2160 N. Ashland Avenue Summer Hours
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About the ReBuilding Exchange
In 2008, the non-profit organization Delta Institute formally began working on a building material waste diversion initiative. As part of its larger mission to transform the Great Lakes into the vital center of the emerging green economy, Delta was interested in creating a regional green economy model that would turn the liability of building material waste into a community asset.
For over a decade, Delta has helped businesses, government and communities demonstrate that building better economies and changing our relationship with the environment go hand in hand. What do people really need to create a green economy? They need the roadmap from here to there, inspirational leadership, the capital to take their first steps, and credible answers from people with experience. At the Delta Institute, we are busy blazing the trail. Our role is to experiment and innovate. We tackle hard problems by creating credible models and cutting-edge solutions that have a big impact when adopted as mainstream strategies. We are driven by our creativity and by our ability to implement our ideas with large-scale, measurable results. For more information, visit www.delta-institute.org.
Stanley Branch, Warehouse Associate
Meegan Czop, General Manager
Alex Enarson, Warehouse Associate
Gregg Griffin, Director of Operations Cynthia Main, Director of Education and Special Projects
Blake Sloane, Workshop Trainer
Keith Walsh, Donations Manager
Heather White, Warehouse Associate
Elise Zelechowski, Executive Director Elise was born and raised in Chicago, and has always been interested in environmental issues and finding creative ways to reuse things. While she spends most of her days working on green economic development projects at the Delta Institute and ensuring that the ReBuilding Exchange continues to be a resource for Chicago residents, she can also be found walking the beaches of Gary, Indiana or at the Logan Square Farmer’s Market.
Jack Crane Cody Engle, Jonathan Gonsky Dave Hampton, LEED AP John Hopkins, AIA, LEED AP Bob Hudson Gabriel Plotkin Jean Pogge Rashmi Ramaswamy, LEED AP Krupa Shah Sabrina Sullivan Sundee Wislow Elise Zelechowski, LEED AP
Currently, there are no job opportunities available with the ReBuiding Exchange.
Volunteers are always welcome at the ReBuilding Exchange. Volunteer groups and individuals are invited to join us any day of the week during our store hours. We provide an educational, fun and often physically exhilarating experience for volunteers. Some of the things you might do as a volunteer at The ReBuilding Exchange include: loading and unloading vehicles, carrying donated building materials into the warehouse, sorting materials (trim, lumber, electrical supplies, lighting), painting, pulling nails, sweeping, measuring doors and more. Our needs are different every day. A few things to keep in mind before you come:
Sign up in advance by contacting us at volunteer@rebuildingexchange.org at the warehouse at (773) 252-2234.
Rebuilding Exchange in the News ReBuilding Exchange creates a set piece for CAN-TV's Chicago newsroom Rebuilding Exchange: An Upcycler's Paradise "Do It Together Green Toolbox," GreenAwarenessMedia (November 2010)
"The ReBuilding Exchange" HomesPlus, CLTV (April 2009)
"Keeping reusable building materials" - Chicago Matters: Beyond Burnham, Chicago Tonight on WTTW11 (April 14, 2009)
"ReBuilding Exchange" - Medill Reports Chicago (April 9, 2009) "Warehouse Offers Used Building Materials For Less" - CBS 2 Chicago (January 7, 2010) "Use It or Lose It, Part I: The Chicago ReBuilding Exchange" - NEST: Sustainable Homes Inside and Out (January 7, 2010) "From One Building to the Next: Materials Reuse" - eco-structure (April 2009) "Style File...What's old is new again" (April 16, 2009) "Home Design...Rochelle-style" (April 6, 2009) "The End of Demolition" - Sustainable Chicago (Spring 2009) "The ReBuilding Exchange" - Apartment Therapy Chicago (February 17, 2009) "Store to help divert construction debris from landfills" - ABC7 Chicago (February 6, 2009) "Reuse, Recycle, Rebuild" - Time Out Chicago (August 28, 2008) "The Recyclable House" - Chicago Reader (July 24, 2008)
Currently, there are no events scheduled at the ReBuilding Exchange. Please check back later.
The Boeing Company The Lloyd A. Fry Foundation Polk Brothers Foundation Searle Funds at Chicago Community Trust EPA Region 5 City of Chicago
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Have you ever been walking through the RX and thought you heard the smooth baritone of Barry White? That would be our warehouse associate Stanley Branch. Although Stan came to us a St.Louis native, he’s a Chicago man all the way. Stan started full time in May 2011, and is known for being extremely helpful and attentive to customers. His outgoing personality makes him the life of a party whether it is on the b-ball court, the gym, on the town or at the RX. Stan keeps the warehouse looking it’s best, and serves as a motivator and role model for our job training program.
Meegan is our General Manager and she has been with the ReBuilding Exchange from the very beginning. She comes to us from Michigan, where she previously worked as a mason doing historic restoration. Meegan's background is in art and design, and she prides herself on being a finder of rare and unusual objects, many of which you can now find in bars and restaurants across the Midwest. You can often find her and her dog Boomer climbing around abandoned buildings or collecting broken objects to creatively reuse.
Alex first came to the ReBuilding Exchange as an over-eager customer known to spend hours digging through stacks of old growth lumber for that perfect 2"x4". He joined the RX team in Spring 2011 to help run the retail floor on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, as well as troubleshoot IT and tinker with the website. Alex is a big wood nerd, so you can direct your wood questions to him!
Like running at dawn? Cultivating Mushrooms? Reading about Early Civilization? Our Director of Education Cynthia can be found peering into the connections of all these things. She brings her love of creating a positive future to the ReBuilding Exchange where she helps create the educational programs we offer here. She also is an experienced builder with a fascination for all things repurposing.
Blake is the Workshop Coordinator at the ReBuilding Exchange, where he teaches in the job training program and leads the “Make It/Take It “ workshop series. He is a lifelong tinkerer/builder who is fond of combing alleyways, thrift stores, and grandma's attic for materials to incorporate into his work and classes. Blake was just chosen as one of “10 Furniture Maker’s Keeping Woodworking Alive” by Re-Nest. Get in touch with him if you want a custom piece of furniture built by the Rebuilding Exchange. You can see his work at 
Keith is the Donations Manager for the ReBuilding Exchange. If it has wheels he is probably on it, be it his unicycle, motorcycle, or the box truck doing pickups. When not tooling around the city and suburbs for the RX, Keith is a competitive 9 ball pool player with hopes of taking his game to Vegas. Don't Panic.
Heather was wielding tools at a young age while tagging along at her father’s construction sites. Her interest in building and construction has evolved and merged with her passion for green construction, de-construction and energy efficiency. Heather is a sustainability aficionado and loves being able to apply her knowledge and skills as a team member at the ReBuilding Exchange.