Join the Partnership for the Public Good (PPG), of which PUSH is a founding member, at the first-ever “Movement” dance party on Friday, October 3rd. If you’ve been looking for a place to dance to soulful music in a creative, positive environment, look no further. In DJs Cutler and LoPro, we’ve got two of the most respected and original figures in Buffalo’s underground hiphop scene. Expect surprises that may or may not include giant puppets and uproarious, neo-beat poetry. Co-sponsors of the PPG party include Buffalo ReUse, Buffalo First, Buffalo-Niagara Riverkeeper, Ujima Theatre, MAP, and the WNY Homeless Alliance. Proceeds will benefit MAP and the PPG, a “think-tank” advancing progressive policy agenda for Western New York.

“The Movement” Friday, October 3rd at 8 PM
Langston Hughes Institute 25 High Street
(near the corner of High and Main, in the medical corridor)
$5 at the door 21+

Grassroots Gardens is looking for volunteers for its second annual
fundraiser, the Harvest Celebration, which will be held on
October 16th from 5:30pm to 8:00pm at the
Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum
at 453 Porter Avenue, Buffalo, NY

Volunteer Job Options:

Greeter: Greeters will be working at the front door welcoming guests, and
either taking money or handing tickets to our paid guests, (including
checking membership cards and photo id’s)
ID checkers must be over 21.
1st shift: 5:00 pm to 6:30 2nd shift: 6:15 pm to 7:45pm

Starter:Starters will be helping with some of the various tasks: unfolding &
setting up tables and chairs, setting up food, drink, membership and raffle
tables, & for anyone tech savvy they could help set up the slide show…
hours: 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Bartender (must be over 21): Just pouring beer and wine, nothing fancy.
First shift will be expected to help set up bar, second shift will be
responsible for clean-up of bar area.
1st shift: 5:00 pm to 7:00pm 2nd shift: 6:45 pm to 8:15pm

Closer:Closers will be working for the essential purpose of closing up:
picking up, clearing tables, folding chairs, loading vehicles… you get the
idea.
hours: 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm

PLEASE RSVP to Zoe at grg if you would like to bless us with your help!
Please let me know which job you would prefer and what shift if you would
like.

Zoe Lavatelli, Community Garden Coordinator
Grassroots Gardens of Buffalo
grgbuffalo {at} hotmail(.)com

Member, AmeriCorps

What if our teenagers were actively involved in community building?  What if all our schools incorporated environmental education components at all grade levels?  What if service for others was built into our children’s daily schedules?  How would our Buffalo neighborhoods improve?  Would our children mature with a deeper sense of compassion and responsibility?  What if our teens developed job skills and social skills that prepared them for meaningful careers?

Philadelphia is learning the answers to those questions. The Philadelphia Horticultural Society created Philadelphia Green which has beome the nation’s largest urban greening program.  It’s more than just planting trees or creating flower beds along the medians and sidewalks–PG and Green City Youth keep young people engaged.  It is about developing responsibility in the city’s youth and a healthy environment for residents.  Michael Groman led PG; now he is in charge of replicating that program throughout Pennsylvania and elsewhere.  He accepted our invitation to share his program and implementation strategy this November 16-19th at our Great Lakes Building ReUse Conference .

We hope you’ll be as excited as we are to speak with Michael Groman and our other keynote speakers including:

• Tyree Guyton, founder and Jenenne Whitfield, Executive Director of the Heidelberg Project, in Detroit, Michigan have spent twenty years transforming abandoned city blocks in Detroit to raise awareness about urban blight and to develop a strong sense of pride.  Their artistic accomplishments inspire young people to take ownership of their neighborhoods.
• Rick Lowe, Founder, Project Row Houses, Houston, TX orchestrated the reclamation of 22 dilapidated, yet historic, houses in the heart of Houston.  The reclamation of the houses serve as the material for an arts project that influences the cultural and economic revitalization of a neighborhood.
• Jay Williams, Mayor of the City of Youngstown, Ohio has no illusions that he resides over a shrinking city, in fact, he fully embraces the “shrinking city” concept. His administration plans to strengthen the urban center through right-sizing;  neighborhoods that are emptying out will be converted to greenspace through targeted demolition and development.
• and others in the field of  hybrid deconstruction and building reuse.

The conference is about putting you in same room with ideas and policy makers who can enable similar projects for Buffalo (or where ever you’re living)
Please register for the conference before October 9th to receive the discounted rate.

Save the Date:
Saturday, November 8, 2008 we’re collaborating with ReTree WNY to plant 230 bare root trees in one day!
We’ll potluck/picnic afterward.  Meet us at 298 Northampton at 9am.
To see how easy, fun, soggy it was, look at these photos

This Saturday from 9am-2pm you can recycle any and all of those old electronics, appliances, clothes and yes even bicycles at the ECC South Campus as part of a county government initiative.

They are accepting tecno trash including VCRs, cell phones and lightbulbs.  Stoves, air conditioners and other appliances can also be dropped off.

If you never know what to do with these items, now you can darken your green label and make some space in the garage.  Call it fall cleaning.

You can also get rid of clothing and textiles, which will be donated to the Goodwill as long as they are clean.

As a bonus, they will take bikes too.  But better yet bring them to us when you come shopping this Saturday after you drop off your items at ECC.  We make them into bike racks for customers to lock their bikes when visiting The ReSource.

The News & Events page at Maventech.com will have all details and you can call 898-6996 or visit erie.gov.

They will take cell phones too and as always, cell phones are also accepted by Haven House to assist victims of domestic violence

This Friday and Saturday Buffalo ReUse hosts our first tool drive for the tool lending library. This is a component of our Buffalo Action for Revitalization (BAR) program which is funded by The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo. We hope to equip people, literally, with the tools they need to maintain their properties and/or make improvements on their streets. Many people we meet do not have the transportation or money to buy and rent equipment from home centers. Some of the tools they may need are special or only necessary for a limited time. There are also block clubs or service groups that would like to do things like street cleanups/blitzes with more regularity, but don’t have the edgers, rakes, loppers, weed wackers they would need to make it easier. Maybe they need to repair or paint their porch, but don’t have a ladder, table saw, or reuseable drop cloths. Maybe they don’t have the extra funds to get the safety equipment either. It becomes overwhelming–you can imagine!

We believe people should have access to the tools they need to make their neighborhoods a source of pride.

So, if you have used tools, extra tools or tools you never knew how to operate and want to donate them–we’ll take them anytime, but specifically Friday and Saturday at The ReSource, 298 Northampton. Saturday we will also be at Daemen, participating in the Environmental Summit, and we’ll have a drop off location outside of the Wick Center so if also there (it’s THE place to be) stop by from 9-12:30 and smile real big!

Dave Sheffield took it upon himself to apply for some gift cards at Home Depot and we are so glad for their support and Dave’s initative! Thanks a ton!

We have a lot of work to do before we can officially open the doors for folks to borrow tools–including branding all the tools and organizing the “barn.” If you have time on your hands and a desire to assist, please contact me at volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org Click on the photo to see pics of what we’ve done so far.

As always, you will receive a tax deduction for materials or tools donated to Buffalo ReUse and if the item is too large (like a table saw or lawn mower or something like that) we are happy to pick it up.

Buffalo ReUse and the Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) are pleased to invite you to the first Great Lakes Building ReUse Conference to take place November 16 through 18, 2008 in Buffalo, New York.

Registration is now open! To register, visit www.greatlakesreuse.org/register. To receive the early-bird registration price, register by October 9, 2008.

This conference is intended to bring together people eager to initiate or expand programs that encourage building reuse and vacant property stabilization in “rust-belt” cities surrounding the Great Lakes. Bring your energy, enthusiasm, ideas and inspiration!

Great Lakes ReUse Conference:
Regenerating Neighborhoods, Empowering Communities

Buffalo, NY
November 16th – 18th, 2oo8
Hyatt Regency Buffalo

Featured Speakers:

Tyree Guyton, Founder Heidelberg Project and Jenenne Whitfield, Executive Director,
Heidelberg Project, Detroit, MI
Jay Williams, Mayor City of Youngstown, OH
Rick Lowe, Founder Project Row Houses, Houston, TX
Michael Groman, Senior Director Philadelphia Green Program, Philadelphia, PA

Conference Format and Agenda:
Participants are invited to facilitate alternative presentations for design projects, initiatives, and exhibitions that highlight best practices as they relate to building reuse, neighborhood regeneration, and vacant property stabilization. The goal for the conference is that participants become inspired and engaged to direct social change in their home communities. Propose your vision, share your story, communicate your challenges, and highlight opportunities. Possible topics may include:

• Implementing building reuse, deconstruction, and/or rehabilitation efforts as a job training/job creation tool
• Community involvement in neighborhood planning and decision making
• Creative building designs and features incorporating salvaged/reused materials into rehabilitation/new-build projects
• Developing and implementing a building materials reuse store or entrepreneurial venture that encourages ecological sustainability
• Vacant property stabilization, preservation, rehabilitation, and/or weatherization
• Policy and/or planning initiatives to improve the urban environment
• Innovative and cost effective green space development and long term maintenance efforts

For more information or to register:

• Visit our website at www.greatlakesreuse.org
• Email us at 2008conference@greatlakesreuse.org or
• Call us at 716-885-4131

We hope to see you in November!

Regards,
Conference Organizers
Great Lakes Building ReUse Conference
www.greatlakesreuse.org

An exciting event kicks off tonight in New York City!  ServiceNation is building a national movement to inspire a new era of citizen service in America. ServiceNation is a campaign by the people, for the people, and of the people.  This event will bring National Service into the spotlight, and it won’t go away easily!  Please tune in and learn what the nation is saying about service, what you do everyday as AmeriCorps members and what you now have in your heart as AmeriCorps Alums.

The ServiceNation Summit kicks off tonight in New York with a Presidential Candidates’ Forum on Service. CNN, FOX News, and MSNBC will carry the Forum live TONIGHT at 8:00PM Eastern Time.  Please tune in!!

See the full  list of Summit events and speakers 

Kate Sarata
ABLE Program Manager
Western New York AmeriCorps
2001 Union Road
West Seneca, NY 14224
(716) 558-3325    Direct: 558-3350
Fax: (716) 675-2055
katesarata {at} wnyamericorps(.)org

I am sure many of you have chuckled at those commercials with the baby buying stock on-line–they kill me. “Watch me buy stock; I just bought stock!” I got to thinking about it because I have been daydreaming about a house or getting some abandoned lot for $1 but I don’t know the first thing about buying anything so serious. Back in 2001, when I came back to live in the States after being away for 10yrs–I would spend hours in the grocery store choosing toothpaste, milk, acne cream, orange juice–because there are so many choices. I would carefully read the carton–”This OJ has Calcium, but no pulp, low acid, country style, with mango” criminy!

Similarly, there are so many properties in Buffalo that could become a very cozy home for me (and my little schemes/dreams) but the process seems overwhelming. Is the roof, plumbing, and electrical still in good shape?  Does it have a fireplace and room for a disco floor?  A few people told me to start with a visit to NACA.com and get into one of their workshops (it’s tucked in under the 10 steps of homeownership–kind of not so easy to find). I am tempted to invite you all to tagalong with me in this journey. It’s a major decision; I may even chicken out. I’ve already been disuaded by 2 properties that seemed ideal.

If you’re game, I would like to share my trials as I go along–maybe you want to sign up too.
The next available NACA workshop is:
Kenmore Branch Library
Date: 10/04/2008
Time: 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Language: English
160 Delaware Road
Buffalo, NY 14217

Feel free to comment about pitfalls or tips. The workshop is almost a month away so I’m going to try and do some more homework before I show up.

Hadley doesn’t want summer to end–and neither do we! But, like Hadley, we don’t have much say in the matter. The days are getting shorter and the nights are cooler and our responsibilities are shifting. It also means we have some chores to do in the gardens. We need to mow and weed, turn the compost, fill some beds and put in the cold season crops. So if you can spare a few hours this Saturday bring your garden hat and gloves! Meet us at 298 Northampton and give a holler! We’ll be there from 9-5pm.

Saturday is also the Music is Art Festival at The Albright Knox Museum and we’ll have an info table. If you can work a shift, please contact volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org We need assistance from 11am-10pm

Request from Emily Gadanyi of PUSH:PUSH Immigrant and Refugee Garden is getting started at 92 19th Street. If you’re not aware already, we will install the garden structures later this fall and hope to help the local Burmese community have a space to grow food/flowers. We are collaborating with the International Institute in this effort to teach English, neighborhood integration and provide a horticultural outlet for this community.

I’m strongly leaning towards making the 20 raised beds out of cinder block, then potentially using stucco as a ‘fascia.’ We will need, in total, approx. 1600 blocks (standard size – 8″x8″x16″). If you know of a potential donor or source, we’d be much obliged. Even if less blocks are available for donation, we’ll accept anything and build up to 1600 piecemeal-style.

Thanks so much for your time and advice!

If you have block to donate, please contact Emily veridisthum {at} yahoo(.)com for logistics