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I.D.E.A.s!
Newsletter of The I.D.E.A. Store, June 7 - 20, 2012
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Join our email list for updates of inventory and ideas!
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SHARE this newsletter to help us get the word out about what a great place this is for our community! Check out our website for our shopping hours, directions to the store and our wish-list of items for donations and more!
www.the-IDEA-store.org
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Sunrise, sunset ...
The end is near . . . please help us deconstruct!
 It's been a grrrrreat run. But we've just learned that the curtain will be coming down soon on The I.D.E.A. Store's "fantasy fence" in downtown Champaign. Last year, at about this same time, Gail Rost went for it with the community chain and the resulting installation. Store team members and volunteers worked for over 6 weeks to finish the Fantasy Fence - erected on the site of the former Metropolitan Building at the corner of Main and Neil streets - with recycled billboard vinyl.
Lots of love and sweat equity went into our creation, and by all indications, the fence quickly became a beloved temporary landmark and a fabulous billboard of sorts for creative reuse. Time and weather have left their mark on the fence, and plans for developing the property are moving along - necessitating the removal of the billboard material.
But because we are THE creative reuse specialists, not to mention the community's idea people, we are not quite finished with our project! We've decided that even the removal of the materials should be an exercise in interactive creative reuse! To that end, we invite you - our faithful friends and supporters - to join us in deconstructing the fence. Let's make it a festive, semi-spontaneous happening!
Join us at the site from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, June 8, and Saturday, June 9, from 3 p.m.-??? We'll be there to cut down the vinyl strips and YOU are welcome to not only help us disassemble the colorful designs but take it away! We're hoping you will be able to reuse the material for your own projects. Decorate your Fourth of July floats, your kids' tree house or find some other functional or fun use for it! And, of course, be sure to share photos of your reuse projects with us on our Facebook wall.
Our goal is to remove all the material by the end of the day on June 9. But if we don't finish, we'll keep going another day/days (Stay tuned to Facebook for more info about subsequent dates/times).
We will bring a few rakes, ladders and step stools and some bags and barrels and have some scissors and knives. But if you have some of this stuff, bring it along to help! ADULTS only, please!
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Do YOU brake for garage sales?
Stop by our first-ever 'garage sale,' June 16
 
It's garage-sale season! And who says The I.D.E.A. Store can't get into the act, too? Join us for our first-ever "garage sale" at the store on Saturday, June 16, during regular Saturday store hours - 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. - and take home some incredible bargains.
Of course, The I.D.E.A. Store is not your typical marketplace, so it follows that this will not be your typical, garden-variety garage sale. One of the biggest bonuses? The sale will be INSIDE, in our classroom area, so you can shop in air-conditioned comfort.
Our sale inventory will be gleaned from a stockpile of donations that that don't exactly match our list of requested/acceptable materials. Since the store opened, we've been so lucky to receive quality donations (thank you!). And while the garage-sale items aren't appropriate for the store shelves, they do still have a useful life. We're hoping you can take them home and breathe even more life into them!
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The Village Green: Our wonderful water
Help preserve one of our most precious assets
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By Carol Jo Morgan, MSW, MS
Environmental Outreach Coordinator
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The pressure's on. Summer begins on June 20, but we're already experiencing record temperatures and dry conditions. At the same time, we're learning about proposed projects that could negatively impact our valuable water supply, the Mahomet Aquifer. Beyond that, scientists have been cautioning us for several years that this resource is being depleted more quickly that nature can replenish it. These are long-term concerns that each of us can do something about.
Our water use increases in the summer months, but there are simple ways to conserve even as we water lawns and gardens, cool down in the sprinkler or pool, and wash vehicles.
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Do you really need to water that flamingo?
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Using just the quantity required to get each task done is key. Do you really need to use the water in the first place? Can you use a reduced flow?
The Anita Purves Nature Center, at 1505 N. Broadway in Urbana, is a wonderful place to take a woodland walk, watch birds, and learn about nature in the Field Station. You'll find water facts near and in the restrooms. Here's a sampling:
- All water is recycled. We drink and use the same water that dinosaurs used.
- A running faucet uses about 3.5 gallons of water per minute.
- A dripping tap can waste 6 to 44 gallons of water each day.
As you wash your hands at the Nature Center, you can practice these water-conserving steps:
1. Open tap slightly to wet your hands and then turn the water off.
2. Soap your hands thoroughly.
3. Open tap to a slow flow and rinse.
4. Turn off the tap completely.
You can apply these steps to washing anything by hand, including dishes and vehicles. For a more comprehensive list of water-saving tips, check out this web site.
To learn more about the impacts of coal mining on area waterways, visit Prairie Rivers Network's web site and click on "coal." You can read facts and opinions about the siting of a hazardous waste landfill in Clinton, Ill. - above the Mahomet Valley Aquifer - by searching "Clinton landfill PCBs" online. Every action, no matter the size, will make a difference!
In the next newsletter: What NOT to put down the drain.
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Your voice counts!
One way to help protect local water source
Speaking of the proposed hazardous-waste storage facility at the Clinton landfill, The City of Champaign is currently circulating a petition in support of legislation (House Bill 6153 - EPA-Hazardous Waste Siting) that would require governing bodies of the 88 municipalities served by the Mahomet Aquifer to approve the siting.
The petition and more information about this issue are available here.
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Wave that flag
Make sure your party goes off with a big bang
 
For the last 28 years, Carol Jo's lovely, established neighborhood in Champaign has hosted a small Fourth of July parade for the resident youngsters and their guests.
"It's grand fun," she said, "because we close the street (with a city-approved permit) and children decorate their bicycles to parade proudly through the neighborhood."
Whether you live in that neighborhood or elsewhere, keep in mind that The I.D.E.A. Store is a great, inexpensive source for materials you and your family can use to decorate your home, backyard, deck, gardens for holiday parties and picnics. Or you can festoon your bike in red, white and blue regalia and ride it to the various community Fourth of July celebrations.
Here are just a few materials options we have in stock:
* crepe paper
* picnic decorations
* trophy parts with patriotic designs
* odds and ends to give as game prizes
* sidewalk chalk
* red, white and blue fabric and tissue paper
We also have loads of clothespins and playing cards to attach to your bicycle spokes for an old-timey, homespun sight-and-sound effect that's way more fun than lighting firecrackers (the sounds of which make the Fourth of July less than fun for our furry friends).
 
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Farewell to a special friend . . .
The I.D.E.A. Store recently lost a beloved member of our volunteer family. Sheri Stinson passed away May 23 at Heartland Health Care Center in Champaign. Until she became ill last fall, Sheri spent much of her free time volunteering at the store. She often worked in our receiving and warehouse areas, accepting and sorting donations, and doing whatever was needed.
Born and raised in Champaign, Sheri had many past lives in the community before finding her way to The I.D.E.A. Store. She worked as a nurse and office-space designer, but also was a lifelong collector and treasure hunter, as well as an artist. Sheri was especially intrigued by the curiosities that would emerge as each box and bag was opened in the receiving area. She loved exploring the store's inventory, looking for oddities to incorporate into the assemblage-art boxes that she enjoyed creating. Whenever she was in the store, she would inevitably have at least one Eureka moment (more likely, two or three). After discovering a particularly fascinating bit or piece, she would immediately stop what she was doing and dash off to share her find with other volunteers and staff. Her inquisitiveness, enthusiasm and positive attitude was an inspiration to us all.
We miss you, Sheri.
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So, What's This All About?
The Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation saw a need in the community to accomplish several things: 1. Support the arts and arts education, 2. Support environmental education in our communities, 3. Impact the environment by reducing the rate of waste disposal, 4. create a place for everyone to have access to quality materials and 5. Support itself in light of the difficult economic times. So donate your discards and shop re-use. Its about making a difference!
www.cuSchoolsFoundation.org
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INVEST. DEVELOP. ELEVATE. ACHIEVE.
The I.D.E.A. Store is an earned-income social enterprise
of the Champaign Urbana Schools Foundation,
a full 501c3 non-profit organization supporting K -12 education in
Illinois Community School Districts Unit 4 and Unit 116
Phone: 217-352-7878 Store hours: Tuesday - Friday, 2 pm - 7 pm and Saturday, 10 am - 3 pm
28 E. Springfield, Champaign, IL 61820
2nd Floor - handicapped access and loading dock available on north side of building
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