Hey there ReSourceful Urbanites,

Saturday will be a great day to stop by the ReSource! We will be serving a hot dog lunch with baked treats. All proceeds will benefit one of our retail clerks, Bernard.

Bernard is a long time employee of Buffalo ReUse and shining smile in the ReSource. He’s always willing to lend a helping hand. He recently underwent minor surgery and won’t be able to come back to work for a month, so we’d like to do what we can to help him out.

Please stop by the ReSource noontime tomorrow for a hot dog lunch, some homemade goodies and good cheer. If you can, bring a baked good to share!

If you can’t join us for lunch but would still like to help out, please inquire at the

ReSource or contact Danielle at volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org or call the Buffalo ReUse main office at 885-4131.

Thanks!!!

UPDATE: Thanks so much to everyone who came, bought hot dogs or donated to the tip jar on the front counter. Friends of Bernard and Buffalo ReUse contributed over $100, which was gratefully received by Bernard and his family. Thanks again!

Buffalo ReUse is partnering with Planet Green to save the Earth!!

Thanks to a great program from Planet Green, Buffalo ReUSE is raising funds AND helping the planet with a new recycling initiative.

We now recycle empty inkjet cartridges and old cell phones at The ReSource!! Please bring old inkjet cartridges and cell phones to our brown recycling box on your next shopping trip. When you recycle these items at The ReSource, Planet Green gives us cash for our community programs!

Check out our web portal on the Planet Green site – Bookmark this page!!

www.planetgreenrecycle.com/buffaloreuse

If you buy inkjet cartridges online, try out Planet Green’s recycled cartridges.

They are really affordable, averaging $10-15 per cartridge.

When you buy Planet Green recycled cartridges through our web portal, everyone wins!!

• We win because Buffalo ReUse receives a 15% donation for every inkjet cartridge purchased.
• You win because you save $$ on your printer ink and shipping is free when you stock up.
• The Planet wins because recycled and remanufactured inkjets reduce landfill waste.
• Planet Green wins because they are an American Remanufacturer who is happy to do business with all of us!!

Buffalo ReUse looking into expanding this recycling and fundraising effort. If you know an affordable way to recycle batteries, compact fluorescent light bulbs, and other materials that are difficult to dispose of, please let us know!

Tyler Sherven

This summer was great and we had tons of youth volunteers! We would like to thank all the groups, clubs, schools and individuals that came to volunteer this summer. Our youth volunteers are heading back to school and it is time to honor a very special teen who was committed to Buffalo ReUSE all summer long – Tyler Sherven!!

Tyler’s dad, Jeff, is a longtime friend and volunteer of Buffalo ReUSE. We were ecstatic when Jeff inquired about bringing Tyler to volunteer over the summer. Tyler’s parents had talked to him about how he was going to spend his summer time outside of band camp, hockey, his chores and family vacation. Since it is hard to find a job at 14, they thought it would be a good idea to gain some work experience and encouraged Tyler to consider volunteering. Tyler knew he wanted to do some sort of physical work and he had visited Buffalo ReUse a few times with his parents, so it was an easy decision to get involved with the ReUse team. It wasn’t long before Tyler told his mom he liked what he was doing at Buffalo ReUse.

Tyler is a freshman at Kenmore West High School. He’s an only child but considers his pug Rumba a very important part of his family! He plays hockey, football, and soccer. He also plays the saxophone and likes to ride his bike. Tyler has a great sense of humor and an excellent work ethic.

Tyler was happiest at Buffalo ReUSE when he was doing something that was physically challenging. He was great at dismantling doors and sorting materials at the ReSource. His favorite job at ReUSE was to work with the compost! He told us that he really liked learning how organic waste turns into something good for the soil in the gardens. He helped dump vegetable waste, turn the piles, and covered everything up with wood chips and brush.

Tyler was a great asset to the Buffalo ReUse summer volunteer crews. He even brought his friend Casey along a few times. They were great working together. We will never forget the time Tyler got dunked at our Dunk Elvis event, when he squirted everyone with his super soaker, and when he showed everyone how to use the fire hose to water the gardens. We hope Tyler comes back to volunteer again sometime soon!

When we aren’t dunking Sam Hoyt, stuffing our faces with pickles, showing movies in our garden, or playing super silly softball, we are a normal, functioning workplace just like any other company!

Today we had our monthly company meeting. This month’s discussion was about preventing hostile work environments and harassment. Our Community Programs Director, Caesandra Seawell, gave a great talk about a tough topic. Using cue cards to keep the conversation rolling, Caesandra gave us great examples of how to prevent, deal with, and discuss uncomfortable situations with coworkers, customers, and even our friends. It was a great reminder that we should always respect one another and take each other’s feelings into consideration.

And now back to salvage, compost, recycling, and more!

The Strawberry Moon Celebration went so well that we have decided to do it again! Join us this Saturday at 8pm. We will teach you how to make beignets with a black raspberry sauce, taste test some Lake Effect Ice Cream, and watch a movie under the stars. Remember to bring a chair and a friend!!

The August Movie Night will be Friday, the 27th and we’ll make treats with fresh blueberries!

On Saturday July 17, 12-1pm Buffalo ReUse will celebrate cherry pickin’ season at the ReSource.  Join us for Cherries Jubilee!

What is Cherries Jubilee?

Quite simply, it’s how Caesandra gets her kicks–ice cream, brandy, and FIRE!

Buffalo ReUse has teamed up with Jason & Erik from the fabulously delicious LAKE EFFECT ICE CREAM COMPANY for this event!!! Thanks to their extreme generosity, we will be serving our yummy FIRED UP cherries jubilee atop Lake Effect’s VANILLA BLIZZARD in a fantastic bright blue hue!! Come get your taste while it lasts!!

Come and learn how to your own Jubilee  so you can impress all your friends or loved ones or your kitty cat(s) if you live alone.

Making this isn’t nearly as fun without an audience to oohh and ahhh and yumm so please join us and celebrate cherries!

Did you know there is a community garden on the roof of the Broadway Market?

Image taken by Chris Byrd for Broadway Fillmore Alive

Check out these images from Broadway Fillmore Alive and this video from the Buffalo News.

The garden plots atop the Market were made available to the public for free. Community members are growing fruits, vegetables, and flowers in raised beds that were built by WNY Americorps. The plots are blossoming quite nicely, especially since they have top notch exposure to sun and rain.

To celebrate this innovative gardening adventure, the Market is throwing a little shindig. Join rooftop gardeners and market goers for a relaxing evening among the church steeples – Wednesday June 30, 5pm. It’s bring your own beverage and a dish to pass. They will provide the hot dogs and hamburgers.

If you can’t make it Wednesday, stop by anytime during regular shopping hours. The garden is open to the public – just ask a security guard how to get up there! There are benches for resting and even a few tables for snacking.

Are you the Sultan of swat!?!

The King of crash!?!

The Colossus of clout!?!

The Buffalo ReUse team isn’t exactly known for their speedball pitch, stealing third base, or hitting homers, but they will give it their all on the Fourth of July.

Join us for a pick-up game of ssssuper silly softball on July 4th at 10:00 am. We will run the bases for a bit, then settle down for a picnic potluck.

Grab your gear, a crazy costume,and a dish to pass.  Meet us at home plate in Father Conway Park off Louisiana Street @10am.

Join us for our first summer fundraiser on a catamaran party boat! We invite friends of Buffalo ReUse to sail away in style aboard the Moondance Cat on July 2 from 4:00-5:30pm.

Get Tickets from us at The ReSource, 298 Northampton St. for $50–discount rates available.  Proceeds from this aquatic adventure will help support our mission.

There will be soda, water & nibbles, a CASH BAR, and music too.

The launch is near Templeton Landing – formerly Shanghai Reds.

There will be lots of fun, sun and merriment. It is a boat, so tickets are limited to 60 people. Bring a friend!

Special thanks to WGRZ-Channel 2 for providing this opportunity!!

My name is Danielle Rovillo and I am the latest addition to the Buffalo ReUse crew. I am proud to announce that I am the new Volunteer Coordinator. I am really excited to join in ReUse’s effort to strengthen Buffalo! 

I recently received my Master’s in Urban Planning from the University at Buffalo. I have a background in architecture, environmental design, and community development. As a student, I have worked in many different places. I interned at a engineering firm, did field work for the City, and researched for professors. I also spent many years making delicious pizzas.

I think all of that pizza has gone to my head because I am sort of obsessed with food! I like growing, cooking, and eating yummy local veggies. I love learning about food access, community gardening, localism, healthy living, and all of the ways our City can help us live happier, healthier lifestyles. I also get excited about community building, the environment and green practices, fair housing, composting, and bicycling. More importantly, I am interested in how all of these things fit together in Buffalo’s diverse neighborhoods. I love, love, love the Queen City and have spent a great deal of time studying our history, development, and plans for revitalization. Now it’s time to put it all to work.

I was really excited when I heard about this job because I knew it would be a great way to contribute to the City’s rejuvenation. From what I’ve heard, the ReUse volunteers are a pretty amazing bunch. I look forward to working with the ReUse team and the volunteer crews to bring people together under a common goal – strengthening the city that we love.

I encourage everyone to volunteer with Buffalo ReUse! We have a range of tasks to complete this summer, so I hope you will consider joining us (or joining us again, and again, and again) in our effort to reuse, repurpose, and rediscover Buffalo. Send me an email and let me know your interests, I will do my best to match you with an appropriate task. We appreciate volunteer contributions no matter your time commitment – so pick a day, week, or month this summer and join in the fun!

If I won’t get to meet you as a volunteer, I hope I will see you at the ReSource shopping , or at a workshop learning how to beef up your container garden. Don’t forget to check out the community calendar – there are some pretty great events. I, for one, cannot wait to taste fresh strawberry slushies at the Strawberry Moon Celebration on June 26th.

Click here to sign up as a volunteer! Feel free to email me with questions, thoughts, and ideas. volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org

Hope to see you soon!