In-Kind Donations: Our Greatest Need

In just one year, Rebuild Upstate’s Easley Warehouse has had a profound impact on our home repair program in more ways than we ever thought possible. 

The most immediate impact has been the expansion of storage space.

Since moving into the warehouse, we’ve:

• Moved most of our tools out of containers and into an indoor space where they are inventoried by volunteers and repaired on-site as needed. 
• Constructed indoor and outdoor shelving to house various lengths of lumber that will eventually build ramps for neighbors in need. 
• Begun prefabricating metal ramps ahead of installation, and recently installed our first temporary metal ramp. 
• Trained construction volunteers on-site using real prototypes of plumbing repairs, ramp builds, and other typical repair projects. For the first time, we have a dedicated volunteer training space where annual Site Leader and Handyman Club trainings can occur. We also have new volunteer opportunities created for warehouse maintenance and inventory. 

Recent construction upgrades funded by a matching campaign will create dedicated office space for project managers and other repair program staff to do their jobs more efficiently, and allow us the room to prepare for future staff growth. 

During this transition period, we’ve been strategizing how to best accommodate materials donations. There are some project materials needed more than others, which are easier to deploy and are needed more frequently. We now have inventory tracking in development and are ready to accept certain materials to pilot the system.

Generous community members have already donated usable materials and other items that have ultimately helped families in need. Now, we’re finally ready to begin accepting more specific materials to expand our impact on families in need. 

Our greatest material donation need is and will always be lumber. Treated lumber, to be exact. We don’t need scraps – we make and use plenty of that on our own! 

You can help us stack lumber by connecting us with a general contractor or lumber supplier that may have the means to support us with donated or discounted treated lumber on a recurring basis. Email Dennis Beck at [email protected] to get the conversation started.

Thanks to generous private funders and a small group of individuals, we have funded 75% of this warehouse purchase. There’s still time to help us in the home stretch and earn a permanent spot on our warehouse Neighbor Wall with a $250 or more gift.