Today is Earth Day, an observance that in many ways is about repurposing.
Which is also what the ReStore is about.
The ReStore at 1825 Earl L. Core Road in Sabraton is an affiliate operation of Mon Valley Habitat for Humanity, the organization that builds houses for people who might not realize the dream of home ownership otherwise.
From 10 a.m.-2 p.m. today the ReStore is hosting its annual “Spring Fling” in honor of the day dedicated to the planet we call home.
“We’re pretty excited,” said Elaine McVay, Habitat’s director. “This is our tie-in with Earth Day.”
Drop off your gently used items for a second life, she said — then browse a new inventory, including items from a local resort, for an additional “ReStore-restock” promotion that’s also part of the day.
One of those new products is “Miss Lillian’s No Wax Chock Paint,” the director said, which is hitting the shelves just in time for your latest DIY project.
The day also includes free activities for all ages — with a 10% off coupon going to the first 100 customers.
“With every item you donate or buy, you’re playing a vital role in improving the lives of families in need of better housing,” she said.
“You’ll be making such a difference.”
From its Morgantown headquarters, Mon Valley Habitat has been doing that since 1990, when it helped its first family put up a house by way of “sweat equity” and other volunteer help.
That’s how Habitat works: Qualifying families help build the homes they’ll soon occupy, with experts handling the electrical work, footers and other more complex aspects of the contracting.
Now an international organization, Habitat had humble beginnings in Americus, Ga., in 1976.
Habitat’s humanist, how-to manual — that the families moving in volunteer for every aspect of the construction they safely can — caught the fancy of then-Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter, who was elected U.S. president that Bicentennial year.
Today, there are more than 800,000 Habitat houses in the world, from Tucker County to Tanzania.
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