ReNew Building Materials & Salvage held their annual awards dinner at the Riverview Restaurant Monday night, where they distributed grants to three local housing organizations, among them several chapters of Habitat for Humanity. In the process, founder Erich Kruger highlighted the numerous ways in which ReNew has been of service to the local community through its building materials recycling and retail services. Unmentioned until near the end of the program were the architects drawings of the new ReNew building which they hope to be building next year.

The dinner had originally been scheduled for Alici’s which hosted it last year, but after a fire there last week cancelled that venue, the Riverview stepped up to help out. Attending were many from the ReNew family of employees and volunteers as well as members of the local housing community.

Kruger introduced the event with an overview of ReNew, stressing its positive efforts in the community. In addition to supplying the local community with affordable building materials, ReNew also helps reduce landfill waste by recycling much that would previously have been tossed. They have programs to train young people in job skills as basic as showing up on time to more complex aspects of the building trade. ReNew has plans to increase its education programs once the new building is in place, helping to fulfill a need that Kruger says is growing in the area for workers trained in the building trades.

Kruger then presented this year’s grants. ReNew awards went to:

Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing
Windham Land Trust
Habitat for Humanity:
- Keene State College
- Monadnock
- Brattleboro Area

Gary Goodemote accepted the award for Brattleboro Area Affordable Housing, which manages several affordable housing projects around Brattleboro. Goodemote said that the award they received would be used to fund the Save Our Homes program which gives out microloans in the amount of $400 or less to very needy people to pay for things such as deposits on rental units, utility bills, and the like. The organization also handles the Apartments in Homes program which offers funding of up to $4,000 to private home owners for the purpose of creating new apartments for rent.

The Windham Housing Trust, formerly the Brattleboro Area Community Land Trust, also received an award, their third in three years. Director Connie Snow thanked ReNew for its support and talked about the benefits of their partnership with ReNew in the building rehab process. ReNew strips out all the materials that can be salvaged from a rehabbed house before contractors go in to do the actual construction. Snow said that the Windham Housing Trust would use the money for a program to assist home owners with needed repairs such as new roofs, heating systems, and the like.

Habitat for Humanity chapter representatives were alike in thanking ReNew for its support of their work. Representatives from the Keene State Chapter said that as land was hard to acquire in Keene, they often were without building projects and appreciate the opportunity to volunteer their labor to ReNew's projects. All groups said they were grateful for the ongoing association and the opportunities it opened up for their organizations.

Kruger closed the evening by reminding everyone that fundraising is going on now for the new building, which he says will help them expand what they do and the programs they can offer. Right now, they are packed into the old Town Crier building and with space lacking, materials have to be stored outside or turned away. Moreover, education programs are limited due to lack of a permanent workshop location.

Kruger asks that people donate what they can to the project which he hopes will be underway by next fall. Details can be found at the ReNew web site: http://www.renewsalvage.org. Contributions can be made online at: http://www.renewsalvage.org/donation.