Did you know that many of Buffalo Public Schools require students to do community service before graduation?  Unfortunately, there is not a set policy or a set number or hours required across the board, so it’s important for parents, students and teachers to discuss the benefits of community service at home and in the classroom.  You can ask your child’s teacher, “Do you engage my child in any service learning?”  Over the summer we saw a lot of students but it has tapered off a little now that the school year has resumed.

TEENS LISTEN UP! At ReUse, we want students to know that whether or not your parents or your school requires you to volunteer you should find an organization or project that interests you now and begin volunteering.  Yes, you may learn about team work and leadership from participating in sports, but there are lots of other things to learn too (I was horrible at sports).  If you volunteer at ReUse you learn very practical things–like how to use tools and how to organize projects and groups.  You learn creative problem solving and planning.  You see how your attention and involvement make a difference in the neighborhood and the environment.  Some projects are FUN, like harvesting strawberries or painting and some are just part of our chores, like raking, denailing lumber or measuring doors for customers. No matter what we’re doing, we want you to learn that hard work can still be enjoyable.

The other big reason to volunteer is so that you build relationships.  After just a few volunteer sessions you have more people (besides your teachers or parents) who can speak positively about your work ethic, talents, skills, enthusiasm and self discipline.  You may be a horrible math student, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t good at other things.  When you volunteer you interact with other adults and people who can recommend you for employment, scholarships or other opportunities.  Plus, sometimes you might meet experts in fields that interest you, like Architecture, Urban Planning or Photography and they can mentor you.  Besides that, you might actually make new friends too.

Please click on this link or the photo to see other young people volunteering.

PARENTS LISTEN UP! From our perspective, volunteering is a very important value to instill in every child because volunteering teaches awareness, responsibility, leadership and citizenship.  I don’t think they are hokey concepts.  When you stop and think about what kind of human being you want to raise–independent, considerate, generous, reliable etc know that those traits can be developed through volunteerism.  ReUse offers all kinds of meaningful projects to engage you and your child.  Please have a conversation with your child about volunteering.  In the spring and summer months we definitely have a lot more opportunities for children under 14, but we still expect for parents to join their younger kids.

Please click on the link to hear one parent’s perspective on bringing his child to ReUse this summer.

Right now the weather is changing over.  Most of our projects are outdoors and we work even in very cold conditions.  It’s very important for students and parents to make plans to volunteer now while there are still lots of projects to do during the tolerable weather.  Please don’t wait until Christmas Break because we will be minimally staffed as well.

Please contact Danielle about volunteering at volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org and visit our volunteer page for more details

If you’ve been following the blog and facebook, you know the reason we’re hosting tonight’s Talent & Treasure Auction is so we can raise at least $6,000 toward our stipend for our two current Americorps Members, Brad and Scott. But what you might not know is how much more that 6K gets us. For almost 2yrs now we’ve been truly blessed to work with Americorps WNY and the 6 members who have served with us, Michele Silberman, Matthew Lapennas, Ben Kaiser, Rachel Mathews, Scott Kozak and Brad Kujawski.
There is no way we could have started all we have been able to accomplish with the Tool Library, all of the community gardens, the free DIY workshops, volunteer coordination, store maintenance, neighborhood improvements, tabling events and our other events and shenanigans without them–we couldn’t have even done as fabulous a job with the Extreme Demo or the Extreme Premiere!
Although we have had hundreds of hours from volunteers, this crew has provided the necessary volunteer training and support and filled in the gaps when we were short on volunteers and staff.  Their service has been crucial to this organization.

In my opinion our Americorps Members have done more to create ReUse’s positive reputation in the community than any other single person in our organization. We cannot maintain our high level of activity or grow without them.
I hope that if you do support the mission of Buffalo ReUse, you will come to tonight’s auction. It is absolutely a worthy cause. If you cannot make it to tonight’s event, but you still want to make a donation toward our Americorps stipend, please click here to go to our secure Paypal page or you can also mail a check.   Please put “Americorps stipend” in the memo section.  I also invite you to click on the photo which will take you to hundreds of other photos that prove just how much our Americorps Members have done for Buffalo, our neighborhood and this organization.
Thank you for your support.

A group art show presented by CFGB (Community Foundation for Great Buffalo) and FEHR (Family Environmental Health Resources) designed to raise awareness about the issues surrounding safe housing and healthy children.

Call for artists

The art show is designed to show by picture and word, how to be aware of, how to identify and how to protect your children from dangers and toxins in the environment. 

The show will highlight the conditions of and remedies necessary to take an unsafe, unhealthy home and make it a safe and healthy environment for all members of the family, especially children.  Artwork in all medium and written word which embodies the aforementioned themes presented will be graciously accepted for exhibit.

We anticipate works showing the positive themes (good nutrition, safe homes, and active kids) as well as negative themes (deteriorated housing, urban blight, and under-utilized parks).  We invite works that highlight urban problems, and offer solutions for green and healthy homes, in Buffalo and beyond.

Show:  April 16^th-22^nd at 464 Gallery, 464 Amherst Street Buffalo, NY 14207

Hours:
Friday, 4/16/10: 12-6pm
Saturday, 4/17/10: 11-6pm
Monday, 4/19/10: TBD
Tuesday, 4/20/10: Reception time TBD
Wednesday, 4/21/10: 12-6pm
Thursday, 4/22/10: 12-6pm

For more about 464 Gallery:  http://www.mindweb.us/Welcome.html

To offer a piece for the show email to Marcus Weiss at: mindweb.us {at} mac(.)com

Part Three of a Series

This series of informational blog posts come from a document Mike,Caesandra and Kevin created to help orient new Buffalo ReUse board members to our mission,vision,values and the actual history of our organization.This is a repeat of our earlier post on Buffalo ReUse’s values – we consider them so important we’re saying it again!.

Earlier parts: One Two

We’ve been reflecting on our shared values lately.These values are things we hold dear and show by practicing them that we consider them to be important to us and our community. We practice them as we move our mission forward and express our vision. It’s how we work together,and, be assured, they work for us.

We believe:

• That when you have a good idea, you need to try it.  Words rarely provide solutions to challenging problems, actions do.  Dream it, Do It!
• That you can inspire people through doing and that by doing you create opportunities for people to come together.
• That every individual in a community deserves a voice, that everyone should have access to opportunities, that everyone has the right to freely express their own ideas and concerns, as long as it does not infringe on the rights of others.

Read the rest of this entry »

Micki, one of our Green Space Coordinators just alerted us to the fact that Majora Carter will be in Toronto this Friday!  I have been wanting to share her with you guys for awhile and intended to do it this month as part of featuring WOMEN WITH GREEN HEART for Women’s History Month and so it fits perfectly!  You may have seen Majora on cable TV recently because her story is one the natural foods snack company, True North, has selected.  She is an activist for greening the South Bronx with tree plantings, parks and training folks in green collar jobs.  Majora is a role model for other women who are also dedicated to improving quality of life and creating community.  Her sincerity and passion for her community is undeniable.  Majora shares the continual struggles of morale, poverty and safety that she faced growing up in the ghetto and that young people in the South Bronx still overcome every day.  Majora was formerly director of Sustainable South Bronx which has multiple green projects–from cycling to cleaning up polluted lots.  Their programs provide tangible goals and hope for the neighbors.

Micki wants to get to Toronto and see Majora–because we tried to get her here back in November and she was already booked.  Majora is the keynote speaker for Greening the Neighbourhood.. and how much it won’t cost us
followed by panel with Joe Pantalone, Ben Powless, Blake Poland, & Eric Miller
Friday March 13, 2009, noon-2pm @ UofT’s Hart House
If you’re interested in carpooling, please get in touch with Micki at greenspaces {at} buffaloreuse(.)org or meet her at Sweetness 7 at 10am–she’s a petite, curly haired cyclist.

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