Istanbul Medeniyet University Sustainability Student Club (IMUSUS) carried out a comprehensive social responsibility project in 2025 in order to reduce inequalities in access to early childhood education, support children’s learning processes through play, and at the same time reduce the amount of waste on campus through the circular use of resources. In 2025, free educational materials were sent to 9 schools in different regions of Turkey within the scope of the “Material Support to Village Schools” project, which started with 8 schools in 2024. Among the materials sent were finger puppets produced through upcycling in the workshops held by the student club since the beginning of the academic year, as well as play dough molds produced by recycling plastic bottles in the plastic recycling workshop this year.
Members of the student club produced finger puppets by upcycling leftover fabrics, felt and household textile products obtained from tailors and volunteers. In addition, waste paper collected throughout the institution was used to make the puppet molds. A total of 72 finger puppets were made into sets to be sent to schools from the puppets produced in workshops held throughout the academic year with the participation of club members and volunteer students.
Among the support packages sent with the project, the play dough molds produced by recycling waste PET bottles in the small-scale plastic recycling workshop established by the student club in the IMU North Campus area in 2025 were also included. In the PET recycling workshop established in partnership with TylmanDesign, waste PET water bottles collected from campus areas were first converted into PET filaments with the help of PETMachine. These filaments were then transformed into new products with 3D printers in workshops held throughout the academic year. The 90 play dough molds produced in these workshops were added to this year’s material support packages to be sent to pre-school education classes as part of this project. In this way, this year’s material support packages were prepared to include both finger puppets and play dough molds, and a total of 172 educational materials produced in the transformation workshops were packaged to be delivered to the applicant schools. Thus, while contributing to the circular economy by transforming waste, we also contributed to zero waste policies in our campus areas by reducing the amount of solid waste on campus and reduced the carbon footprint in campus areas.
During the process of the project, applications were received from pre-school classrooms in need of materials through an open call via social media. The applications were evaluated by the board of Istanbul Medeniyet University Sustainability Student Club. During the evaluation process, rural areas with high socio-economic inequalities, earthquake-affected areas and schools with limited access to resources were prioritized. As a result of the applications, the schools that received materials were as follows: Afyonkarahisar Şuhut Yarışlı Village Primary School (Afyonkarahisar), Cumhuriyet Skilled Women Center (Viranşehir/Şanlıurfa), Çağdaş Yaşam Haldun Darbaz Primary School (Mazıdağı/Mardin), Akçaören Primary School (İpekyolu/Van), Erkonağı Primary School (Siverek/Şanlıurfa), Aşağıoylum Primary School (Suruç/Şanlıurfa), Zeynep Evin Primary School (Kurtalan/Siirt), Yenidoğan 19 Mayıs Primary School (Istanbul) and Istanbul Çapa Medical Faculty Hospital Classroom.
Thanks to these special packages delivered to 9 institutions in total, dozens of children had free access to creative play materials and were introduced to materials prepared with environmentally friendly resources.
Student club members stated that such projects contribute not only to social benefit but also to environmental and cultural sustainability. They also emphasized that in line with Istanbul Medeniyet University’s zero waste policy, efforts to reduce waste and increase upcycling practices on campus will continue with different themes.
Workshop visuals, developments and new announcements regarding the project can be followed on the @surdurulebilir_imu Instagram account.
