Need to fix a leaky tub faucet?  Are your windows drafty? Don’t know which end to use on that scary pincher thingamabob in your garage?  Ever wish you could save money and just do a remodeling job yourself??

Fill that tool belt between your ears!  Our first organizational meeting is at Belmont Shelter Corp. (1195 Main St) this Saturday Jan. 31st at 11am to determine what workshops will be offered, make a schedule and pool resources etc.
Partnering with ReUse, Megan McNally & Whitney Yax are providing the space for you to have a hands-on demos and learning experience in a real, DIY home improvement laboratory!  They just purchased a house on Eaton St and while they are gutting and rehabbing it, they’re offering workshops and demonstrations (and the chance to swing a sledge) to anyone who is interested–everything from basic plumbing repairs to installing drywall to growing a healthy vegetable garden.  What they need is your input–what skills do you want to learn?  What tools do you want to learn to use?  What expertise might you already have and be willing to lend?  We have kickstarted a list, but now’s your chance to toss around the ideas and meet other folks with the same goals.
Hope to see you Saturday!
If you cannot attend but you’d like to stay informed, email buffalobasics {at} gmail(.)com.

This is Part 2, in a 4 part series about volunteer opportunities at ReUse in 2009.  Please share with your friends and family.

As a senior in high school, I had a running tally on the back of my Physics notebook counting the number of days until freedom.  I loathed high school and even now that word does not seem remotely accurate enough to describe the intensity of my feelings at the time.  As an added insult, several of my closest friends were heading off to universities to become TEACHERS!  Many had the gall to say to me, “Gainer, you’d be a great teacher, you should look into it.”  My response, “NEVER!  Inconceivable!  Impossible.”  Five years later, after about 6 changes of my major, I graduated with my B.S. in Science Education and have enjoyed many alternative teaching opportunities.

My school did not serve me, it did not respect my learning style, or even care what I really thought.  Instructors were, as they are now, concerned about test scores, about a cookie cutter curriculum that rewarded winners and punished losers.  Even more so now than back in my day, schools have an increasingly narrow perspective of education and consequently thousands of young people never reach high school graduation.  Young people leave school for hundreds of reasons, but the travesty is that we’re not analyzing the problem and consequently not serving those that the system has failed.

I think about education a lot–especially how it can be truly effective.  I also think about the 54% of the youth in the City of Buffalo that have been denied a just education–one which embraces the unique skills and learning abilities of each student, and focuses on the development of the whole being.  It is unacceptable to deny any young person a quality educational experience, and yet, this is exactly what our educational system does each day.

In 2009, Buffalo ReUse will model a young adult mentoring and training program for out-of-school youth.  It is critical that young adults that have left the school system find safe places where they can feel supported as human beings, where their unique skills and talents can be nurtured and applied to creating positive changes in our neighborhoods, and where they are exposed to all that is possible.  We’ve been able to do this in very small ways at ReUse, but it’s time that we create a more effective model.  To do so, we need your help!

PART II:  54% Out-of-School is not acceptable!

The Vision:  To create a model, young adult mentoring and training program that serves out of school youth and serves the community.  Youth will receive the support of mentors, while also completing intensive projects that improve the quality of life in our urban neighborhoods.  Our young adults will be exposed to intentionally diverse opportunities and work with their educational advisor to develop a plan for attaining their future personal and professional goals.

 The NEEDS: 

• Researchers…to investigate and present best practices for similar programs across the country and to create a clear picture of the current conditions of education in Buffalo and New York State.
• Educational Curriculum Design…to create a curriculum for the program that includes tools for assessment and evaluation. 
• Young Adult Mentors…to host youth for week, month, or semester-long apprenticeships in your field of work.  To be a resource person for a young adult with a specific interest or idea. 
• Grant researchers/writers…to identify potential sources of local, state, and national funding from public and private sources.  To create a grant template that outlines the vision, curriculum, and assessment tools that will enable the program. 

The STEPS to get involved: 

• Send an email to volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org with a description of your ideas and interests, including your contact information.
• Attend planning, sessions, brainstorms, and events where the planning and implementation for these ideas will begin and take place.  We will inform you of sessions relevant to your interests.

Implementation:  Michael Gainer will be leading the effort to create and implement the Young Adult Mentoring and Training Program (and yes, we need to think of a good name).  Our hope is to identify the requisite funding and create the necessary framework to initiate this program in 2009. 

Stay Tuned…for TIME and TALENT:  Part 3…”there’s so much to do, these things are just a few”!
Onward,
Michael and the ReUse Gang

Are you looking forward to the Superbowl because of the game? the commercials? the all-day snackin?!
Since Superbowl parties always need snacks please consider making yours with Growing Green’s Amazing Chili Starter or Super Duper Salsa.  You can make great snacks like a hot salsa and cheese dip, stuffed peppers, a heart chili and cheese dip, or use in burgers or tofu steaks.  They taste great, are local made and support local youth and urban agriculture in our wonderful city–Buffalo.  If you aren’t sure where to get our products they are available at the Lexington Cooperative on Elmwood, Wegman’s on Amherst, Ten Thousand Villages on Main in Williamsville, Chateau Buffalo on Hertel, Premier Gourmet on Delaware near Sheridan, or you can call our office and pick them up at 271 Grant St. (716) 882-5327 ext 4. Click on the photo to see more of where your money is going.
Support Local Youth and Local Farms in Buffalo!!!
Sincerely,
Growing Green Enterprise Youth: Ashley, Hodan, Sam D., Sam M. and Adrianna!!!

My alarm woke me up and it was dark outside.  It would be dark, in fact, for many many many more hours; I was waking up at 1am for the Inauguration Day ceremonies to get the best possible spot.  I threw on my long johns, a pair of jeans, a long sleeve under armour, a tank top, sweater, heavy fleece, wool socks, my pea coat, gloves, hat from Peru and a pair of warm boots before I hopped on the subway.  I got to the national mall around 2am…there was already a crowd of people!  For the next 10 hours it was standing room only, shifting from one foot to the next, waiting for the swearing in ceremony of the first African American president EVER to be elected in the US of A.  There was an incredible feeling of comradery in the crowd; people were from all over the world, of different ethnicities and beliefs, yet we were all united in watching this amazing historical moment unfold.  We sang classics like “Stand By Me” and chanted O-ba-ma! O-ba-ma! to pass the time.   I’ll admit it was hellish to stand in the cold–I was shivering, my back and feet hurt, I was hungry–but it was all worth it because of the message I took from Obama’s speech and the inspiring call to action that I’d like to share with you now.  In his speech Obama said:

What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

If we are to continue calling America our home and be proud of its place in the world, we must take an active role in making it better.  We cannot simply sit around thinking someone else will come and fix problems for us.  When Obama said this, I immediately recalled seeing something similar in an Andy Warhol exhibit.  On a plaque in the art gallery it read, “They say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” Problems with the economy, the disparity of income, the dropout rates of high school students, the crime, corruption, and problems specific to Buffalo, none of them will magically disappear, and to think that they would is foolhardy.  We are the only ones who can change things because we have the power to do so.  If not us, then who?

It was a crazy few days–on my feet constantly, being awake 24+ hours, battling crowds, attending a ball–but I walked away from the inauguration ceremony with a renewed sense of action, an even greater desire to enact change.  I hope you were listening on Tuesday and heard that call for service within our communities, because with a strong team of people who seek to make things better for all, we can tackle some of the challenges we face in Buffalo and accomplish great things!

There will be many more photos soon, but here is just a recap of the very very cold MLK Jr. Day of Service.  We want to send a special shout out to Lou Jean for filling our bellies with pans of empanadas, veggie bread, sub sammiches, and the Obama chili baked into the cornbread (to make it portable).  Also, to all the folks that brought cocoa and to team Mega-Yax for the behind-the-scenes baking of RK treats, oatmeal cookies, hazelnut booze bundt and pumpkin spice drops.

We have an even bigger thanks to bestow on the new and old folks we met from PUSH and the Buffalo community and ReUse regulars–and Ellen Berrey’s class, for a record quickness with the board ups–THANK YOU!  We secured 6 houses and were finished up by 1:30pm (much to the disappointment of the late-comers)  Do not despair, there will be more opps.  I think the piles and piles of snow really make the colorful murals more vivid.  I hope the students and the neighborhood will be proud. I believe everyone had a great time even though our toes and butt cheeks were mostly frozen all day.  I saw Harrison stuff some of those hand warmers into his boots; I’m not allowed to tell you where he shoved the oatmeal.

Marc Odien of wnymedia came out and made a documentary clip about volunteerism and we also got a mention from Mark Sommer with the Buffalo News who highlighted all the different events hosted in Buffalo.

Megan and I were recently drooling over the Burpee catalog.  I am dreaming of growing those kaleidoscope carrots and dehydrating them into colorful, crispy, carrot chips!  Megan is writing to companies for free seeds and we’re going to need you all to share your eggplant recipes, because we know for sure we’re getting lots of eggplant seeds.  Quite a few folks have also shared the site for America the Beautiful Fund and their free seed program so I thought I’d share it with yous guys in hopes that you’ll reply back in the comment section with more sites where we can get free seedlings or seeds!  You can order veggie, herbs or posies.  So, now everyone can get started ordering, mailing and germinating. We’ll have a seed packet and germination swap probably in March, so don’t procrastinate.

From Jolene Baller:

Grover Cleveland High School’s annual International Club Dinner was moved to this Thursday, January 22nd in the school’s cafeteria from 5:30-7:30 pm. Cost: $7

This is the club’s big fund raiser and helps our newly arrived teens go on field trips to discover the wonder and beauty that is Buffalo!!

The same great Latin Band plays that has played the last few years at the Taste of Diversity.

The kids prepare foods for you from Burma, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and more.

Tickets are available at the door, but as usual any pre-paid tickets help out immensely.
Checks can be made out to: Grover Cleveland HS International Club, 110 14th Street, Buffalo, NY 14213

One of my favorite items in my apartment is a mirror in the living room. It is a piece that fits perfectly where it is hung, looks great, but is also a piece I refinished. Turns out I did more than refinish it, I helped rescued it from a house about to be torn down, and repurposed it into decor for my home.

Here it is, the blue mirror. Funny because this is the first place I spotted the mirror. I took this photo at the Seneca Street salvage, the first day I volunteered for ReUse in September 2007.

Long after this photo was taken I had been eying the mirror at the ReSource, it just stood out to me, not knowing I had seen it months prior on that salvage day. It seemed to have a good shape, was a nice size, and was exactly what I was looking for to complete the far wall in the living room. On sale at $5, how could I pass it up? So I finished shopping and headed home.

Weeks later while looking through my photos, I spotted it in a set I had taken of Buffalo ReUse work. What are the chances! Here it is, the mirror I actually helped salvage, on my first day as a volunteer and there it sat in the warehouse all along, just waiting for me to rescue it and take it home.

My first intention was to strip the paint off. At a medium blue color, obviously painted to match someone’s interior, it wasn’t my style and was very dirty. I wanted to see the color of the wood underneath. Here it is just into sanding, at that time with the help of my friend Harvey and his sander and horses. See the beautiful oak?

The paint came off easily, so a few minutes and some intricate scraping later, we were on to replacing the back, which was thin and partially broken in the places where it was nailed to the frame. So Harvey cut a piece of backing and helped nail it to the oak. That is some hard oak!
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When I was a kid I used to watch Captain Kangaroo, it was one of my favorite shows! Actually, when I retire from ReUse, I’d love to have a kids TV show that highlights the people and efforts that are changing the world. It would have the theme . . . “there’s so much to do, these things are just a few.” The focus would be on ideas . . . on creativity, innovation, and action . . . . Maybe I’d even don a polyester suit, get a bowl haircut, and grow a mustache . . . you never know!

We started the first day of 2009 with a call to our volunteers and visionaries! We’ve posted it to the our blog for those of you not on our volunteer list. This VOLUNTEER series is intended to share with you the many ideas that we have for 2009 and to recruit more action makers to help bring both your and our ideas to life. We see so many possibilities (so much potential!) for strengthening urban communities, for improving the quality of life here in Buffalo, and for education and learning . . .

There is a common perception that ReUSE is JUST about taking down buildings . . . as you read these emails, you’ll quickly learn the vision is much greater. As you read through the email series, think about your potential contribution, but also, consider forwarding it to others you know who may be interested. We’d so greatly appreciate it.

PART I: GREEN THUMBS and THINKERS UNITE!
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When I moved into my apartment a year ago I had little furniture. I have a hard time finding pieces in local stores that I like and an even harder time buying things made in China, so all of a sudden I found myself with a new hobby of furniture refinishing. One day at the ReSource I saw these 2 end tables standing on top of each other. Dusty and dirty, they were crying out for a new home. Oh the potential, and just what the empty living room needed. This is what they looked like straight home from the store at $10 a piece.

Love that orange 70′s surface. Good shape I thought, plus I can be creative with the tops.

Unfortunately I have no during photos, here was the process:

1. Washed them with household cleaner, let dry off
2. Sanded all flat surfaces with the hand sander, I love my tools
3. Hand sanded the curves (at the top rims) with multiple grits until all of the former poly and stain was gone
4. Wiped them lightly with mineral spirits, to dissolve the saw dust and prep them for staining
5. Applied 1 coat of Minwax oil-based Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, let dry overnight (the directions say to apply the stain within 2 hours but it comes out better if you let it dry at least overnight)
6. Applied 2 coats of Minwax Wood Stain in Ebony, wiping excess off after 15 minutes (a step I forgot on my first piece, the stool), letting dry for a few days in between coats
7. Finish with 2 coats of Minwax oil-based polyurethane, lightly sanding with 220-grit paper in between
   

The result.

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