The RE Store has a long history of bootstrapping its own projects and innovations. We have had very few grants over the years. The few we have been awarded were focused on research and development of creative ways to reclaim more materials from the flood stage waste stream that we are drowning in. We already save the equivalent of 5 fully loaded Boeing 747’s per year (over 4,500,000 pounds) and are constantly pushing for more.
Our REvision Division program was started in 2012 with our own precious capital in this challenging economy. Now the Alcoa Foundation has seen fit to support our efforts. The injection of these funds will be used to further improve our education and sharing of ideas that will reduce waste, save you money, and hopefully even help you feel good about growing your do-it-yourself attitude, if you aren’t already a DIY rock star.
Watch this short video with Kurt Gisclair, Director of The RE Store, talking about the 3 main goals of the REvision Division. Josh Wilund, Public Affairs Manager for Alcoa, then goes on to talk about how The RE Store is setting benchmarks for other organizations like Alcoa with reuse, salvage, green demolition aka deconstruction, and more. Josh disclosed that he is a regular shopper and donates materials to The RE Store. When Josh and the Alcoa Foundation team looked deeper into the statistics and metrics of our programs and our proposal to move the ball down the field, that they saw how much of an example The RE Store is setting. The non-profit organization is doing salvage, resale, job training and education and more. The Bellingham and Seattle-based org is continuing to reach out in 2012 with an all-new The RE Store Certified program, the 11th annual Recycled Arts Show, and much more.