Happy International Volunteer Day

International Volunteer Day (IVD), is a day of observance set by the United Nations. It was first established in 1985 and since then has been recognized globally as an opportunity for us all, “to promote volunteerism, encourage governments to support volunteer efforts and recognize volunteer contributions at local, national and international levels.”

The theme chosen to mark this year is, "Volunteer for an inclusive future", highlighting the impact that volunteers have in promoting greater inclusion throughout our communities.

The United Nations explains this theme well, “Volunteering provides opportunities for people, particularly those often excluded, to concretely impact their own lives and play a constructive role in their communities by volunteering their time and skills. Through volunteerism, communities around the world often experience strengthened solidarity and inclusion.”

The City of Edmonton encourages staff and facilities to be inclusive environments that provide equitable access to resources and opportunities for all. The Diversity & Inclusion Framework guides this effort throughout our city as we collectively work together to achieve our societal goals. If you want to learn more about this, consider registering here for an event on December 10th to celebrate the launch of the City’s new framework.

The Reuse Centre strives to create an inclusive space for City of Edmonton residents to donate and purchase reusable items and learn about reducing waste through reuse. We all create waste and we all play an important role in being responsible with the waste we create. The Reuse Centre benefits from the work of Volunteer Sorters, Event Assistants and Bloggers. All of our volunteers contribute in different ways; they bring a variety of skills, abilities, and personality with them in fulfilling these roles. At the Reuse Centre, inclusion means that as we all contribute to the mission of diverting waste from landfill and promoting the benefits of reuse to others, and we all share in the continued success of a more sustainable community. Recently, customers and Waste Services staff have recognized the efforts of our volunteers with thank you messages.

Reuse Centre staff sharing a note of thanks

Notes of thanks written by customers

Waste Services staff shares a note of thanks

Jayne (Customer) poses to share a note of thanks

If you are interested in volunteering at the Reuse Centre, view our opportunities here. Want to contribute to our inclusive mission, but don’t want to volunteer? That’s okay too, have a look at our list of accepted items and start collecting some in your home today. Simply bring your collected items along with you on your next trip to an Eco Station or the Reuse Centre.

If you volunteer elsewhere locally, nationally or globally, thank you! 

Submission by Andrea (staff)

Grand Opening Celebration!

The Reuse Centre recently celebrated its move to a bigger, better, brighter location! Our new location is at 6835 83rd Street, just off of Argyll Road. We opened our new doors in early July to record-breaking drop offs and donations. In July alone, Edmontonians donated 22.5 tonnes of reusable items! 

The doors have just been opened!

On July 22nd, we held our Grand Opening Celebration. People began lining up around 11:30 a.m. and from the moment we opened the doors, we had a full house. Over the course of the day, 1.9 tonnes of reusable material was donated, and 1.7 tonnes were purchased! We were thrilled to see that so many people had come to celebrate with us. There were many long-time customers and friends of the Reuse Centre, plus a whole lot of new faces. 

Ringing up some new customers

It was an amazing day, and we'd like to extend our thanks to all of the volunteers, customers, and City of Edmonton staff who've supported us and helped us make the Reuse Centre such a success. We could not have come this far or had such a fantastic event without your help.

Councillor Mike Nickel and WMS Branch Manger Leo Girard
weighing in some office supplies

We would also like to extend our thanks to Councillor Mike Nickel, who came along to celebrate with us. He took a turn in our drop off area, along with Waste Management Services Branch Manager, Leo Girard.

Councillor Nickel, Reuse Centre staffer Karen, and WMS
Branch Manager Leo Girard

Councillor Nickel went above and beyond the call of duty for Reuse Centre customers, bringing carts to them in the parking lot and also helping some to unload their vehicles.

He and Leo had a great time accepting donations, sorting through reusable items, and, of course, being bossed around by Reuse Centre Operator, Karen.

Reuse Crafter volunteer Andrea helps
a little customer get started

Throughout the day we had an amazing contingent of volunteers who helped make this event a success. They gave tours, greeted patrons at the door, answered questions in the volunteer room while they diligently sorted out donated items, and even ran our kids' crafting workshop.

Local duo Bardic Form provided live music throughout the whole event. Thank you for really livening up the atmosphere of our party!

Linda Bodo, upcycle artist extraordinaire, was on hand to teach an adult reuse workshop. She taught patrons how to make amazing bird feeders out of plastic cd cases. 

Linda also brought several examples of reuse projects that she has created. Visit her website, absolutebodo.com, for some amazing reuse tips and tricks, as well as fantastic project ideas. 

Linda Bodo's workshop gets
underway

Workshop participants making
birdfeeders

We were also thrilled to host some of Edmonton's local news crews. Check out these clips from Global and CBC news.

Thank you, Edmonton, for showing us such a warm welcome to our new location!

Please visit us soon, at 6835 83rd Street, just off of Argyll Road.

Join us as we go forth and REUSE!

Hey! Thanks for stopping by. Welcome to the first post of Reuse-it Edmonton blog. We are a bunch of passionate reusers working to provide a digital space to promote reuse and share stories about the City of Edmonton Reuse Centre. 

The Reuse Centre 

Let’s start off with a little bit about  the Reuse Centre. The centre is a facility that promotes reusing in Edmonton by accepting items that aren't accepted elsewhere and selling them to individuals and organizations for a small flat rate fee. We are all pretty proud of the fact that we have diverted over 560 tons of items since 2007! 

A happy customer

Over the years, we have also become sort of a community hub in Edmonton. We have customers that drop by every day to browse through our store, chat with staff and sometimes let us know what they do with the treasures they pick up here. We have an active and essential troop of volunteers, made up of citizens, community groups and businesses, who help with sorting, educating, promoting and touring.

Walter, one of our volunteers working hard!

So, in essence, this blog is going to try to expand our community by connecting on-line with those passionate about reuse.  Our goal is to provide a space for people to learn and share. So stay tuned for posts that highlight reuse tips, reuse crafting ideas, reuse news, customer and volunteer profiles and anything else reuse.

We value your input and welcome any comments*, feedback, suggestions and/or ideas!  If you would like to connect with us, leave a comment or e-mail us.

In honour of this new blog, we have devised a contest for our readers. Answer the question: What ways do you reuse during the holidays? Your name will be entered in a draw for a $5 gift card to the Reuse Centre. Please submit your answer by commenting on this post. Deadline is December 16^th. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by and happy reusing!

(*We just ask commenters to adhere to the guidelines for commenting outlined under the Blog Comment Policy tab)

- Hayley (Staff)