| 2/19/2009 11:33:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Habitat for Humanity opens second ReStore
For northern Kent County residents, Habitat for Humanity of Kent County's announcement of opening a second ReStore in Kent City is a dream come true. For over four years, Habitat's landmark ReStore, located at 5701 South Division in southwest Grand Rapids, has been a bargain hunter's dream.
Everything from new and gently used building supplies, hardware, lighting and more are donated by businesses and individuals and resold at deep discounts of 50-70 percent off retail. Proceeds go toward building Habitat homes throughout Kent County - and millions of pounds are diverted from area landfills.
Trouble is, ReStore's inventory turns over nearly daily, and shoppers, remodelers, and treasure hunters like to stop in often. If you live in northern Kent County, that has meant a long round trip on U.S. 131. Until now.
In December of 2008, the organization opened a second ReStore, located at 280 N Ball Creek Rd., just north of 17 Mile Road in Kent City. On Sat., Feb. 21, the community will be celebrating the Kent City ReStore grand opening from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., with a special dedication ceremony scheduled for 11 a.m. The festivities will include free food, door prizes every hour and special pricing on everything throughout the store.
"We are really excited about our Kent City ReStore," said ReStore Director Tom Hyde. "We all know these are tough economic times, and families are looking for ways to maintain or improve their properties without breaking their bank.
"We invite the community to come out and check us out, enjoy the food and fun, and stop back often as we are constantly turning over our inventory. We also encourage anyone who is remodeling or deconstructing a house or business to consider donating reusable items. We offer pick up for large donations and want to keep wood, windows, lighting and other reusable products from filling up our landfills."
ReStore is open on Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For additional information call (616) 678-5095.
The Power of Recycling
Since ReStore opened its doors in 2004, Habitat for Humanity of Kent County's ReStore has diverted an estimated 2,772,640 pounds or 1,386 tons of material from the landfill. With ReStore's gross sales rising every year, that's a huge impact on the environment ... and this is just from the Habitat Kent ReStore!
Just How Big is 2,772,640 pounds - or 1,386 tons?
To gain greater perspective of the amount of waste the Habitat for Humanity of Kent County ReStore has diverted from landfills, Habitat challenged students in the Rockford High School Math Club with a brain teaser we all could relate to.
How many times would the waste "fill up" Fifth Third Ball Park - where Rockford math teacher Bob Wells also doubles as an emcee for fun and games during inning changes.
His students found ...
"Based on 2,772,640 pounds and the estimated dimensions of Fifth Third Ball Park, if one were to simply stand on the brim of the stadium armed with an endless supply of styrofoam cups (think 'hot chocolate' cups), and tossed them one at a time into the ball park, he/she could fill up the entire stadium to the top of the structure 15 times over. Doing this at a rate of one cup per second without stopping, it would take just short of 20 years to toss in as much waste as Habitat for Humanity has saved from area landfills."
Habitat for Humanity would like to thank the following students for their hard work at solving this "problem":
Beccie Manshaem
Nicole Feinauer
Jim Scott
Collin McWatters
Lauren Korlewitz
Caleb Post
Bob Wells, teacher
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