We are helping the environment by reclaiming old wood and metal and donating it to the schools in our county that have wood or metal shop programs.

We found out that many of the old buildings, on a closed military base, still had the hardwood furniture in them. My husband, Gary, put a plan together. He got permission to remove the old furniture from the buildings and secured a warehouse on the closed base. Gary then met with all the shop teachers with his plan. It was so well received that many teachers asked what they could do to help.

Gary started an organization called "Reclaim For The Future". Several times a year the teachers and students attend a "Reclaim Day" where they load up the furniture in trucks, take it back to the warehouse, unload, disassemble, sort and stack it ready for pickup by the teachers.

The snowball effect has been tremendous. We have furniture makers, cabinet shops and building contractors donating their leftover wood and metal. We now sell some of the students work and educate the community about our project at community markets and street fairs, with the help of the retail career classes. All the proceeds go back to the schools which help pay the shop fees and material fees for the kids that can't afford it.

This is truly a win-win situation. The teachers and students get to keep their program going, the kids get community service hours and learn about recycling and repurposing materials.