AHFH Restore Earns 2007 Keep Austin Beautiful Award

The Austin Habitat for Humanity ReStore has received the 2007 Keep Austin Beautiful Award for Recycling and Waste Reduction which was presented February 7th at an awards luncheon.

The AHFH ReStore receives this award on the 15th Anniversary of The ORIGINAL ReStore, located at 310 Comal in East Austin. In 1992, Austin Habitat for Humanity opened the first ReStore in the nation and offered reusable building materials for sale to the public. From its first month in operation, The ORIGINAL ReStore has operated at a profit which supports the affordable building goals of Austin Habitat.

This original Austin concept has now been replicated by over 500 Habitat affiliates across the nation. The Austin Habitat ReStore is the national model from which all ReStore operations have been developed and this year will host the National ReStore Conference to be held here in Austin this fall.

While the ReStore’s primary function is the support of Austin Habitat for Humanity, the ReStore also directly reflects the organization’s mission of eliminating poverty housing. By offering affordable building materials to the community so that low-income homeowners may affect home repairs on their own property, Austin Habitat is eliminating the burden of substandard housing, one ReStore shopper at a time.

In a community as ecologically aware as Austin, Austin Habitat is proud of the “green” aspects our ReStore brings to the community. Each year, almost a half-million tons of reusable material are recycled through the AHFH ReStore. Used doors, light fixtures, bathtubs and windows are but a few of the items ReStore donors drop off at our Comal store each day, avoiding landfill abuse and making better housing possible for their friends and neighbors.

The impact the AHFH ReStore has had on the Austin environment is undeniable. Winner of the 1995 Governor’s Award for environmental excellence, the AHFH ReStore has averted millions of tons of material from Austin area landfills since it’s founding in 1992 and continues to receive the attention of environmental mappers from across the country.

Austin Habitat very much depends upon community support to continue to meet the needs of our community and thanks everyone for fifteen years of ReStore support.