ReCreate was founded in 2008 by Donna Sangwin, who believed that creativity and environmental responsibility could go hand in hand. At a time when reusable materials were regularly discarded, she imagined a different possibility: a place where clean, usable items could be diverted from the waste stream and placed back into the hands of students, teachers, artists, and families.

What began as a grassroots effort to redistribute materials grew into something much more: a vibrant creative reuse center, craft thrift store, and education nonprofit serving the greater Sacramento region.

Donna’s founding vision centered on three powerful ideas:

Reusable materials deserve a second life
Creativity should be accessible to everyone
Environmental stewardship begins with everyday action

From early donation drives to hands-on workshops and school partnerships, ReCreate steadily built a community of volunteers, educators, artists, and families who believed in making “more art, less waste.”

Over the years, ReCreate expanded beyond a store. Educational programs such as hands-on STEAM workshops, school partnerships, and mobile learning experiences brought creative reuse directly into classrooms, reaching students from preschool through high school.

Today, ReCreate diverts several tons of usable materials from the landfill each year while providing affordable creative supplies and transformative educational programs. The organization continues to evolve, guided by its founding belief that imagination and sustainability belong together.

Donna’s original spark, the idea that discarded materials could become tools for learning and creativity, remains at the heart of everything ReCreate does.

Our History