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The Birth of ReStore
By Mark Miller
Westwater Construction
Approximately ten years ago the concept of ReStore [2] was born. It all started one day as I walked through Westwater’s [3] warehouse. We had accumulated building materials for years and our warehouse was reaching its capacity. Some of the materials were salvaged from buildings that we demolished and others were left over materials from new construction projects. Excess building materials are normally deposited into local landfills once jobs are complete. Instead, we chose to save as many of the materials as we could in hopes of using them in future projects.
But after years of storing these materials, I decided that they could be better utilized by Sarasota’s Habitat for Humanity [4]. We had items ranging from new tiles to barely used appliances. I instructed one of our employees to contact Habitat to make arrangements to deliver the donations. I was later shocked to learn that Habitat had turned us down. We were told that they would be unable to use our items as they could not build one house with aluminum windows next to another house with premium windows (such as those we were trying to donate).
I was disappointed and became determined to find another solution. I suggested Habitat sell our donated goods and use the proceeds towards building new homes. After working out the legalities, our concept became a reality. ReStore now has locations in Sarasota on 17th Street and Bee Ridge Road.
With over 42,000 square feet of donated items ReStore carries just about anything you can imagine. Habitat still receives donations from builders like Westwater, but now they also accept donations from stores, manufacturers and individuals within our community. ReStore is proud to keep one million pounds of usable products out of our landfills every year by cleaning, recycling and re-selling donated goods. Proceeds generated are then used to build Habitat houses.
Next time you have something nice that you’re getting rid of, please think of making a donation to help our local community by calling ReStore’s donation department at 941-363-0777. And if you’re looking for something new for your house or business, please visit one of the ReStore locations. By shopping at ReStore you support a wonderful charity and help sustain our local environment.
For more information on ReStore, please visit their website at www.restoresrq.org [5].
[1]Mark Miller has been in the construction industry for over 21 years and founded Westwater Construction, Inc. 19 years ago. He also operates a handful of other construction related entities including Fusion, a LED manufacturing company. Mark can be reached for any construction related questions at mark.miller@westwaterconstruction.com [6] or any LED lighting questions at mmiller@fusionensol.com [7].
Copyright © 2012 REAL Magazine
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