Andrew Carlson: Educating is his thing

Here’s a fresh face you should get to know. It belongs to Andrew Carlson, new assistant manager at the Clark County Habitat for Humanity Store. Raised in NE Portland, Andrew attended Grant High School, and later graduated from Portland State where he studied history and social sciences with the intent of becoming a teacher. While […]

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Petty Blake: She's a natural!

“Customer service is my heart, and I love being with people!” said Petty Blake. Every exclamation makes that pretty obvious, and it’s what makes us thrilled to have Petty on our team. Petty first found The ReStore when she began her “rejob” search. After 20 plus years babysitting grandkids, she was a bit out of touch […]

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Pomeroy named Salvage Service manager: 'I'm where I belong'

“It’s a path to the heart.” That’s how Mark Pomeroy recently described coming to work for The ReStore. Mark joined our staff in June as the new Salvage Service manager. In his new role, Mark will oversee all Salvage Service operations, including planning and development for The ReStore’s deconstruction program. Though he’s new to The […]

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17 years a refugee: The story of Som Tamang

On Tuesdays Som Tamang often works behind the ReStore register. He’s a Habitat future homeowner working to build 500 sweat equity hours. He’s half way there. At the end of April Som and his wife, Basanti, hit the 250 mark, and they’ve only been at it since February. Som’s story begins in Bhutan where he […]

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Karen Nicola: 'Littles' still a part of her life

You may not often see Karen Nicola in the ReStore, but she’s there, working hard four days each week. She’s kept busy in the Washington County ReStore warehouse pricing “littles’”- hardware and basically anything that isn’t large like furniture. That’s a whole lot of inventory to cycle through! Karen has a lot of experience with […]

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Miles and miles of trim: Thanks, WestPac!

Fifty-seven miles worth of trim! If you lined up the 60 or so loads of trim WestPac has donated to The ReStore over the past 7 months, it would go roughly 57 miles. That’s almost 300,000 linear feet of new MDF trim in multiple profiles and sizes.  Builders and other DIYers use   medium density fiberboard for […]

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Nicholas Chandler: He learns by doing, he lives by listening

At a very early age, Nicholas Chandler took the adventures of Louis L’Amour to heart and followed it down a path that led him–at 16–onto a freight train heading for Chicago.  “You were brave,” I said.  “Yeah, sometimes it’s just a mistake,” he laughs. “Not so brave.” Nicholas Chandler has spent most of his life traveling and […]

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The ReStore networks for Ellsworth Backpack Thursday

Bundled in with homework tablets and yellow pencils, students in Vancouver and Evergreen ISD are taking food home to their families. About 40 students at Ellsworth Elementary participate in the Thursday Backpack program, said Maria Dorshkind, outreach coordinator of the Family & Community Resource Center at Ellsworth. Family volunteers called “natural leaders” assemble the small food […]

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Amanda Bachelder: Girl in Pink shops The ReStore

DIY projects take on a decidedly feminine cast when Amanda Bachelder takes out her paint brush and drop cloth. Amanda scours thrift stores, estate sales and The ReStore to bring home raw materials, used furniture and various design elements for her DIY projects. “I like to call my style romantic vintage,” Amanda said. “I love […]

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