The Idea Store

The Idea Store Creative Reuse Center served 30,165 paying customers from our community in 2023 by providing low-cost traditional and non-traditional materials for arts, crafts, education, and other uses. All of our materials were donated by community members and local businesses and sold at 10-50% of retail value. Our store accepted 67,726 pounds of materials, or about 33.9 tons, in 2023. These items would have otherwise gone to the landfill. Approximately 45 individuals volunteered numerous hours of their time, and several service groups from the community and the University of Illinois also volunteered at the store during 2023.