ReStore's Birthday Month Will See It's Shoppers Getting Great October Deals

By Austin Sorette

Nobody looks forward to their birthday more than the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Well, except for maybe the members of the Green Alliance. October is the month for celebration because the ReStore is offering a 15% discount on everything in the store for card-carrying members of the Green Alliance for the entire month.

But this isn't the first time that the ReStore has had this awesome sale. Every October since it's first birthday three years ago, the ReStore has showed it's dedication to the Green Alliance by increasing their members discounts to 15%. The business started in Dover, in 2008, as a store that sold new and used products donated to them by local communities and businesses. The founders of the ReStore wanted to give things a second chance to find a good home before they were tossed into the garbage.

“We were really dedicated to helping the environment by reducing the amount of things that get tossed into the garbage while they could still be used,” says Doug Willey, the ReStore store manager, “We don't order items that have to be boxed or shipped. All of the products in our store, new and used, were donated and we're trying to put them into a second home.”

The ReStore is, more or less, like an eco-friendly version of a Lowes Home Improvement store. The inventory consists of items like lumber, hardware, windows, hinges, doors, cabinets, furniture, and much more. Everything that the ReStore has in stock comes from people who donate their items to the store instead of throwing them out while they can still be salvaged.

Which, in turn, is beneficial for all of the parties involved, from the donors, to the customers, to the store itself. The donors can significantly reduce their carbon footprint by not throwing something out and the customers are able to get these items at an incredible price (especially if they are members of the Green Alliance), and will have the satisfaction of knowing that they gave an item a home that is not in a landfill.

Anyone who donates to the ReStore will also be given a donor slip for tax deductible donations. When a person donates to the ReStore, they receive a receipt which they can send it with their taxes and get a deduction off their final cost.

“We want to keep a variety of items in our store so that our customers will have a good selection to choose from, and therefore consider our store more often when they go out ti shop,” says Willey, “Someone can walk into our store and buy a box of nails and feel good about it because they were able to salvage something, that is still in great working condition, from being thrown out.”

The ReStore serves as the primary fundraiser for Southeast NH Habitat for Humanity. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded on the conviction that every man, woman, and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live, regardless of race or religion. The ReStore uses their funds to help finance the houses that Habitat for Humanity builds for these families in need.

“The whole reason we started the store was so that we could support this organization that we care so much for,” says Willey, “Since we've been around, we have been able to built four homes, a duplex in Rochester and a duplex in Farmington.”

The ReStore had first heard about the Green Alliance in the very early stages of their development. The Green Alliance is a local green business union that specializes in promoting local businesses who are environmentally conscious, and also offers a wide variety of discounted green products and services to their card-carrying members. The Green Alliance had been recommended to the store by Simply Green, another business partner to the union that offers alternative fuel options for home heating, diesel and marine fueling within the Seacoast and southern Maine. After hearing about how much promotion that Simply Green was receiving from the Green Alliance, the ReStore immediately got in contact with it's founder and director, Sarah Brown.

“When the ReStore was first starting out in Dover, they were just a small store front in a back alley that wasn't permitted to have proper signage,” says Brown, “We couldn't let this business suffer because they were doing such an incredible service, so we really supported them from the very beginning. Now, we've been able to tell people about this great store and I think that the ReStore has seen some serious results.”

The ReStore has expressed their devotion to the Green Alliance by providing it's card-carrying members with a 10% discount to any of the available stores in the area. And for $25 for the entire year, a membership for the Green Alliance will certainly save you money while you help the ReStore save the planet.

To learn more about the ReStore, visit www.habitat.org/restores

To learn more about the Green Alliance, or to sign up for a membership, visit www.greenalliance.biz