[MCN] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Local Nonprofit Business Puts Down Roots for Materials Reuse

[Jeremy Drake]

*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*



*Local Nonprofit Business Puts Down Roots for Materials Reuse*

*Home ReSource purchases property at Russell & Wyoming*



*Missoula, Montana (March 18, 2016)* – Home ReSource is a building
materials reuse center that relies entirely on donations from the community
to operate its retail business. As such, the non-profit business rarely
buys anything. But Home ReSource recently made the purchase of a lifetime,
buying the entire site at the corner of Russell & Wyoming where the
organization is currently located.



Katie Deuel, Executive Director, explains, “This purchase has been years in
the coming, and represents the culmination of a lot of good work by so many
people. We wanted a permanent home in a central location, and needed enough
space to accommodate all aspects of our thriving retail and deconstruction
operations, as well as our growing education and sustainability
initiatives.” Deuel continues, “The community has demonstrated overwhelming
support for our triple bottom line business, and we need space to stretch
in order to continue to provide the community with our sustainable
operations and programs.”



Home ReSource was founded in 2003 by Matt Hisel and Lauren Varney, who ran
the operation on a shoestring, an intern’s spare time and a long vision of
a different future. By 2008, while the nation’s financial indicators were
heading to their lowest point since the Great Depression, Hisel, Varney and
a group of local citizens and business people were envisioning new highs
for our local economy in which business is a significant driver in building
an environmentally and socially sustainable community.



Members of that group, propelled by Hisel and Varney’s track record and
ideas, decided to invest in a place to house sustainable businesses and
ended up purchasing the big blue warehouse and the surrounding bare ground
at the corner of Russell and Wyoming with Home ReSource as the anchor
tenant.



Home ReSource moved there in 2010, and has grown from an organization
struggling to make payroll and fill its big new shoes to one that employs
30 people, diverts over 1000 tons of materials annually from the landfill,
provides job training to people experiencing barriers to employment and is
leading the community in efforts to move Missoula toward Zero Waste.



With Home ReSource busting the seams of its current space configuration, it
was time to bust a move. They approached the original Berkeley United
investors Rick Wishcamper, Mike Bouchee and Justin Metcalf (through Rocky
Mountain Development Group), John Rimel, Steve Nelson and Good Works
Ventures about purchasing the entire site. In a heroic act of philanthropy,
the investors provided the equity that Home ReSource needed for a down
payment by making a substantial donation in the form of reduced purchase
price.



Deuel confirms that “Berkeley United’s generosity made it possible for us
to take this monumental next step. Berkeley’s investment in Home Resource
was ultimately an investment in this community, and they knew that 8 years
ago going in. As the community’s donations and demand grew the business, we
realized it was time to ensure a more secure future for Home ReSource. We
are making good on our investors contributions over the years - from
customers and donors alike - by realizing the original sustainability
vision.”



“We are thrilled that the success of Home ReSource is such that they now
need the entire property to fully spread their wings,” says Rick Wishcamper
of the Berkeley Group. “And we couldn’t be happier that our original vision
for that site is still alive and well.”



Recently, Home ReSource collaborated with Missoula City Council president
Marilyn Marler on passing the Missoula Zero Waste Resolution, which sets a
goal for Missoula to reduce its waste by 90% by the year 2050 with interim
goals along the way. “Home ReSource is a pioneer in waste reduction in
Missoula,” Marler remarks. “They got Missoula moving on the path toward
Zero Waste before Missoula even knew about Zero Waste.”



Home ReSource is a nonprofit organization with a mission to reduce waste
and build a vibrant and sustainable local economy. The building materials
reuse center and residential and commercial deconstruction services support
several nonprofit programs that provide job training, woodworking and home
improvement skills building classes, zero waste education, and a materials
giving program to channel building materials to schools, churches,
nonprofits, and community events.



###



*Contact:*
Jeremy Drake
Community Engagement Manager
Home ReSource
Missoula, MT  59801
(406) 541-8301
homeresource.org <http://www.homeresource.org/> | facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/Home-ReSource-270922574714/> | instagram
<https://instagram.com/homeresource/>
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