Some of you already know we are participating in WNY AMERICORPS’ ‘A DAY ON, NOT A DAY OFF’ for community service, January 19, 2009.

For our part, Buffalo ReUse and PUSH Buffalo are collaborating to board up 6 vacant houses on Buffalo’s west side!

Last January over 30 local schools painted 4×8 panels with images of peace to cover the windows/doors of blighted vacant houses.  Now we have the opportunity to secure some properties that PUSH Buffalo is going to rehab for low income families while the funding and work is done over the next few years.

Join us in making the city a little brighter and a little safer! If you can use a hammer or a measuring tape–great–if you can’t–we’ll teach you!

The board up team will assemble at the first house, 397 Massachusetts Ave at 9am on Monday; the other properties are nearby.  We believe we’ll be finished by 3:30pm.  There is no age minimum or maximum–assist in any way you are able.
We’ll need folks to help clear debris around the houses using rakes, shovels and trash bags.  We’ll need folks to measure window and door openings, remove some of the gray panels and trim down the painted panels, then hammer on the murals.
We’ll need an MC (Master of Cocoa) or two to man the cocoa kettle and distribute mugs of warmth and marshmallows.

Please dress warm and in layers!  If you have the following, please bring them for yourselves, work gloves, safety goggles, a hat/hardhat, measuring tape, hammer and a smile.  We will have a small supply of pry bars, hammers, nails, measuring tapes, hard hats, ladders, rakes and shovels, but if you have extra, please bring them.  We have access to 2 circular saws, but one more would be great.  If someone has another generator and a pickup truck, that would also be really helpful for transporting the panels to the houses.
Other ways to assist: baked goods, sammiches, packets of cocoa, cider or other hot liquids or bottled water, sleeves of cups or mugs . . . and MARSHMALLOWS!
Photogs are always welcome!!!
Trust me, it will be fun, action-packed day and you will meet lots of great folks.  If you doubt me, then by all means bring us some great folks–like your mamala, your bff or that pirate you saw on CraigsList!
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Buffalo ReUse Inc and Grant Street Gallery proudly present the 2008 ReFind Arts Exhibition, Accessing the Imagination.
18 local artists have transformed over 20 doors into art and/or–something else!  tables, benches, waxed, even shredded into piles!

Come meet the artists and celebrate our 2nd Anniversary with us.
Funky groove masters, FudgyChewy, will perform and everyone is welcome to this free event!

220 Grant St near the corner of Lafayette
Thursday, October 23rd 6:30-10pm

We would also like to add a heartfelt thanks to Ben and Block Club Magazine for making a donation to the ReFind Arts Exhibition; we’re so grateful you thought of us!

The Spring rains have arrived, but at least we can finally feel our fingertips and toes. Though we continued deconstruction services and opened the Re-Source and kept it open every week for customers during the cruel winter months, we’re ecstatic for the coming of spring. We’re energized to begin exciting projects in the neighborhood. We have big plans for gardens and park spaces; artistic murals to beautify blighted buildings; and educational opportunities, as well as, unique materials for sale at the ReSOURCE. Finally, we’re already at the point where we can further expand our hours. Next week, the ReSource will always be open Tuesdays through Fridays, 7:30am to 5:00pm, Saturday 9 to 5. (Update: we’re now open Saturdays 7:30-5) We welcome you to stop in and peruse our ever growing inventory of rescued building materials.

Thank you for your on-going support.

As always, we invite you to get involved and be a part of the action! Please check out the updates below for upcoming volunteer opportunities and events.

Blight vs. Beauty

Donn Esmonde of the Buffalo News ran a commentary in this Friday’s City&Region (Section D) describing the lift in morale of the proprietors on High Street who work and live near the vacant house adopted during the Neighborhood Peace Mural Project. So many people have already been touched by that small house–the students at The Locust Street Art School who painted the panels, the groups from UB and Daemen college that focus on neighborhood transformation and the volunteers from St. Bonaventure who secure the boards to the building. We will continue boarding up more houses as the City allows.

Are you spring cleaning or upgrading your home this season?
Now is the time to get rid of the junk in your garage and basement and attic. You can donate your old sinks, counters, cabinets, tubs and other materials to us instead of leaving it on the curb or paying the landfill fees. If it fits in your car–bring it to us! If it’s too bulky for you to manage, we can schedule a pick up. (pssst, if it’s on the curb in front of your neighbors’–you can still call us!)

Mayor Youth Summer Employment Program

Do you know someone who would like to be a Buffalo ReUse Apprentice? We are so excited about the opportunity to engage with more youth in Buffalo this summer! We’ve been approved as a job site and will provide multiple experiences–green space development, urban planning, salvage pick ups, retail support, materials processing, among others. Applicants must be 14-21yrs old and there are other requirements established by the BETC. You can pick up the application from us at the ReSource, download it here or at the BETC. The deadline is Friday May 30th.

Save-the-Date(s)

• Saturday April 12th; Volunteers from Canisus College and also UB join us to board up a house near BAVPA; come out to help with that or at the ReSource and meet . . . EVERYBODY!
• First weekend in May; we’ve registered with ReTree WNY to plant 143 trees in the Masten Park and Cold Spring neighborhoods (this is around us and Queen City Farm) There will be more details about this event very soon

Monday and Tuesday we began delivering paint and plywood to a few of the participating schools! It was bitterly cold, but I had warm fuzzies on the inside because we actually had something to deliver, thanks to the generosity of a handful of people who made a monetary donation over the weekend. Because of their donations, we were able to go back to Niemiec’s Builder’s Supply Store and purchase more plywood.

Amanda and I drove out to Akron on Monday afternoon to drop off the plywood and paint that Jill Cornell’s classes will use to create their peace murals. We also dropped off some paint for Nathan Backes at Oracle Charter School.

Tuesday, Steffon was a big help because we made more deliveries to: Mr. Jagiello at Lafayette High School, Denise Carr at Kenmore East High School, and Tom Kulaszewski at The Charter High School for Applied Technologies, in Riverside. All the instructors were really excited and it’s a big job for everyone involved–including the teachers–they have to manage teenagers using paint! (part of me is envious and part of me isn’t). Paint is a lot of fun! Each group will receive 20 panels and assorted paints. We still need materials for 16 other schools/groups!

So, if you can sponsor a school or bring more paint or supplies, we desperately need more so that we can continue to deliver on Monday. You can bring your used house paint and primer to the ReSOURCE this Saturday from 10-4pm. If you have old sheets or paint brushes, rollers or pans–every little bit helps! Please call us for additional delivery times or donations 716-885-4131.

If you would like to make an on-line donation, please visit our paypal page.

It’s amazing! In just a few weeks, 30 art classes and youth organizations have stepped forward to participate in the Neighborhood Peace Mural Project, an effort to address blight in the neighborhoods surrounding schools and to empower youth to take an active role in improving their communities. The endeavor has been greeted with tremendous enthusiasm by students, their teachers and principals alike; it offers the opportunity for so many students to display their artwork, improve our neighborhoods, and discuss the topics of peace, community, and government.

Despite the excitement of those currently invested in the project, we have struggled to get the support of building supply stores for donations of materials to enable the project. Many company contacts, though supportive of the project, point to high demands for plywood due to storms as a reason why they are unable to provide a donation of 400 plywood boards. With one exception, Niemiec’s Builder’s Supply (716) 884-6990 at 800 Grant Street, who committed 25 boards for the project. A huge thank you to Niemiec’s for stepping up to support the project! We also want to thank Hyatt’s Art Supply for donating some new acrylic paint tubes and brushes!

Because of the crunch, we have yet to meet our demand for board up materials/canvasses for this project. Although we haven’t received all the donations of boards needed to get us going with the project, we want to thank the many folks from the community who have stepped forward with donations of house paint…a way to recycle your unused paint for a purpose. We’ll continue to accept primer and house paint in our store at 298 Northampton Street, please contact Kevin 308-7399 to coordinate a drop off…all colors/blends are welcome!

With the intention of keeping this project moving forward, we are asking for your financial support. We are spearheading a sponsorship campaign to raise the funds necessary to get this project off the ground.

We’re also meeting with the City of Buffalo on Monday, with hopes that they will commit support for the project. If they come through in a big way (provide the plywood panels), we will commit all raised funds to greenspace projects this spring to purchase plants, flowers, shrubs, trees, and gardening materials to create dynamic community gardens and micro parks.

So please help spread the word!

$135 Full sponsorship for one school…would cover the costs for 20 canvasses for peace and supplies.

$65 Ten boards to support a community group that has adopted a vacant house in a Buffalo neighborhood near its school. (If you want to bring the boards that you’ve purchased–that’s wonderful too!)

$30 A big step towards getting us rolling.

Your sponsorships will go to work immediately! We have deliveries scheduled for this Monday with materials that have been pledged so far, yet, we have a long way to go. Please respond by email with your commitment for materials OR go straight to our donation page. Your participation will be critical to enabling the project.

Also, Mark your Calendars! On Saturday, March 8th….join us for the Neighborhood Peace Mural Exhibition at the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum, 453 Porter Ave, from 6-8 p.m. You’ll have an opportunity to meet the young artists and see many of the canvasses that will blanket neighborhoods around schools.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!

Onward,

Buffalo ReUse Staff and Volunteers