NBCUniversal Awards Grant to Sustainable Surplus for Social Innovation

The Second Annual 21st Century Solutions Grant Program Rewards 30 Local Non-Profits in 10 Markets

The NBCUniversal Foundation, in partnership with the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, announced $1.2 million in grants for local non-profit organizations in 10 markets.

In its second year, the 21st Century Solutions grant program recognizes and supports innovative, high-impact initiatives in the areas of Civic Engagement, Education, Environment, Jobs and Economic Empowerment, Media Arts and Technology. The program supports initiatives designed to address emerging and ongoing community challenges in new and creative ways.

Local recipient, Sustainable Surplus Exchange (SSE), will be awarded $25,000 for their program, working to grow sustainable practices in sourcing and use of resources, by repurposing items from businesses and diverting the path of items to landfills.  The Exchange Program provides the business community a channel to redistribute their out-of-use assets for reuse to organizations in the educational and non-profit sectors.  

“NBCUniversal and our NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations are in a unique position to engage communities across the country around social innovation and our 21stCentury Solutions program allows us to recognize those local efforts,” said Beth Colleton, Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility for NBCUniversal. “We are excited by this year’s grant recipients and the impactful change they will create.”

This year, awardees include: a workforce development program for students with disabilities to create their own sustainable microenterprises, a microsavings initiative aimed to help low-income working families gain financial stability and a scalable digital platform that connects a person with a need, a nonprofit provider and an everyday donor who wants to make a difference in a transparent, impactful way.

A full listing of the distribution of the $1.2 million grant awards can be found at NBCUniversal’s website.

Holiday BYOB

A good time was had by all at the second annual Holiday BYOB event at Sustainable Surplus.  In addition to FREE office supplies for all attendees, there were holiday treats and holiday specials, including a raffle for a Christmas tree. 

A big THANK YOU goes out to HOME DEPOT- Encinitas for its donation of two $25 gift certificates and to CURVES for its donation of reusable, thermal bags.  And thanks to our new partner Donation Match for ‘matching’ SSE with Curves and manufacturers coupons.

Winners of the raffle were: 

        Anne Marie Cox of Picture Me Happy

        Karl Walker of Carlsbad High School

A special call out goes to the students from Trade Tech High for their continued excellent volunteer support.

See you all next year!  Want to attend these events?  – Just sign up at www.Sustainablesurplus.org.

A good 'free' shopping day!

Gary Knight of SD Futures Foundation
 helps teachers shop.

Our youngest BYOB attendee, Kaylee

ACADIA Donation Helps Many Local Organizations

 December 3, 2013 - San Diego – ACADIA Pharmaceutical and Sustainable Surplus Exchange (SSE) have arranged the donation of excess office furniture and supplies to seven local nonprofit organizations. Sustainable Surplus Exchange (SSE), a nonprofit which receives donated assets from companies and repurposes them to local schools and charitable organizations, hosted an asset exchange at ACADIA.  The donated items included desks, file cabinets, lockers, electronics, and office and lab supplies.

 Much of the furniture was custom built and very heavy.  “Our first attempt proved impossible, trying to lift the items onto trucks,” said SSE executive director Sue Prelozni.  So they enlisted the help of the local military group, Army Strong, to help with the move and transportation.

When ACADIA scaled back its operations to focus on its research, fewer office and laboratory supplies were needed. “Taking sustainable measures to manage our surplus just makes sense,” said Lynne Buhl, 

ACADIA’s facilities director.   “The fact that ACADIA chose the donation channel for repurposing its surplus is a wonderful testament to their sense of social responsibility,” said Prelozni. Additionally, donating to SSE keeps thousands of pounds of solid waste from the landfill.  “Choosing donation over disposal is a win-win for the environment and the community,” added Prelozni. 

The beneficiaries included San Diego Unified School District, Tecate Missionary School, Pioneer Day School, Bellamente Charter School, North County Lifeline, Phoenix House, and the Carlsbad Boys and Girls Club. In addition hundreds of SSE-member organizations have access to the remaining items via the online Exchange.  The Exchange membership is free to educational and charitable organizations.  The only requirement is to register at SSE’s website:  www.sustainablesurplus.org

Volunteers from the US Army Oceanside Recruiting Center were Heroes of the day!  SSG  Emmanuel Mendy, SSG Gene Burgess, SSG David Desanges, SFC Channcy Croker, and SSG Lucas Rutledge.