"The distance between dreams and reality is action" ~A.Rivas

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      In the spring of 2019, the City of Springfield's Waste & Recycling Programs Coordinator, Adena Rivas, created a coalition of diverse local organizations and innovative leaders within the community interested in working together to make her vision of a reuse, upcycling marketplace a reality. 

      The coordinated effort began with a small grant awarded from the Re-Amp Network in the fall of 2019. From there, the original framework of the reuse marketplace expanded and the coalition grew.
 

 The original partners included the City of Springfield, Enos Park Neighborhood Improvement Association (EPNIA), the Springfield Art Association, Inner City Mission, Third Presbyterian Church, and Sustainable Springfield, Inc.  

While the wheels continued to be in motion, the Creative Reuse Marketplace (CRM) did not fully get off the ground until the spring of 2020, at the outbreak of the Covid-19 Pandemic. At this time, the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln awarded the 2020 Women's Fund grant to the CRM. 

Undeterred by Covid-19 and humbled by the support from the Women's Fund, under Ms. Rivas’ leadership and umbrella of EPNIA, the coalition was finally able to turn 

Dream into Reality.  Awarded funds were used to create the CRM from the ground up, including the creation of a Workforce Development Training (WTP) Program for underserved and/or homeless women.  This program has grown to become all-inclusive. 

The CRM has grown in community participation and support and continues to be a popular location where upcycled non-recyclable post-consumer materials such as plastics, school/office supplies, arts and crafts materials, toys, etc. are donated, sorted, displayed, sold and/or redistributed locally.