The Y is excited to unveil and play host to five new treasure boxes to benefit the community.
The Rockford Area Arts Council, in partnership with several organizations, developed community-minded boxes that host a variety of shareable treasures. Each Community Treasure Box boasts an outside theme with content that will vary with the season of the year. Similar to the celebrated lending libraries, Community Treasure Boxes will be a give-and-take destination for books, treasures, and treats related to the themed boxes.
The boxes were wonderfully decorated as part of the Art Council's summer youth program SPARK!
Three of the treasure boxes are located a the YMCA site at Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, 1829 N. Rockton Avenue:
- Fun and Games Box: Fun and Games will host board games, puzzles, brain teasers, playing cards and more.
- Vending Machine Box: The Vending Machine will initially host school supplies and rotate its give-and-take, seasonally.
- All about Art Box: All about Art will host art supplies—paints, brushes, paper, pencils, markers, coloring books, sidewalk chalk and more.
Two additional treasure boxes are located along the bike path at the SwedishAmerican Riverfront YMCA, 200 Y Blvd:
- Pet Shop Box: located on the edge of the YMCA property and the bike path, the Pet Shop Treasure Box will host pet-related supplies such as waste bags, treats, gently used leashes, fiction and nonfiction books on pet ownership, and more.
- Fantasy Garden Box: located near the YMCA pavilion and volleyball courts, the Fantasy Garden Box will host garden-related supplies such as seed packets, pots and potted plants, produce for exchange, books on gardening, and more.
YMCA staff and youth program participants will be the Community Treasure Box caretakers. The community is welcome to place relevant donated items in the boxes to share.
Rockford Area Arts Council SPARK!-BUILD Community Treasure Box Partners include:
• Community Foundation of Northern Illinois
• Illinois Building Trades, Carpenter’s Union #792
• Northern Illinois Building Contractors Association
• Project First Rate
• YMCA of Rock River Valley
• Amazon
• Alpine Kiwanis and Kiwanis Club of Rockford
• Womanspace
Rockford Area Arts Council Mission and Purpose Statement:
The Rockford Area Arts Council exists to support, promote, and develop access to the arts for everyone. We are the collective voice of individual artists and regional arts organizations. We believe in the transformative power of the arts and its ability to set the tone for a city’s creative and cultural infrastructure.