Welcome
Art of Recycle - Ephrata Art Center and Craft Store
One of the best Lancaster charities to donate to.
Crafts for Children of all Ages
Free Art Classes
AoR supports Diversity and Inclusion with free activities for all abilities anytime we are open. Art of Recycle is open 9am to 6pm Monday through Friday, 9-3 on Saturday.
Free art classes for people of all ages, every Thursday at 10am in the Undersea Room in Ephrata.
Get involved, be inspired.
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Are You Ready For Summer Camp?
Are You Ready For Summer Camp?
Are You Ready For Summer Camp?
Art of Recycle Ephrata art center offers a unique summer opportunity for children 12 and up. Spend your summer at AoR learning how to help your community, how to work in a team environment, and learn job skills. Volunteering could earn you a job in AoR’s craft store or a job reference.
Help Us Achieve Our Mission
Are You Ready For Summer Camp?
Are You Ready For Summer Camp?
Volunteer and make a difference in a young person’s life, help out with field trips, free activities, join our clubs, participate in weekly art classes, help us to keep the art center organized and clean. There are countless opportunities for you to assist your Lancaster and Ephrata community with.
Art of Recycle’s Mission Statement
To develop, heal and grow community through experiential learning and interactive instruction for the advancement of diverse learners. We aim to promote access and equality by assisting all people to be inspired and empowered by using discarded, unwanted, and excess items as learning tools; creating generations to come to be more environmentally and socially conscious.
Our philosophy is that art and music is the foundation to teaching math, science, reading, writing and sociology. Creativity belongs in the same category as preventive healthcare, diet and exercise, and people who are robbed of the ability to create art because of economic hardship live a life of the poorest quality.
Donate craft supplies to Art of Recycle®
OUR PROGRAMS
Fund Raising Craft Store and Book Store
How can you help Art of Recycle raise more funds to keep our programs active? Art of Recycle’s Ephrata craft store exists to help raise funds for AoR’s art center programs. AoR’s Craft Store is open to the public. Art of Recycle offers free activities to the public. Our services are important in teaching people skills to help them achieve. Check out our free creative resource center serving Reading, Lancaster and beyond.
Free Teacher Resources
Become a volunteer and work with our team at AoR’s art center to help generate the donations to get free creative resources to qualified teachers, homeschool co-ops, libraries, churches, non-profits and educational programs. AoR’s resource center keeps educational and activity programs open and low-cost throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware. We are one of the best charities to donate to, our community center provides a half million dollars in free teacher supplies and free activities to schools and non-profits every year.
Free and Low-Cost Activities
We need people like you to help create and host activities for the youth in our communities. Our team at AoR’s Community Activity Center in Ephrata is responsible for hosting free children's events and activities. Our S.T.E.A.M. Center hosts amazing workshops for adults and children. If you are a teacher or nonprofit, check out our free teacher supplies. If you are interested in volunteering or employment at Art of Recycle, contact us for more info.
Additional Services
Field Trips & Birthday Parties
Call Art of Recycle Ephrata to reserve your date for a field trip or a birthday party. Art of Recycle has some of the best educational art programs available to the public for reasonable, low-cost prices. With our teacher supplies center, we are one of the best charities to donate to.
Interactive Art
Nothing happens at Art of Recycle without the effort of volunteers and staff. Our community activity center in Ephrata is an amazing wonderland of art. A sand castle crafting table, a pirate ship puppet stage and a steampunk S.T.E.A.M. Center. We have a book store, a craft store, and a free teacher resource center within our 18,000SF Ephrata facility. Don't forget to leave a wish in the Fairy Wishing Tree!
Be A Part of the Team
Visit our volunteer page to see our volunteer opportunities that we have available in Ephrata. Art of Recycle‘s Community Art Center has a wonderful team of volunteers and employees who work together to help make our communities the best places ever.
Get involved and join the team! We are one of the best charities to donate to, because our giving never stops.
Free teacher supplies for Lancaster, York, Reading teachers and beyond.
Teaching People the Art of Recycle
Open A Community Art Center in Your Town
The team at Art of Recycle has put together a 250 page guide to assist communities who want to start up their own teacher resource center that provides free resources to educational and non-profit programs that benefit their community members. Create a creative reuse style community educational center in your town. Learn how to create free activities for your schools. Find out why we are one of the best charities to donate to.
Art of Recycle® Programs Are Sponsored In Part By:
Awards
2014 Service to Mankind Award
Joshua Myers and Chelas Montanye won the 2014 Service to Mankind Award from the Ephrata, PA chapter, for the work committed to creating Art of Recycle and its free programs.
2016 Lancaster Chamber’s Innovation Award
Art of Recycle’s Team won first place in the #ImpactLancaster for our “Art is a Necessity” program that was created to get free art and teacher supplies to teachers Through our free teacher resource center.
2018 Kindred Spirit Award
Art of Recycle‘s Ephrata craft store and free teacher resource center won the 2018 Kindred Spirit Award
for our Community Initiative.
2022 Friend of Art Education Award
Art of Recycle had the honor of receiving the 2022 Friend of Art Education Award from Pennsylvania’s Art Education Association. Teachers appreciate our free resource and art center and our actions within their communities.
2025 Project Linus Certificate of Appreciation
Art of Recycle was awarded with a certificate of appreciation for AoR’s generous contribution of time and resources to help children within our communities. Awarded September 2, 2025.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS anD COMMUNITY ADVOCACY Memberships
COMMUNITY PARTNER AS OF 2023
COMMUNITY PARTNER AS OF 2023
COMMUNITY PARTNER AS OF 2023
MEMBER SINCE 2023
COMMUNITY PARTNER AS OF 2023
COMMUNITY PARTNER AS OF 2023
COMMUNITY-BASED TRAINING EXPERIENCE PROGRAM BUSINESS PARTNER SINCE 2016
Art of Recycle provides opportunities for training to student-trainees enrolled in the IU13. AoR trains students with specific job skills for job activities at AoR, as well as the vocational and social skills related to the work In our ephrata craft store.
PROJECT LINUS Lititz/Lancaster Chapter
The volunteers of the Lititz/Lancaster chapter of the nonprofit Project Linus, who call themselves Blanketeers, make blankets, quilts and afghans for children in need — those who are seriously ill, traumatized or otherwise in need of the warmth and security of a blanket.