Prepping for the Big Back to School Event

Thanks to 20 volunteers the team at Sustainable Surplus was able to prepare over 200 boxes of office supplies for the upcoming BYOB (Bring Your Own Box) event for free office supplies. 

This is a special Back to School event, held in addition to the monthly BYOB.  

“Teachers have been asking us for this,” explained executive director, Sue Prelozni.  Office supplies are the majority of a teacher’s budget.  According to recent study cited in USA Today, more than 56% of teachers spend their own money for school supplies.  “I spend at least $100 a year for supplies,” noted David Anderson, a teacher from San Diego Unified School District.  This spend is the teacher's choice and it fills in the gaps left by the huge state budget deficit.

The Back to School BYOB takes place Tuesday, August 27 at 3 pm.  For more information, please click here.

  

August BYOB Biggest Ever

More than 60 people attended Sustainable Surplus’ August BYOB - Bring your Own Box event - and filled their boxes with free office supplies.
The attendance grows every month.  “This is an indication of how important office supplies are to teachers,” said SSE executive director, Sue Prelozni.  Supplies represent about 90% of a teacher’s budget and it often comes out of their own pocket.

As a result, SSE decided to hold a special Back to School BYOB.  The event will be Tuesday, August 27.  The event is free, but participants are required to sign up.  “Members are automatically sent an invitation,” Prelozni said.  Membership in the Exchange is free to teachers and nonprofit charges.

For more information please email us.

SSE's Friend Raiser DID!

 In celebration of its two-year milestone and in a successful effort to build awareness of its cause, SSE held an intimate Friend Raiser.  It was a combination of fun food and an astrology pairing of one’s zodiac sign with the corresponding wine.  In attendance were many Leo’s, including Dan McAllister, SD County Treasurer and SSE executive director Sue Prelozni, several Virgo’s and a couple Sagittarius and a bit of every other sign. 

The event was held at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon Discovery Center.  “It was a great way to engage sustainably-minded individuals who are now friends of SSE,” said Prelozni.

In addition to raising new friends, the venue itself was an event. 

The Discovery Center presented interesting live exhibits of bearded lizards, Australian finches and a glass-encased bee hive where you can see bees in action.

A few photos of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon & Discovery Center ...

 

County Treasurer, Superintendent Visit Sustainable Surplus

San Diego County Treasurer, Dan McAllister and Assistant Superintendent of Business Administration for the Office of Education, Lora Duzyk, visited Sustainable Surplus’ warehouse facility.  This was McAllister’s second visit.  “I really wanted Lora to see the good work Sustainable Surplus is doing,” he said.

Duzyk and McAllister were able to observe first-hand all the preparation SSE’s team accomplished for their next BYOB – Bring-Your-Own-Box event. 

At the event, attendees are invited to bring an empty box and fill it with free office supplies. “We are expecting over 50 teachers and another dozen or more nonprofit charges to attend,” said Sue Prelozni, SSE executive director. 

As 90 percent of a teacher’s budget is office supplies, Duzyk was keen to learn about the BYOB and get the word out to the 42 school districts she works with.  She commented, “This would be a tremendous help to any teacher in our county.” 

In addition to office supplies, teachers have access to furniture and lab supplies for a small handling fee.  “They often come for the free supplies, but leave with an additional chair or bookcase,” Prelozni added.

For information on the BYOB please email here.

Ex VP at McAfee Joins SSE Board

Joe Gabbert, PhD, has joined the board of directors at Sustainable Surplus.  He brings of wealth of business building experience.  Dr. Gabbert is the recently retired executive vice president of human resources at McAfee, an Intel Company, where he was responsible for all aspects of global human resources, training and development, change management, community development, and M&A integration.

“We are so pleased that Joe joined our team,” said SSE executive director Sue Prelozni.  “He adds the in-depth knowledge we need at this crucial point of capacity building.”  SSE will leverage his strengths in HR, compliance and personnel structuring.

Dr. Gabbert works as an independent advisor and board member for high growth technology companies and non-profit organizations in Northern and Southern California.  For more information about Dr. Gabbert, see his bio here.

SSE to Hold 2nd Annual E-Recycle Event with Partner GE

Sustainable Surplus will hold its 2^nd annual e-recycle event with its corporate partner GE Water Technologies on Saturday, August 10.  The event will be held in the GE parking lot at 760 Shadowridge Road in Vista.  Members of the community are encouraged to bring their old electronics for recycling for FREE.  There is no charge to drop off the expired items including computers, cell phones, small consumer electronics like TVs, vacuum cleaners and printers.  Large appliances and batteries are not accepted at this event. The e-recycling will be held at 10 am until 2 pm.