With your support, we ACCOMPLISHED a lot in 2022!
We thought you would appreciate a PROGRESS Report on how far we’ve come!
We revamped our store, making things EASIER to find and creating a SAFER and more accessible space for shoppers, staff, and volunteers. We revised our donation standards, only accepting REUSABLE reclaimed materials in “dignity condition,” increasing the VALUE of donated materials by 60% without raising prices. And we continue to strengthen partnerships with local businesses, allowing us to source newer, CODE-COMPLIANT materials.
We expanded our educational programming. Highlighting repair HOME REPAIR SKILLS and CREATIVE reuse, we now offer a more extensive slate of electrical classes, wood refinishing, and jewelry-making, in addition to our array of woodworking, plumbing, and mosaic-making classes. We designed our new education shop (opening in January!) for people with a wider RANGE of ABILITIES. And we continued to offer need-based SCHOLARSHIPS, lowering our already AFFORDABLE tuition
We hired new staff to build our Home Retention Program, launching in spring 2023. This program will help low-income homeowners maintain and retain their homes by providing free materials, free delivery and installation, and free home repair skills classes for income-qualified participants. We are eager to start leveraging our resources to support housing stability and reduce displacement.
But wait, there’s more! Here’s what’s coming in 2023:
Furthering our effort to remove cost as a barrier to access, we kick off our new COMMUNITY Membership in January! The Community Membership extends our Maker MEMBERSHIP benefits at no cost to Community Members who make less than 60% of median income. This includes DISCOUNTS on materials, free DELIVERY, and free CLASSES. Most exciting, we will share our new education space with OPEN SHOP!
This spring we will officially launch our HOME RETENTION PROGRAM, offering FREE home-repair classes, distributing free materials, and providing free delivery and installation services to low-income homeowners. Working with community PARTNERS, we will also take our home-repair classes out into community with our MOBILE SHOP, an electric van outfitted with all the equipment and tools needed to teach these necessary skills.
All of this work in the coming year is funded entirely by community donations of financial support. You know us and love us, and your support will help us grow our impact in these exciting ways! Please consider joining us today by making a gift to our Rebuilding for Justice Campaign.
Thank you! from the Team at Rebuilding Center
PS. Be sure to check out the VOICES of Rebuilding Center on our ReBuilding for Justice Campaign page! Hear from our community about how we are building community strength and climate resilience in all sorts of ways.