Buffalo ReUse extends congratulations to Devin Crowle who won a scholarship from UB School of Management – sponsored by Target – for her volunteer experience with Buffalo ReUse. Devin spent over 60 hours with us as Marketing Intern. Devin was an integral part of the success ReUse had at the Buffalo Home & Garden Show and also at our most recent Earth Day E-Waste Recycling Day!! Thank you Devin!

Our friends at PUSH (People United for Sustainable Housing), the wonderful group developing a green zone on the West Side, are finalists in Changemakers competition for an award for sustainable urban housing. Go here to vote – you have to register first but it’s not a big deal:

www.changemakers.com/en-us/sustainableurbanhousing

PUSH’s project is the only one in the running (ten finalists) that’s not in the developing world. Ah, Buffalo – our little bit of the developing world, so close to home!

Next Wednesday, March 30, at 6pm, Buffalo ReUse will be part of a discussion at Medaille College about “Leadership in WNY”.

Some points of discussion:

• What goals for community improvement do you and your organization(s) work to achieve? How do these help contribute to building a civic and sustainable future for Buffalo and the region?
• Why do you work toward these goals? What is it about Buffalo’s history that makes these goals important? What is it about Buffalo’s history that makes these goals achievable?
• What perceptions of (or stories about) Buffalo and the region can sometimes be obstacles or barriers to reaching these goals?
• What opportunities and conditions exist to help you and your organization(s) realize these goals?
• Why should students learn to “read” and “engage” in writing the story of their community? What can they do to contribute to the long, hard work of building civic and sustainable communities? In what ways is personal success only meaningful in the context of community?
• What are the personal challenges and rewards of actively engaging in your community and working to make it a better place?

Medaille Website

Our friend Aminah Johnson at PUSH passes this along:

A Unique Shopping Experience

Not The West Side Bazaar, but like it

Open Thursday through Saturday 11:00 AM- 6:00 PM

• Delectable desserts and appetizers from Pure Peru
• Baskets and other unique Sudanese gifts from Rmah Market
• Incense and teas from the Middle East
• Handmade handbags from Sagarmatha of Nepal
• Jewelry, silk scarves, and home décor items from Thailand, Namibia, Rwanda and South Africa
• Handmade craft jewelry from Ivory Coast and Tunisia
• Warm blankets and special furniture from around the world
• Gorgeous clothing and hand printed fabrics from Liberia
• Artisan-made jewelry, accessories and specialty clothing from the West Side of Buffalo

Treat yourself and meet merchants from many different countries who are starting their businesses at the Bazaar.

Bonnie Smith
Economic Development Director
Westminster Economic Development Initiative
bsmith {at} wedibuffalo(.)org

Are you looking for an opportunity to grow your community garden, add a component to your neighborhood project, strengthen your youth program or neighborhood outreach efforts, learn strategies to address policy challenges, market your city farm project or create value added products? Then join us in Buffalo, NY:

March 11-13, 2011

for the Growing Green Spring Urban Agriculture Training!

Registration page is here.

The Massachusetts Avenue Project’s Urban Agriculture Training features many practical, philosophical, and experiential opportunities to learn from MAP’s success with urban, youth centered agriculture.

In addition to witnessing the components of a functional urban farm first hand, such as urban fish farming, composting, and value-added food production, participants will be able to engage and observe many of the successful elements in MAP’s youth training program, Growing Green. Attending the training also means being able to hear from regional experts on food system planning and development, and network with other beginning or established urban farmers, with training at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus Innovation Center and hands on at Growing Green’s Urban Youth Farm. Only $200, this weekend workshop includes 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, a cocktail reception, and intensive, hands-on training opportunities.

Workshops include

• Moving Local Food Policy Forward with Diane Picard, MAP’s Executive Director
• Introduction to Urban Agriculture with Jesse Meeder, MAP’s Farm Manager
• Aquaponics with Jesse Meeder
• Compost and Worms with Jesse Meeder
• Urban Chickens with Jesse Meeder
• Youth, Social Enterprises and the New Food System with Zoe Hollomon, MAP’s Markets Manager
• Messaging for Local Food with Erin Sharkey, MAP’s Creative Director
• Developing Youth-centered Programming with Erin Sharkey, MAP’s Creative Director and several youth participants from the Growing Green Program.
• With a special presentation from Samina Raja, PhD- Associate Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo entitled – Building Communities as if People Eat
• Introduction to Urban Agriculture will be offered for an additional $25 on Friday March 11 from 1-5pm

PEEPSHOW 2011 IS TONIGHT!

Spend Saturday night helping out an amazing Buffalo organization – Squeaky Wheel.

Eat, Drink, Dance, ART, ARTISTS and great Architecture.

Saturday February 26

8PM

DNIPRO Center 562 Genesee St.

Tickets at Sweet_ness 7.

for more info squeaky.org.

At Buffalo ReUse, we've received tremendous help from our AmeriCorps workers over the years. Now, some in Congress want to completely defund our national service program.

Our own Amanda Alessandra, who did her AmeriCorps service in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, received this message and request for help from Change.org:

Help reach 100,000 signatures to save AmeriCorps Dear Amanda, In the dead of night on Saturday, a Tea Party-driven group of House members voted to kill AmeriCorps, completely eliminating all funding. With a potential government shutdown looming on March 4th, the fate of 85,000 AmeriCorp community organizers, teachers, and tutors will now be decided by the U.S. Senate. After hearing the shocking news, former AmeriCorps volunteer Caleb Jonas decided he had to do something. From a coffee shop in Massachusetts, Caleb logged in to Change.org from his laptop and created a petition asking Congress to "Save AmeriCorps." Caleb’s inspiring action has already been signed by more than 90,000 Americans. Thank you for adding your signature to Caleb's "Save AmeriCorps" petition. We're closing in on 100,000 signatures — a huge statement at this pivotal moment — and we need your urgent help to make this critical goal. Please forward this email and ask friends and family to add their names to Caleb’s "Save AmeriCorps" petition and help him reach 100,000 signatures to the Senate ASAP. Why does Caleb care so much about AmeriCorps? Because he spent a year improving the quality of tutoring programs for low-income kids in Minnesota — and witnessed AmeriCorps members build houses for Habitat for Humanity, help political refugees start new lives, improve reading test scores for elementary school students, and help disadvantaged high school students get into college. As Caleb told us over the phone, it breaks his heart that this vital national service program could be shut down at a time when people in the most marginalized communities in America need it the most. That’s why Caleb was inspired to start his "Save AmeriCorps" petition — and why AmeriCorps supporters are sharing it on Facebook and forwarding messages like this to their friends around the country. With AmeriCorps on the chopping block, it’s time for all of us to stand up for Caleb and thousands of other volunteers who have committed years of their lives to community service. Please forward this email to friends and family and ask them to join you in telling the Senate not to kill AmeriCorps:  http://www.change.org/petitions/save-americorps?alert_id=TdPLdiPsal_PKxVyTFVIG&me=aa Thank you for joining Caleb and Change.org members across our country fighting to save AmeriCorps before it’s too late. - Patrick and the Change.org team P.S.  A coalition of grassroots organizations are planning a "Save Service District Day" for this Friday, where supporters of AmeriCorps and National Service will visit local House and Senate offices to ask members of Congress to save funding for crucial service programs. Click here to get involved in actions near you:  http://www.saveservice.org/

From BR friend and supporter Chris Llop:

You’re Invited!

Designing to Live Sustainably

A Competition That Consciously Challenges the Conventional Paradigm
COMPETITION PREVIEW EVENT
Join us as we work together to build support around this exciting project.

We request your feedback and continued involvement as we move forward.

Designing to Live Sustainably seeks to encourage sustainable living through collaboration and design.

Chris says:

Long story short, our team has been working to create a national sustainable design/architecture competition for the Buffalo-Niagara Region. We’ve made a lot of progress, and are holding this event to invite feedback from the experienced to fine-tune and have as much impact as possible. We’re also interested in finding synergies where what we are doing might relate well to the initiatives of others in the area.

FRIDAY JANUARY 28TH

6:00-9:00 PM

THE EIGHTS 888 MAIN STREET

DISCOUNTED FOOD & DRINK

Update: Finished the inside stuff. Tomorrow, Monday, we’ll tackle the yard, starting about 11am. Join us if you wish, your help would be much appreciated. Many hands make the work go faster.