It's hard to miss the cans of water at EMB 1999 sporting the Habitat for Humanity name and an orange house logo -- Aluminum Cans Build Habitat for Humanity Homes shipped 24,000 of them to Americus for the blitz.click to enlarge More about the 1999 Easter Morning Build: Return to Thursday's 1999 EMB Report Recycling Gives Build Waste New Life Turning Empty Cans into Habitat Houses More Updates: Monday | Tuesday Wednesday | Friday 1998 Easter Morning Build |
Turning Empty Cans into Habitat Houses
AMERICUS, Georgia (April 1, 1999) -- If you run across Steve Thompson during this week's Easter Morning Build, he might tell you to "can it."
Because, as national program director for Aluminum Cans Build Habitat for Humanity Homes (ACBHHH), Thompson is interested in how volunteers discard their aluminum. Where many of us see empty cans, he sees family-filled houses.
ACBHHH is a partnership between the Aluminum Association and Habitat for Humanity and was established to maximize the use of aluminum-can recycling as a means of fund raising.
And, because it's an easy way to help build more houses, Thompson wants to get everyone in the country recycling cans.
Thompson estimates that if only 1 percent of the money earned each year through aluminum-can recycling were donated to Habitat, volunteers nationwide could build an extra 250 houses.
"We're trying to make it easy for the public to donate the cost of cans," he said, "and we've established this partnership to do just that."
It's hard to overlook the cans of water at EMB2 sporting the Habitat for Humanity name and an orange house logo. That's because ACBHHH shipped 24,000 of them to Americus for the blitz. A year ago, ACBHHH shipped 100,000 cans of water to the Jimmy Carter Work Project in Houston. Its support of Habitat has included house sponsorships at JCWPs and both Easter Morning Builds.
This week, Aluminum Association teams from Tennessee, Indiana and Kentucky have come to help homeowners Candace and Farenza Deriso build their home, EMB House No. 13.
Thompson estimates that during the Holy week blitz EMB volunteers will recycle about 2,000 pounds of aluminum cans worth approximately $60. And if affiliates around the country commit to a consistent recycling program, aluminum can generate more and more houses.
ACBHHH has made available $500,000 in grant money to local affiliates that illustrate a plan for recycling. The grant proposal deadline for the first round of ACBHHH funding is May 1.
Thompson said his group also is trying to get the Habitat for Humanity cans of water in stores. If that happens, Habitat could benefit both from the sale of the canned water and from the profit in recyclable aluminum.
That would allow Habitat supporters to "be nice twice," Thompson said.
Return to Thursday's 1999 EMB Report
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