Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (May 29, 2003)
NOW PLAYING! !"#$%#&' Written by Larry Shue Directed by Michael P. Watkins !"""#$%&'()$*+,$'-).//,0$')1&22'- &31).3,45,6/,1$')(%,,/"! !"#$#%&'( )*+,-.#/( 0*12-%*$!34,$5 Now through June 7, 2003 Cabaret Theater, 996 Willamette THIS SUMMER: 7/8()/9,)0,/.03):2 /9,)5:5.$&0)0:6;)<.(*6&$ !"#$% Book & Lyrics by Gerome Ragni & James Rado Music by Galt MacDermot Directed & Designed by Joe Zingo June 20-July 26, 2003 Reserve your tickets now! Cabaret Theater, 996 Willamette New LOWER ticket prices! 683-4368 www.ActorsCabaret.org 12 MAY 29, 2003 The layout now is a little rough. You might find gravel-lined or dirt paths that serve as aisles between the rubber hose and discarded barbecue departments; there are even some outbuildings — wooden sheds, pole and tarp tents — that house everything from dresser drawers to medicine cabinets to whole kitchen and bathroom countertop and cabinet units. Czech and the BRING crew keep things well-organized, but the stuff seems to take on a life of its own — bike frames spilling here, rolls of chain link fence there, sparkly shards of glass just about everywhere. With help from a $10,000 grant through the UO Planning and Public Policy Management department, BRING has been able to do some market research and feasibil- ity studies to see how well the current facility was serving the community as a whole. Daniel says, “We found that there were people who loved our facility. But we also discovered, not surprisingly, that there was a segment of the population who found our fa- cility fairly horrifying and scary. In order to promote reuse and to get more people to reuse and to broaden our audi- ence beyond people just like us, we real- ized we were going to have to go out and meet them, that they weren’t going to come to us. If we were really going to promote reuse in our community, we needed to change the way that we ap- proached the pub- lic.” This informa- tion sealed a signifi- cant decision for BRING, to move its reuse facility to a more expansive, people-friendly lo- cation. This has not been easy. “We’ve always been a grassroots, counter- cultural organiza- tion,” says Daniel. “It’s been a chal- lenging process to reinvent ourselves as an organization that’s going to have a big- ger affect on more people. Organizational change is not easy to do, but BRING will not survive without this transformation.” A flat, paved, nearly 3-acre parcel of land also on Franklin Boulevard in Glenwood be- came available for sale last year. And having had a profitable stretch, BRING was able to put a down payment on it as the site for its ex- pansion. It will cost nearly $2 million to put the necessary buildings on the new site and to relocate the current facility. BRING has just begun a capital campaign to raise these funds. Daniel says proudly, “BRING has always been self sufficient. Now we are in the posi- tion of having to raise some major funds for the move. Meyer Memorial Trust is our earli- est foundation funder. Even though we’ve no prior history of fundraising or grants, they stepped up with a $110,000 grant, including a $60,000 challenge grant, which we are halfway to matching … and a $50,000 capac- ity building grant to help us get the tools and systems in place to make the transition.” BRING has also received funding from the U.S. Forest Service. The new facility will give BRING a chance to showcase creativity in reuse. Daniel says, “We want to make this place a living demonstration, a place where people can see what they can do with reused materi- als.” Thus far, BRING has secured the land, changed the zoning, and has a site plan ap- proved by Springfield. The facility has per- mits filed, and it’s had to expanded the BRING board of directors, now 12 members strong, plus a UO board intern. “This is a huge, huge effort for a grassroots organiza- tion,” Daniel says; the successful start is due in large part to this “dedicated and really wonderful board of directors.” Opportunity to do Right Daniel envisions the new facility as a des- tination, as something that follows in the footsteps of another counter-cultural phe- nomenon all grown up — Saturday Market. “It has bridged that gap. It’s managed to stay grassroots-y, but ap- peal to a broad group of people. We looked at this and felt that there was an opportu- nity to follow this ex- ample,” Daniel says. The characteristic elements that these organizations have in common include cre- ativity, art and humor. Daniel says, “Humor and art will be our way to make a smooth transition. There is inherent humor in stuff. By using humor and fun and a lighthearted ap- proach, we can bridge the gap be- tween who we were and who we are going to be. Humor and fun are dear to our hearts. There’s so much we can do by making this fun.” But Daniel knows the ramifications are about more than fun and humor and cre- ativity. She says, “Resource conservation is about social change and social justice. Many of the things we angst about in the world today are some- how connected to consumption of re- sources.” In an effort to resolve these prob- lems, and to get more of the wide swathe of mainstream society to participate in that reso- lution, Daniel explains, “We have to look at changing our consumption. And we at BRING believe that people change because of something appealing to them, rather than something looking bad to them.” Daniel sees the expansion as a way to em- power more of the community in BRING’s effort to conserve resources. “We’re an or- ganization that isn’t just idealistic. We don’t just tell people to do things; we give them the means by which to do them. We don’t just say recycle. We run recycling programs. We pro- vide people the opportunity to do the right thing. We encourage them. There’s kind of a balance between being philosophical and ide- alistic and visionary, of having that fire in the belly about social change, and also having the practical means to do it.” ew
