July 21st, 2023
Community Spotlight Blog by Angelina Brandt, Director of Sustainability
Interviewees: Lee Anne Albritton, Ulster County Habitat for Humanity ReStore Manager
The Recycling Outreach Team’s “Community Spotlight” initiative highlights local stories about waste-sustainability. This month, Angelina sat down with Lee Anne Albritton, Ulster County Habitat for Humanity ReStore Manager. Founded in 1996, Ulster County Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit organization that helps families build and improve their homes. Ulster Habitat has built 24 homes for 24 local families and has a goal of building 3 homes a year, helping to address affordable housing. The ReStore opened in 2013 and is an important fundraising mechanism to support their mission. A hybrid of its own, the Restore is part retail outlet, home store, warehouse, and building supply hub for all your home decor and home renovation needs! Lee Anne has been working at Habitat for two and half years and previously worked with other non-profits in the region, like Poughkeepsie Farm Project and the Ulster County YMCA. If you enjoy this blog, or know someone who might, please consider sharing this story!
For those who may not know, what is the mission of Habitat for Humanity?
We are dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally through constructing homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions.
How did you first get involved with Habitat for Humanity? And what about this organization or its mission has drawn you to stay involved?
I’ve always been involved with non-profits from affordable childcare to food justice and urban farming, as well as involved in sustainable living and environmentally sound practices. So this felt like a natural fit.
What is a restore and what sorts of items are accepted for donation?
ReStore is a major part of our fundraising, and all proceeds go towards meeting our goal of building three houses per year in Ulster County. We accept most gently used inventory such as furniture, rugs, small and large appliances, building materials, art, lamps, plumbing, electronics and housewares.
What is the coolest item that has been donated recently?
That’s such a hard question to answer because we get such a variety. To paraphrase, Coolness is in the eye of the beholder! I do love the Moroccan Teak chairs with Mother of Pearl inlay that we have right now, and we had a whole gorgeous brand new kitchen last week donated from Rhinebeck Kitchen and Bath.
What are some unexpected things people may not realize that they can purchase at the Restore?
Most people seem surprised to discover that we have CDs and DVDs, LED lightbulbs, jewelry, and great art!
Your website has some stats that the ReStore has ~30,000 Annual Visitors and 85,000 Items Sold each year. In your own words, how does reuse impact the lives of your customers? And how does this program help enhance Habitat for Humanity’s missions and other services? ?
I love this question, because I get new answers to it almost every day! For some, it’s a place to find unique décor. For others we’re a place to find tools and building materials for small remodeling jobs. And others are in need of some basic necessities in the kitchen like microwaves, coffee makers, toasters, crockpots and even pots and pans. Everything is donated, so we are able to price everything at a fraction of what it would cost regularly. We’re also directly participating in the recycling economy and helping keep things out of landfills. We have a fantastic partnership with Inquiring Minds Bookstore, Kingston Design Connection as well as the Hudson Valley National Center for Veteran Reintegration, and both Family of Woodstock and Ulster County United Way with their emergency relief programs. We also recently started working with some youth from The ARC and their job training program.
If people have large items they can’t deliver, is there a donation pick up option?
Yes, for Ulster County residents, we’ll come with our 20 foot box truck to your place and take as much as we can. WE ask that you email us photos of the items with your address and phone number, and we’ll usually have you on the schedule within a week.
For items you do not accept – can you share any remarks about what they are, or why it’s important to be selective about collecting quality items?
Thanks for asking! While we hate to turn anything away, we are at our core a fundraising program, so we wind up paying to throw out anything we can’t sell. Most of our donors understand, and we try to suggest other possibilities if it’s in good shape but just something we don’t take (like children’s furniture or toys). I think sometimes people don’t understand that when they don’t want an item anymore because it’s broken, severely stained, or is missing vital parts to make it work, those are the same reasons that no one else wants it either! However, we do still try to redirect them to local repair shops, certain social media platforms or other organizations that have people who might be able to salvage it before sending them to the transfer station.
Habitat Restore participates in the Paint Care NY program. How does that work? How is it going??
Our partnership with Paint Care NY is relatively new, but so far it’s working out really well. They take care of everything, we are just another collection site for them. We accept up to ten gallons per day per customer, which can be dropped off between 11am and 4pm Wednesday – Saturday. We also offer recycled paint products in the store that residents can purchase.
What Volunteer Opportunities are there to get involved with Habitat for Humanity???
We have several volunteer opportunities, mainly at ReStore right now. For ReStore, people volunteer to help in a variety of ways, whether it’s testing electronics, lamps and appliances, to sorting, cleaning and displaying housewares, rugs, and furniture.
But there are opportunities at the build site depending on the construction schedule.
In 2022, ReStore had an average of 20 volunteers per week, who donated an annual total of 4,260 hours!
And the build site had an average of 12 volunteers per week, with an annual total of 4,216 hours.
I should also make sure we recognize our Board of Directors who meet several times/month, BOCES, and the Bruderhoff youth building program
Other than the resale program, what other waste reduction practices do you have happening in the store, behind the scenes?
Of course, we recycle as much as possible. I’ve already mentioned the Paint Care collaboration, but we also work with Inquiring Minds as a book drop, and immigration and emergency services organizations to provide essential household items as best we can. We will do occasional minor repairs on furniture as well.
What is one thing you wish people knew about the Restore or about Habitat for Humanity?
It’s a common misperception that HH give houses to our family partners, but they in fact purchase the homes and hold the mortgages themselves. We just help working families attain a quality built home with low interest rates so that they can actually continue to build their own foundations for success for future generations as well. A huge project we’ve taken on recently is acquiring enough acreage in Saugerties to build 9-10 homes in the next few years!
Contact Habitat for Humanity
donations@ulsterhabitat.org
volunteers@ulsterhabitat.org
(845)853-7499
