Volunteer Opportunities

Boarding Up Vacant Houses

This Spring (and probably into the summer we will need adults with ladders and power drills to assist us in securing the painted peace panels onto vacant properties near schools.

Outreach “Sidekicks”

Throughout March and April we will attend numerous tabling events where we have been invited to share what we do. We need outgoing, energetic people who are enthusiastic about US to accompany these tabling events with our staff and “learn the ropes” so you can better explain our mission to the public and represent BRI at future events.

Join us for ReTree 2008

We have ordered over 100 bare root trees through the City’s ReTree program to plant around our neighborhood. Because they are bare root, they have to get into the ground asap and it has to be May3&4 because that’s when the City is delivering! If you’d like to assist with digging & planting, please contact us at or call 716–885–4131

Special Projects for Volunteers!

Everyone can be a volunteer! If you are under 18 please bring this form signed by your guardians. The best way to plug into our programs is to show up to 298 Northampton any Saturday after 9 am and meet us—just show up and be ready to get dirty.

Photos of us Working Together.

IMMEDIATE NEED

We joined ReTREE WNY and registered to plant 143 trees! Naturally, we need help digging and planting and even babysitting these trees this first year. We will pick up the trees and kits on Friday, May 2nd and sort them based on their pre-approved destination. We will also dig the holes—mostly using an auger attachment. Saturday, May 3rd we will meet at 298 Northampton at 9am. Then we will pack everyone, their trees and kits into street teams to plant the trees all at once across the neighborhood. Hopefully, with a lot of helpers, we’ll be done by 3:30pm and we can all regroup back at 298 Northampton to wash up for a potluck picnic and group shoulder rubs!

No matter how old or young or cranky you are—there is a way you can assist this grand scheme. If you have tools, please a shovel, iron rake, picks, hand pruners, gloves, your craziest garden hat, a picnic blanket, a dozen of your Aunt Tibbie’s garlic-cheese puffs, a stack of bologna or a jar of sour dills! (You could even bring a meat mallet to tenderize sore muscles). If you can help in any way please contact us at 716.885.4131 or volunteer@buffaloreuse.org or just show up ready to work on May 3rd.

Just imagine how special the streets will be because you came out and spent the day with us.

REDUCING BLIGHT

Buffalo ReUse initiated a city-wide Neighborhood Peace Mural Project to boost morale around public schools and make a small improvement toward neighborhood safety and reduction of blight.

Over 30 art classrooms, youth organizations and community groups throughout the City of Buffalo and suburbs have joined together for this effort. The students have begun painting 4′x8′ plywood panels which will secure vacant houses as a canvas for peace.

Securing abandoned properties is an important task in keeping neighborhoods safe; but it does not mean boarded up homes must be an eyesore. Each adopted house could feature up to 20 images of peace, depending on its quantity of doors and windows.

This ambitious endeavor involves more than just teens. BRI is currently in need of adults who can assist us in securing the painted panels onto the vacant homes. We will do this on weekends throughout March and April.

Here’s a link to photos of a similar project we did with Queen City Farms Queen City Farms

If you’d like to be a part of this “board up” team, please contact Caesandra at 716–885–4131 or email to learn more.

Help us create a vehicle for job creation, community development and materials reclamation

Saturdays at the Warehouse are the EASIEST & BEST way to plug into our efforts!

JUST SHOW UP anytime between 9am to 4pm and let the Saturday Shenanigans begin.

We are constantly on the go and although we try to keep up with the telephone and email—we really just want to meet you and shake your hand and make you sweat—or smile!

Click here for photos of some of the things we do: Volunteering at Buffalo Reuse

Our volunteers have been critical to envisioning, building and expanding our program here in Buffalo. In just over a year, volunteers have brought an idea to life. With the help of many volunteers, we’ve deconstructed our first five houses, raised over a quarter of a million dollars in seed funding and established an organizational structure that can carry us into the future. Our volunteers have been the minds and muscles behind this effort. A hearty thank you to you all!

In addition to the special projects, we conduct field services (building salvage, deconstruction and material pick-ups) Tuesday-Friday. You’re always welcome to come out and learn about deconstruction and salvage first hand. To schedule a time to help out on-site, send an email to and specify that you want to be included on the DECON/FIELD WORK list. You’ll get announcements about where the crew will be working.

If you’d like to work on any of the projects listed below or have ideas of your own, please contact us at and we can brainstorm, recruit collaborators, and plan a strategy for bringing your ideas to life.

The following is a list of potential projects for volunteers during 2008. These ideas will evolve. We would love to see individuals or groups take ownership of these ideas and run with them, creating new excitement for Buffalo ReUse and the potential of building reuse, job training, and community development.

Special Projects/Activities

  • Art installations with pieces created exclusively from reused building materials. Could be incorporated into an art walk or a similar festival.
  • Furniture design contest/furniture design exhibition. Furniture pieces would be designed from reusable building materials, with the end goal being to create a product line that we could then train youth to manufacture.
  • Architectural Design Exhibition. The end goal being to introduce reusable materials into designs that could be affordably recreated to enhance community environments…greenhouses, gazebos, park benches, bus shelters, fountains, etc.
  • Establishing an art gallery of reused material art exhibits.

Fundraising

  • Building and maintaining a database of potential funding sources/grants/individuals, etc.
  • Organizing events in the community to promote the positive impacts of building materials reuse and recycling. Including our first annual fundraising and community appreciation event in October, featuring a LIVE auction of unique salvaged materials.
  • Foundation Center research of applicable private foundations for expanding and supporting our program.
  • Internet research to identify potential sources for state and federal grants.

Entrepreneurial, Community, and Youth Development

  • Author a youth job training curriculum manual/youth development manual that can serve as the primary resource for our future youth development initiatives.
  • Create a proposal for a small business mentoring program to strengthen community development efforts and create grassroots entrepreneurial ventures based in the communities in which we work.
  • Develop a community resource manual that can provide technical support to community groups that would like to organize and create new assets in their neighborhoods, such as community gardens, parks, etc.

Promoting Recycling Locally

  • Identify sources of grant funding, identify key collaborations, and propose the research and development of efforts to expand recycling efforts in WNY.
  • Research on-line equipment and technology to enable Buffalo ReUse to perform recycling activities on-site.
  • Research other efforts domestically and internationally to recycle construction and demolition waste.

Retail Development and Market Expansion for ReUsed Building Materials

  • Research and develop a store design for the full-time reuse store scheduled to open in April 2008.
  • Research strategies for retail organization and efficient retail operation.
  • Support the development of systems for managing our inventory of reused building materials.
  • Help maintain an on-line inventory of salvad materials for sale.

Graphic Design/Video Production/Photography/Promotion

  • Develop promotional literature, layout, writing and graphics for the Buffalo ReUse website, signs and banners for project locations, and a format for a Buffalo ReUse newsletter.
  • Create a photo library of our field work and organizational growth.
  • Create a short promotional video we can use to share our mission and purpose with others in the community and around the country.

Some other ideas:

  • Someone with database experience to help us track and coordinate lists of volunteers and buyers, materials etc.
  • Data entry and inventory control
  • Accounting and legal
  • Labor, including clean up of work space, clean-out of deconstruction homes, salvage crews and de-nailing (extremely important!)
  • Documentation, both photo and video
  • Deconstruction and salvage assessments
  • Technical drafting of documents (SOPs, proposals etc.)
  • Volunteer coordinators
  • Community outreach coordinators
  • Grant writing/fundraising coordinators
  • Board of Directors/Advisory Board/Mentors

Got an idea for how you can support Buffalo ReUse? Send us an email at .

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