600 workshops and events teaching all and sundry the nuances and techniques of Creative Reuse. This concept is a brilliant holistic solution where materi- als unwanted by industry (that otherwise would be going to landfill or recycling) are reused for all kinds of educational and creative projects. By sourcing, collecting and then redistributing free of charge tons of unwanted stock to those that need it, ReCreate is a link. It is the bridge between the community and the corporate sector. The orga- nization is making all kinds of creative and inventive pursuits possible where before many of its members did not have any arts program at all due to lack of budgets. An opportunity for creativity In this period of incredible growth, we have discov- ered that the unique, flexible materials that are now accessible and affordable from our Warehouse of Wonders have many other positive attributes and we are unveiling more every day. Through the many workshops our group of over 20 amazing artists facilitate, they have identified the open ended nature of the materials offer real opportunity for creativity and outside of the box thinking to flourish. There is no right or wrong way to use the materials. It is up to the individual, they are indeed failure-free. Therefore, feelings of wellbeing, con- fidence and improved communication result from creative exploration with the materials. This is particularly powerful with those with special needs as observed below by Deirdre Rogers, Arts Director at ReCreate at a workshop in an inclusive school in July 2016: “I noticed one girl standing with her back to the class, her jacket on and hood up. She was non-responsive to the excitement and activities of the other pupils around her. Her teacher informed me that she had learning difficul- ties and was better left alone. I honoured this request but quietly left a selection of materials near her and observed her response throughout the workshop. Within half an hour she had removed her hood and was engaging with the materials with help from her teacher. By the end of the workshop she was vocalizing her delight, showing off her creation and actively taking part in the clean-up process. Her delighted teacher commented on the transformation in her participation levels when intro- duced to the materials and noted that she would use them again as a learning tool.” Communication and Collaboration Our members and staff are forever observing the flexible nature of the reused materials, as well as their sensory and tactile attributes. We gained the understanding that ReCreate’s materials are bringing people together, encouraging communication and collaboration as individuals experiment and discover new uses and combinations, producing objects of beauty and wonderment. It has been a phenomenal year...