Next Week: Free Chairs on Wheels

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday February 24, 25, 26, all Chairs on Wheels are free for members. Yes, you must be a member, you must use a visit, there are no holds, no saves, no reserves. You must take your chair with you, they can not be left here.

Too Many Binders!

Members, please come over and take several hundred binders, really, please they are getting a bit overwhelming.

First Two Birdhouses

Here are the first two birdhouses that have been donated for our spring fundraiser/art event. To find out how you can be part of this event go to: Birdhouse Flier

From Alison D. -- Thank You Alison!


From Marcus S. -- Thank you Marcus!

Member Survey Results

"Membership Survey Results"

We conducted a Membership Survey in July '08 to gauge some usage statistics for the center. We received 209 member responses. Thank you for taking to time to provide us with your feedback!

We found out that over a quarter of the responding members have been a part of ExCL for more than 5 years. Wow! We also have a lot of new, energetic members. Members say they use ExCL resources for a range of needs including: day care groups (5%), preschool (12%), elementary (29%), middle school (16%), adult learners (4%), special needs (11%) and other, which includes high schools, drama groups and community artists, among others. And on average, the supplies reach at least 100 people for each member. This is incredibly inspiring information, especially in these hard times. ExCL will continue to be here to provide you the supplies you need to continue your good work.

In the survey, we also asked what you would like to see added, improved or changed about ExCL. The Board of Directors analyzed the results of this question by categorizing the responses in to topic groupings. The topics with the highest percentage of responses will be prioritized and addressed first, though the Board reviewed and discussed each response.

What we are doing to respond:

The single largest area of feedback was in the area of operating hours. You already know that we listened to your input because this year the center has expanded hours on Tuesday 10:00am – 5:30pm, Wednesday 10:00am – 7:00pm and Thursday 10:00am – 5:00pm, with periodic Saturday hours.

The website has also been updated with improved directions to the center: http://www.exclrecycles.org/contact.html

And in case you didn't know, ExCL has an active blog that describes up to date inventory and new arrivals. We are now on Twitter, too! Use these tools or call to plan your next visit.
Blog: http://extrasforcreativelearning.blogspot.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/exclrecycles
Phone: (617) 635-8284

The Board and Jodi are now reviewing the other top 5 response topics to see if there are projects that we can launch to address the other suggestions. One exciting proposal we are pursuing is to publish an idea book with project ideas using the center's materials. And look for upcoming workshops, too.

Once again, thank you for your insight and feedback. We will keep you posted on future improvements and look forward to continuing to work with you to make the center a great resource.

------ExCL Board

TONS of Really Big Paper in Stock!

Really great cardstock, drawing paper and poster board