Fall / Winter 2012
With the announcement of the DOL grant we did what felt like a complete turnaround in a matter of a few days. We finished up with the fair and started planning for the new DOL program to start in September. Staff was hired and outreach started. A new cohort of participants began our newly structured Mental Toughness in November and three young men started on training platforms in December. We began another Mental Toughness session in January and have eight young people ready to join the worksite crew very soon. Currently we’re preparing for the Home & Garden Show in March, our Annual Breakfast in March and continuing to expand collaborative projects with other groups in the community.
August 2012, What a Month!
Simply put, August was a roller coaster! While we continued to wait on word about Department of Labor funding and continued to wonder about our future, we also had some great things happening. One of those great things is Olivia Lewers, our AmeriCorps VISTA, that started with us working on engaging alumni and strenghthening our YouthBuild culture. We also kicked of the renovation of our 9th Street SW property with help from our friends at the North Canton Home Depot and built a greenhouse on campus with help from volunteers from GE Finance! We said goodbye to our summer youth workers by having a cookout and spending an afternoon playing miniature golf and racing go karts. Finally, the month was capped off by learning that we were awarded a $1 million Department of Labor grant to begin in September and run through the summer of 2014! It was a good month!
July 2012, OMG It’s JULY Already!
Where is the summer (and this year) going?? Our construction training program is going at full speed – the SMHA project finished up in July and we got started on another, one portion of the Phoenix Rising project is complete and another is underway, we started a new co-op program with our friends at Community Building Partnership, we’ve been making flags for Mohler Lumber and PR Futures has had some projects this month! Oh, and we’ve also been busy with the garden watering every day and starting to harvest a few vegetables. We took some time for fun at Christmas in July thanks to Maria and everyone at Arcadia Grille and we played a round a little at the Annual Huth Foundation Golf Invitational.
June 2012, Summer’s Here!
June brought hot temperatures, graduations, new friends and summer programs. We hosted a June First Friday event at Buzzbin Magazine and our good friend Ryan Humbert performed for the crowd all to benefit Project REBUILD. We also continued working with our friends from Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities and began a new program with Reentry Bridge Network. The community garden continued to grow in both the number of gardeners and the popularity. We also learned that we were awared an AmeriCorps VISTA through YouthBuild USA so we started the process of recruiting and interviewing potential candidates to start in August. And, we can’t forget why we’re here; we continued to work hard on both the SMHA property and the Phoenix Rising projects during the month! And finally, we celebrated graduation with eight worksite participants!
May 2012, “We almost missed it”!
The month of May was incredibly busy – so busy in fact, we almost forgot our update! Where to begin?? We participated in First Friday to finish up our murals for the 720 Building with Arts In Stark Project, we submitted our proposal to the Department of Labor, we made an additional ten picnic tables for Mohler, we hosted our YouthBuild USA Mentoring Coach, the Community Garden is almost full and growing, we’re working on the SMHA Project at Arnold, working at Phoenix Rising and an exterior painting project in Canton. Whew! Oh, and we’ve been planning for summer that includes our June First Friday Listening Party with Ryan Humbert, the Canton Marathon (where you can sponsor a runner to benefit Project REBUILD), “Christmas in July” at Arcadia Grille and the Huth Foundation Golf Outing. We’re also excited about working with both Reentry Bridge Network and Stark Board of Developmental Disabilities this summer.
April 2012, In Full Swing!
April is here and we hit the ground running…our construction projects are going strong with a project for SMHA in progress, a project for Phoenix Rising moving forward, a new fence install, picnic tables being made, and an exterior painting project we’re prepping for. We haven’t forgotten about our community service projects though…we worked with Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities and their greenhouse at West Stark and the Community Garden is gaining a lot of interest. If it keeps this up, we’re going to have a VERY busy Summer!
March 2012, Thinking Spring!
With 6o+ degree temps in March you can’t help but have Spring Fever! We do!! March is going to be a busy one…stop by our booth at the Stark County Home & Garden Show March 16-18th and say hello. We’ll have info on PR Futures, LLC and our garden furniture that we do in partnership with Mohler Lumber. Then on the 29th, join us for our Annual Breakfast at the Metropolitan Centre at 7:30 as we honor some special guests. In between those events we’ll be working on construction projects as always. Happy Spring!!
February 2012, Planning for the Future
February and it’s mild weather had us thinking about spring…we completed an order of 20 picnic tables for Mohler Lumber, built a potting bench and birdhouses for the Stark County Home & Garden Show in March, sent out invitations for our Annual Breakfast and completed new projects with PR Futures, LLC.
January 2012, New Projects
With the new year comes new projects…we received a grant from Sisters of Charity Foundation and will start our new PACT Training Platforms this month as well as planning for the ArtsInStark Project that we’ll start soon. Be on the lookout for new murals at the 720 Building later this spring!
December 2011, Collaborations
We’re happy to be working with Belden Elementary students and Reentry Bridge Network on the construction of their puppet show stage.
Project REBUILD participants worked with Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities during the month of December to build birdhouses for gifts.
December 2011, Light Up Downtown
We were happy to be a part of Light Up Downtown again this year…you can see both the Gingerbread House and Santa’s Workshop on the Kresge Green through the month of December.
Summer 2011, Mohler Lumber Partnership
This past summer we created a partnership with Mohler Lumber in North Canton and became a fabricator of picnic tables, adirondack chairs and birdhouses to get us started. We’re looking forward to seeing what else we can create together. Visit their store at 4214 Portage St NW, North Canton to see the Project REBUILD made items.
Summer 2011, Project REBUILD’s Garden
Through a Summertime Kids Grant, we implemented a “Healthy Living” Program this summer and planted a total of six gardens. We’re growing tomatos, peppers, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, cabbage, pumpkins and watermelons.
We held our first “garden lunch” on August 10th!
