New products highlight purpose and repurpose of Building Value

Two handmade Adirondack chairs and a matching table cost just $325. Add a matching outdoor planter for $80. Sweeten the deal with the knowledge that all the materials used to create your cozy backyard getaway are recycled—and the workers who created them are all part of an innovative Easter Seals program called Building Ability.Through Building Ability, workers with severe disabilities learn woodworking skills as they build retail-ready merchandise from donated materials. “I see a lot of people who could use meaningful job training and meaningful work,” says Tina McMahon Dyehouse, 44, of North Avondale. McMahon, who works as a hearing officer for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. She is also on the steering committee for the second annual Reuseapalooza, which happens Friday, April 8.She became involved after she attended the event’s inaugural event at Building Value’s retail location in Northside. Most of her volunteer efforts have focused on the Designers’ Challenge, a new element of this year’s fundraiser. In the Designer Challenge, 15 local designer’s received $100 credit at the Building Value retail store to buy materials to create funky, and functional, entries. From coffee tables to fountains, Designer Challenge pieces will be judged, then auctioned, at Reuseapalooza. Building Value offers property owners and builders a wide range of new and used building materials for up to 75 percent less than retail prices. Similar donated materials allow workers with disabilities to get job training and become an integral part of the Building Ability program, where products for sale include chess sets, cornhole boards, picnic tables and kid-sized rockers.Do Good:• Enjoy the party. Buy a ticket by April 6 and pay just $15 for a night of entertainment at Reuseapalooza.• Give a gift. Looking for the perfect Earth Day gift? How about a $25 ink pen made from recycled wood? • Make a stand. Support additional funding for treatment and services for children with disabilities.By Elissa YanceyPhoto of last year’s Reuseapalooza courtesy of Easter Seals