The Centre for Creative Reuse secures funding
Student optimism grows, but challenges are far from over
After months of student mobilizing in the fall of 2024, 75 per cent of the administration funding required for the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (CUCCR) to operate has been secured.
The university has committed to fund 75 per cent of the CUCCR’s operational costs for 2025-2026, provided that the remaining 25 per cent be fundraised.
The CUCCR has also received a grant from the Concordia Council on Student Life (CCSL) following a joint application from Students for the Concordia University Centre for Creative Reuse (SFCUCCR) and the Office of Sustainability.
Julie Kriter, chair of events for the SFCUCCR, has long been an active user of the CUCCR. Having to finance film projects for coursework independently, Kriter first turned to CUCCR for support as a student.
“Since my first year, I’ve been coming to CUCCR to find materials for my films and sets and props,” Kriter said.
The SFCUCCR was first formed in the Fall 2024 semester to save the used material depot from permanent closure. Mobilizing efforts have included creating an appeal form for students to sign that would renew the CUCCR contract for another year and hosting an art market to raise funds.
Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) finance coordinator Ryan Assaker said that student organizers managed to raise the additional funds required, a whopping $25,000, with $5,000 from the Fine Arts Student Alliance, $5,000 from ASFA, and $15,000 from the Concordia Student Union (CSU). Assaker said he was heavily involved in the planning and excution of this fund-raising initiative.
“A lot of these people depend on what CUCCR gives out,” Assaker said regarding his motivation to get involved in the cause.
Located in the basement of the Grey Nuns Residence, the depot also allows student residents to access materials like mugs, cups and wall decorations.
“From not just Grey Nuns but a lot of things at Concordia and my office [...] I can’t imagine the community without it,” Assaker said. “A lot of these budget cuts feel disconnected from the reality, from students.”
The funding coming from student associations and from the CCSL have only been confirmed for one year.
"The movement isn’t over,” said the SFCUCCR’s head of mobilization Jonah Doniewski. “It feels like it's over, but it’s not.”
“The movement isn’t over. It feels like it’s over, but it’s not.” — Jonah Doniewski
Materials in the depot are diverted from Concordia’s various waste streams and are available to students for free. As such, many students rely on the CUCCR for tools, art supplies, furniture, sewing materials and electronics. Doniewski explained their initial involvement with the depot as an artist.
“I'm not spending money, but I'm also using materials that were going to go into the waste,” Doniewski said.
Anna Timm-Bottos is one of the founders of CUCCR and has been the centre’s only employee since August 2024. In January 2025, when asked if the CUCCR was saved, Timm-Bottos replied, “Saved? Are we saved?”
Timm-Bottos continued, explaining that the answer was not so cut and dry.
“The state of the centre right now is both cautious and optimistic,” she said. “We’ve just had to continue to connect with the community and rally to do the best we can to get security for next year.”
The SFCUCCR is now in a planning phase. Having secured emergency funding, a sense of cautious optimism now informs the rest of the work that must be done.
“It's not a feeling of relief because there is still a risk there for the future,” Kriter said.
SFCUCCR hopes to open as a club under the CSU in the future, to solidify funding and to generate student opportunities and collaborative positions working with Timm-Bottos.
A previous version of this article stated that 75 per cent of the administration funding for the CUCCR to operate came from the grant from the CCSL. This is incorrect, the administration funding was secured prior to the grant. Additionally, the article stated that the CUCCR’s funding had been secured for two years when in fact it has only been secured for one. The Link regrets these errors.
