Project: ReUse

Project: ReUse, the DIY fashion show that we’re holding in May, is getting into high gear. We are currently seeking artistically inclined folks to design outfits made from materials found in the ReUse Thrift stores.

Here’s how it works:

We give you a ten dollar gift certificate good at any ReUse Industries location. This is your budget for your outfit. The materials for your outfit are to come solely from the ReUse inventory – this is supposed to be focused on reuse fashion, after all. And the more creative, the better!

Then we’ll all get together on May 12 at Casa Nueva in Athens, and have an amazing reuse fashion show!

We only have a limited number of spots for designers, so if this is something you’re interested in, please e-mail me at sherri[at]reuseindustries.org!

The Junk Brothers!

Junk Brothers Steve and Jim Kelley are two men on a mission. Each night they go out in search of items destined for the trash, but which they believe have the potential to be fixed up, redone and made over into stunning pieces of furniture worthy of a showroom floor. Unbeknownst to the family, the brothers take the curbside castoff, transform it and return the piece on the eve of the following garbage day. You'll love watching the family's surprise when they realize that their trash has been successfully JUNK'd by the Junk Brothers.

(from hgtv canada)

Although I don't think this show about reuse has made it stateside yet, you can still check out the Junk Brother's website by clicking here! And remember, if one of their projects inspires you, ReUse Industries has three great locations (in Albany, Athens, and Wellston) packed with everything you need to make your own reuse treasure!

Sunday Creek Watershed Cleanup

This past Saturday, AmeriCorps*VISTAs Max Felsher, Jennifer Squires, and Leo DeLuca traveled to Glouster, Ohio to help out the Sunday Creek Watershed Group with a cleanup. Despite the cold temperatures, the hearty band of volunteers persevered, helping to make the Glouster area a little cleaner. There was even a visit from local television personality Big Jim, who arrived after the cleanup to interview volunteers.

Above: Max Felsher shows us his Bud, and his cleanup chops!

Above: Leo DeLuca, conquering litter!

Old computer taking up space?

ReUse is currently seeking computer donations to power our PCs to the People program!

PCs to the People is an excellent program that provides internet-ready computers at a very low cost to low-income families in Southeast Ohio.

Requirements for computers to be donated are as follows:

>> All the components must be in working order
>> Windows: Pentium III or greater, 500 MHz or greater
>> Macintosh: G3 or greater
>> Monitors: 17 inches or greater
>> Mice/Keyboards: Standard PS/2 or USB connection

If you have a computer that you’d like to donate, simply drop it off at ReUse Industries’ location at 74815 US Highway 50, Albany, OH. Or give us a call at (740) 698-8200.

Also, if you know of any businesses or schools that happen to be updating their computer labs, and getting rid of their old computers, let us know!

Remember, donations are tax-deductible!

Athens Bag Sale!

The ReUse Thrift Store in Athens (located at 100 Columbus Road) is having a bag sale on clothing items for men, women, and children. For only three dollars, you can fill up a tall kitchen bag—like the one you have in your kitchen trash can—with quality clothing such as pants, shirts, socks, and bras from the ReUse Thrift Store! The sale does exclude jeans and coats.

This sale is only going on for another week or so, so make sure to get in there and make the most out of this awesome bargain!

Martin Luther King Day Recap..

This past Monday, which was Martin Luther King Day, AmeriCorps*VISTAs Leo DeLuca and Duane Bogart volunteered their time at the new Baker Center at Ohio University, where the Center for Community Service was holding its Love Luggage project. Love Luggage, as we have mentioned before, involves painting hard-shelled suitcases and filling them with necessities and other items for foster children in the area. Leo and Duane helped with set up and clean up, as well as helping to dry to suitcases- which turned out to be quite a task! They also helped to assist staff members and volunteers throughout the day. ReUse is always excited to be involved with Love Luggage projects, and in the past year, we have been involved with two others in addition to this most recent one.

ReUse was also active in McArthur on Monday at the Sojourner’s
Dream Camp at the Vinton County High School. AmeriCorps*VISTA volunteers Max Felsher, Ben Frese, and myself, Sherri Oliver, helped to make lunch for over 200 campers and volunteers. In addition to making lunch, we also assisted in the post-lunch cleanup. The Dream Camp was an overwhelming success, and the children looked liked they were having a great time. Activity stations were set up throughout the school, and the children, volunteers and residents of McArthur were fed a delicious soul food lunch – fried chicken and waffles! It was a wonderful experience, and ReUse was delighted to take part in it.

Martin Luther King Day of Service

Just to remind you guys, the AmeriCorps*VISTAs (Volunteers In Service To America) at ReUse will be splitting their time between helping Ohio University with the Love Luggage project and volunteering at the Sojourner's Dream Camp in McArthur this Monday.

We encourage all of you to become engaged with your communities tomorrow, and help to spread Dr. King's message of equality and unity.

For more on Martin Luther King Day and the King Day of Service, visit mlkday.gov.

New Website in the Works

ReUse is planning to update the look and accessibility of our website, which can be found at http://www.reuseindustries.org. Although we already have some ideas, we’d love for your feedback as well. If you have any ideas, please leave them as a comment to this post!

Project ReUse : A Sneak Peak

We are in the early stages of planning a reuse fashion show, Project ReUse, slated to take place at Casa Nueva in Athens, Ohio on May 12, 2007. We’re so excited that we couldn’t keep it from you guys any longer!

We want to gather a group of creative individuals from the community as well as from Ohio University to take materials from the ReUse Thrift Store and design outfits from these materials to be modeled.

This project is an extension of past ReUse efforts to show the community how reuse is not just a sustainable way of life, but also a fantastic creative outlet. At our past Recyclebration festivals, reuse art was at the center of the festivities. By incorporating reuse and fashion, we are presenting just one more way that members of our community and beyond can choose to reuse.

If you want to help out or participate in any way, please feel free to contact me at sherri[at]reuseindustries.org.

And don’t worry, we’ll be giving you regular updates up until the event!

ReUse and GoodSearch.com

GoodSearch.com is a new search engine (powered by Yahoo!) which donates roughly one penny to your charity of choice, every time you conduct a search.

For example, if 1,000 ReUse supporters searched just twice a day, we would receive an estimated $7,300 per year to help fund our programs and lend a helping hand to the people of Southeast Ohio.

This is a great way for anyone to help out ReUse. Even if you don’t have money or time to donate to our cause, you can still generate donations for us through something that you’re doing already – searching the internet!

Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter ReUse Industries as the organization you want to support. The more people who use this site, the more money we'll earn so please spread the word!

www.goodsearch.com

More MLK Activities!

In addition to supplying the OU Center for Community Service with suitcases for its Love Luggage project, ReUse will also be providing volunteer support for the Sojourner’s Care Network’s Dream Camp.

The Dream Camp, which will be held at the Vinton County High School on January 15 from 8 am to 5 pm, is a free day camp for children with special activities including a soul food luncheon, a march, and a ceremony. There will also be games and crafts designed to help the participating children celebrate unity.

Parents who would like to register their children for the Dream Camp can do so by calling 596-1117 by 5 pm on January 11, 2007.

The day is sure to be fun, and will be a great way to celebrate the legacy of Dr. King!

Free Tree Pickup in Vinton County

As read in The Telegram (Jackson County)…

The Outback will pick up discarded Christmas Trees in McArthur and has started the project which will continue until January 10. The service is free.

The Outback is an organization working in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on the discarded tree project.

Trees should be left on the curb where trash is normally left for pickup. Vinton County residents who live outside of the village may deposit their trees in front of Sojourners at 605 West Main Street in McArthur. Signs at the location will designate the appropriate drop-off area.

Residents living in or near Hamden may take their trees directly to Lake Rupert and drop them off in the designated area near the main boat ramp. Once collected, the trees will be lashed together in bundles and placed in Lake Rupert and other local lakes to create habitat environments for aquatic life.

For additional information contact Gary Kellough at 740-352-5485.

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Crafty Reuse…

An estimated 10.6 million tons of textiles were generated in 2003, or 4 percent of total municipal solid waste (MSW) generation.

(Source: The Environmental Protection Agency)

I just found a post at the Knit.1 blog about reusing yarn from old sweaters to make new ones. It’s a great way to reuse old sweaters, and an inexpensive way to create new clothing!

"Recycle, reuse, reknit!" at the Knit.1 Blog

If this is a project you’re interested in, the ReUse Thrift Store locations in both Athens and Wellston still have lots of sweaters, available for just $1.00 a piece.

The Athens thrift store is located at 100 Columbus Road, and is open from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Saturday. The Wellston thrift store is located at 102 South Ohio Ave, and is open from 9 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday.

Also, be on the lookout for a fashion-themed benefit for ReUse coming in May! We’ll give you more details soon. It’s going to be a blast!

E-Scrap Agreement Reached

Four major recycling and solid waste management associations have joined together to promote the importance of reuse and recycling as the best way to manage discarded electronic products such as obsolete computers, monitors, televisions and cell phones.

To access the full article, please visit the Environmental Protection Magazine website.

ReUse is already doing our part when it comes to e-scrap with our PCs to the People program. PCs to the People aims to collect donations of used computers and components which can be refurbished and sold to eligible low-income area residents. It’s a great program, and for more information you can visit our website by clicking here!

Christmas Tree Reuse

Have a Christmas tree left over from the holidays and aren’t sure what to do with it? Read this article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune on how to reuse your tree!

Work-Study Position

Thanks to the hard work of AmeriCorps*VISTA Leo DeLuca, there is now a work-study position available through Ohio University at the ReUse Thrift Store in Athens. Any students who are interested in this position are encouraged to call the Office of Financial Aid at Ohio University at 740-593-4141.

Martin Luther King Day

As many of you may already know, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is fast approaching. In 1994, Congress passed the King Holiday and Service Act, earmarking MLK Day as a day of volunteer service. People are encouraged to see it as “a day on, not a day off”.

In the spirit of this, ReUse Industries will be participating in the annual Love Luggage event in conjunction with the Ohio University Center for Community Service. The Love Luggage project’s aim is to gather pieces of hard-shelled luggage, hand-paint them, and fill them with toiletries, art supplies, books and snacks. The love luggage is then handed out to area foster children. It’s an awesome program, and we’re excited to be a part of it!

For more information about the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service, please go to www.mlkday.gov.