Help Ruth!

I know that people from all over read this blog, but I'm hoping that some of you will be willing to help Ruth.

Ruth's Reusable Resources is a valuable tool for teachers in the Southern Maine area. Ruth stores donations and castoffs from major corporations and local businesses and redistributes them to the schools. Markers, stamps, shelves...

Here is the history of Ruth's from her website...

"Ruth's is beginning it's 11th season of service to schools in southern Maine. 3R's had it's beginning in Ruth and Tom Libby's basement, then moved to one room in the Oak Hill Grammar School on the Black Point Road. I (Ruth) started this when my oldest son's kindergarten teacher sent a note home requesting parents assistance by saving some household items that could be used in school craft projects, such as egg cartons, meat trays, juice can lids, etc. I saved these items, as did my mother, my grandmother and some of my mother's friends at UNUM. I delivered some of the items to the school, then for a couple of years, some of the teachers came to our basement to take whatever they needed in their classrooms. Then, I saw an article in the Sunday paper about a woman in Auburn who was collecting items from businesses to recycle into the schools, so I checked it out. A year and a half later, I connected with UNUM. That 's when, in the 1st year in the Bessey School, my work status changed from being a volunteer to getting paid. I received grant money from the UNUM Charitable Foundation for the 1st and 2nd years in the Bessey School with a stipulation that 3R's would be licensed as a Non-profit organization and become self- supporting by the end of the 2nd year. "

This is a vital resource for Maine schools - and Ruth needs our help. Here is part of an article from the local newspaper that helps describe the current situation...

"Libby has been thrust into the spotlight, a place that makes her uncomfortable, but one to which she acquiesces for the sake of her nonprofit organization. Since word’s been out that she has a month left to complete the first phase of an aggressive fundraising campaign – she must be out of her present location and needs $450,000 by June 1 for a down-payment on a 27,000-square-foot warehouse in Portland – several Maine companies have come forward with donations and offers to raise money to keep her 13-year-old organization operational."

Here is a link to where you can help Ruth.

Thanks!