Press Releases and Articles from ANEW and Contributors

ANEW Provides a Green Alternative for Removing Surplus Office Materials

Article from US Green Building Council - Los Angeles Newsletter (www.usgbc-la.org),

Three years ago, ANEW began providing the Southern California business community with a much more responsible way for disposing their surplus office materials. Offering companies the opportunity to donate used furniture, fixtures and office equipment (or FF&E), ANEW could match those donated goods to non-profit organizations and communities in need. The donor received tax benefits for their contributions and the benefactors received needed items such as chairs, desks, light fixtures and office machinery, basic office items that are crucial to their nonprofit operations.

Today, when companies need to liquidate their office materials, they now turn to ANEW, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization available to fully coordinate and organize their donations, facilitating the removal of their materials and carefully matching surplus goods with suitable organizations and communities who need them.

ANEW’s mission is to make traditional office liquidations a thing of the past. Many US companies dump literally tons of reusable surplus office materials into landfills each year. Concerned professionals in the fields of construction, architecture and design began seeking green alternatives to such a wasteful practice.

Rose Tourjé founded ANEW in 2005 with the idea of “social sustainability™” to ensure that donations of surplus materials would be supportive to both the environment and the community. In other words “doing what’s right with what’s left.”

Toward this effort, she partnered with Chrysalis, a local organization dedicated to helping transition the formerly homeless and disadvantaged into new jobs. Professional installers, movers and recyclers have been matched with clients from Chrysalis who are eager to work and learn new skills. Over the last three years, many men and women have moved on to permanent jobs.

Tourjé says, “None of this could have been achieved without the dedicated team at ANEW.” Lila Tsuda Grant joined ANEW in 2007 in the role of Vice President, Strategic Management. Grant is a seasoned interior design professional with over 25 years of experience in interior architecture. ANEW announces Amber Olson, LEED A.P., Director, Sustainable Practice.

In the Los Angeles community, ANEW is proud to be serving two major cultural institutions, The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust in Pan Pacific Park and The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum in Culver City.

The Mayme A. Clayton Library & Museum houses a collection of rare and out-of- print books, films, music, photography and memorabilia on African American culture, the largest collection in the western United States. ANEW is providing their administrative offices with chairs, desks, bookcases and file cabinets, as well as computer tables they will use for their research library.

ANEW’s coalition members—Bentley Prince Street, McMurray Stern and IOPC Modular Millwork have all been involved in supporting both museum’s initiatives.

Surplus office materials donated to these museums through the efforts of ANEW will undoubtedly aid in their expansion efforts, helping them as they seek to educate and contribute to the greater Los Angeles community.

ANEW is a proud member of the Los Angeles USGBC Chapter. For more information visit: http://www.anewfound.org and http://www.changelives.org.

Read the complete newsletter online here.