History

trashforteaching.org/T4T_2007_video_web – Computer.m4v.mp4

The concept of Trash for Teaching began in 2004 when Steve and Kathy Stanton started taking their own manufacturing byproducts and overruns to their son’s preschool to be used in class projects.  Things from their specialty packaging factory like die-cut cardboard hearts, ribbons, and long cardboard tubes.  The children liked the materials and found many ways to use them.  In fact they came up with many more ways to play with the items than most adults could ever imagine.  It was a wonderful lesson for the Stantons in how naturally resourceful and imaginative young children are.  As the school was Reggio Emilia-based the open-ended materials fit perfectly in many of the daily activities.

June 2004

• Incorporated
• Purchased a used postal truck and outfitted it to be the first Treasure Truck

September 2004

• Hired our first arts educator to develop, coordinate and implement arts programming
• Opened our warehouse of materials to the general public
• Forged an ongoing partnership with the Natural History Museum, providing materials and collaboration for the museum’s Family Fun Days

November 2004

• Exhibited at the National Association for the Education for Young Children (NAEYC) convention, our first big event, to showcase our materials and services

October 2004

• Started serving 178 Teachers and over 4000 students in 40 Los Angeles Unified School District elementary schools as part of a pilot program for the new All-Day Kindergarten

February 2005

• Developed and offered our first Reggio Emilia-inspired workshop

July 2005

• Officially became a member of Los Angeles Unified School District’s Arts Community Partnership Network. This esteemed group of providers includes the Museum of Contemporary Art, L.A. Chamber Orchestra, L.A. Opera, Armory Center for the Arts, Music Center, and PS Arts

December 2005

• Contracted with the Culver City Unified School District to provide professional development for all elementary school faculty and Treasure Truck visits for their students

March 2006

• Received a Reuse Assistance Grant from the California Integrated Waste Management Board in partnership with the City of Torrance to serve 20 Torrance schools
  Purchased our second Treasure Truck

June 2006

• Held our first official Board of Directors meeting

September 2006

• Converted our local Treasure Truck to run on used vegetable oil

October 2006

• Collaborated with the Pasadena Unified School District to offer professional development workshops for their teachers

November 2006

• Began offering professional development workshops to Los Angeles Universal Preschool providers

December 2006

• Expanded our operations to meet the great demand for our services to include 2 full-time administrators, 2 in-house support staff, and 5 teaching artists and environmental educators

January 2007

• As part of our strategic plan to better serve the greater Los Angeles area, contracted with a grant writer to secure funding

March 2007

• Los Angeles Unified School District accepted a contract increase that allows us to go from serving a maximum of 3000 students in 2006 to serving 6000 students in 2007

May 2007

• Los Angeles County Arts Commission approved our arts education program to be included in their Arts Education Resource Directory

November 2007

• First ever Friend Raiser to help raise awareness, find support, and premiere the new promotional video

April 2008

• Moved Warehouse to Boyle Heights to provide greater access to the larger L.A. community

February 2009

• Developed full collaboration with Para Los Niños

September 2009

• Launched a preschool program with YMCA- Greater L.A.

February 2010

• HLW started the renovation of T4T’s warehouse through the 1% Program

March 2010

• Kicked off Sat. morning workshops at T4T

May 2010

• Awards presentation of USC’s LACI (LA Community Impact) – Our 4 student team won the top spot with their comprehensive business plan for T4T

September 2010

• Space rental – HLW’s beautiful renovation provides a new revenue source for T4T, Colgate Sustainability Dept. rents the T4T space for a conference

January 2011

• Intel Corp hires T4T to design a project as part of their International Anaheim conference – leading T4T in a new STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) direction

May 2011

• Dave Zobel takes the Science Kits on their first outing to the Bay Area Maker Faire

June 2011

• Shiva Mandell is hired as the Director of Creative Programming and immediately gets three college interns in for the summer for a T4T media and marketing overhaul