Rockin’ for The RE Store
Bellinghams award-winning reuse center and store will host the third annual Rockin for The RE Store fundraiser next month at Boundary Bay Brewery. This free, all-ages event will be held in Boundary Bays outdoor beer garden on Friday, May 17 from 5-10 p.m. and will feature a raffle, silent auction, and performances by The Legendary Chucklenuts and High Mountain String Band. All proceeds from the evening go to support The RE Stores Communi.ty Jobs Training program, which provides free job training to displaced workers.
In the past two years, the Rockin For The RE Store fundraiser has generated funding for The RE Store to provide nearly 50 low-income individuals with 5,000 hours of one-on-one workplace training that prepares them for long-term, meaningful employment. Through Community Jobs Training, trainees receive individual coaching, learn on-the-job skills, build their resumes, improve their confidence in interviews and receive skill-based certifications.
Job training is our way of ensuring that every person in our community has a place, said Kurt Gisclair, Director of The RE Store. By helping displaced workers develop the skills and confidence needed to find meaningful employment, were building a stronger, happier, and healthier community.
By partnering with local social justice organizations to ensure training curricula is focused on real-world in-demand skills, The RE Store has seen more than 80% of trainees successfully integrate into the local job market.
My goal with The RE Store was to get back into the work environment, said Derek Becker, graduate of the trainee program. I wanted to really transform my life into something completely different. The RE Store’s job training allowed me to do that and now I have the ability to provide this service for others.”
Rockin for The RE Store will feature a silent auction of items donated by local businesses and a raffle of big prizes, including: dinner and lodging for two at The Willows Inn on Lummi Island, a fully outfitted Marin Fairfax commuter bike with fenders, lights, rack and a lock, and a date night package of a nights stay at Heliotrope Hotel, a show with prime seats at Mount Baker Theater and dinner at Brandywine Kitchen.
Raffle tickets are $5 and can be purchased at The RE Store (where Meridian intersects with Broadway Street) April 10 – May 16. Visit The RE Store at 2309 Meridian Street in Bellingham to purchase a raffle ticket today, and save the date for May 17.
Boundary Bay Brewery is located at 1107 Railroad Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225. For more info see: www.bit.ly/RockinFB