“Don’t throw that away! Give it to Upsy Daisy.”
Upsy Daisy Creative Reuse Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit located at 3261 George Washington Memorial Highway in Hayes associated with Bethany United Methodist Church, marked one year in business early last month. Since opening, the low-cost arts and crafts supply store has saved 11,027 pounds of recyclable material from the landfill.
Many of founder Cathy Raines’s customers encourage others to donate their unwanted items to the store to be reused in upcycling projects—the process of making old items into something new.
“We find a place for pretty much anything,” said Raines.
“We don’t trash very much,” said Upsy Daisy volunteer Nancy Dyson.
The store has so many items that it has filled every room to the brim, packed away holiday-themed items in the basement and stored any extra items that do not yet have a place inside the shop’s shed.
“We’re constantly reorganizing,” said Raines.
Upsy Daisy helps with the Jubilee of Churches, which will a...