Yoobi Visits Trash 4 Teaching

What did you throw away today at work? Sure, we throw away things that INDEED need to go in the trash, like banana peels and tissues. But what about the stuff that really went to waste? The 2014 line of merchandise that you can no longer sell? The paper rolls from the paper towels in the office kitchen?

Trash 4 Teaching is an awesome non-profit organization that collects clean and safe manufacturers' cast-offs and upcycles these materials as educational learning tools, engaging students with hands-on learning and environmental stewardship through the engineering design process. Basically, they collect the stuff that manufacturers aren’t using anymore and bring it to classrooms in Southern California to use for projects. How cool is that?

Not only does T4T provide affordable items to create within the classrooms around Southern California, but they design and facilitate workshops as well. T4T invites classrooms to come to their warehouse to learn about recycling and partake in fun, educational projects with their materials. T4T has awesome resources for teachers as well – they even have a section on their website dedicated to lesson plans for teachers providing examples of how items at T4T can be put to use in the classroom. T4T is an amazing resource for educators all across Southern California, and something that they hope to spread across the state, and the nation one day!

The Yoobi Team recently visited T4T for a day of service and team building. We helped to sort items that were put into inventory, and completed an innovation challenge making and pitching product prototypes using items available in the warehouse. Our afternoon taught us that one man’s trash is truly another man’s treasure, and can even provide the platform for some serious creativity and fun. We love what T4T is doing to both protect the environment, and make innovative learning accessible to classrooms!