Savannah Non-Profit Announces Fundraiser to Help Youth with Exceptional Needs

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Sept. 27, 2013 - PRLog -- September 24, 2013
Event Contact:  Design for Ability
Meagan Hodge
Director and Co-Founder, Design for Ability
985.778.3326
Meagan@designforability.org

Greenhouse Contact: Emergent Structures
Scott Boylston
President, Emergent Structures
912.844.7659
scottb@emergentstructures.com

Design for Ability to Host Fundraising Event
“E. 34 Greenhouse Preview”

Savannah, GA.- Design for Ability (http://www.designforability.org) will host their first fundraising event on Sunday, October 6 from 3-8 pm at the courtyard of Southern Pine Company (located at 607 East 34^th Street). The event will feature live music from the local bands City Hotel, The Accomplices, Lovely Locks and Kid Syc, as well as food and refreshments from Savannah vendors. The event will also include a raffle for a handcrafted dining table made by local woodworking studio OxForm and numerous items in a silent auction. Tickets to the event are $20 (before the event) and $25 at the door, raffle ticket are $5.00. Tickets to the event and for the raffle can be purchased online at www.designforability.org. Proceeds from the event will support Design for Ability’s vocational training program for youth with exception needs that will be conducted at the E.34 Greenhouse.

Guests will have the opportunity to view the progress of the E.34 Greenhouse, designed and built by Emergent Structures (http://www.emergentstructures.org) to serve as the agricultural training center for Design for Ability’s vocational training program. “Emergent Structures is proud to have lead the collaborative effort to design and build the E.34 Greenhouse,” Emergent Structures’ President Scott Boylston said. “It’s been a two-year collaborative process, and we are inspired by Design for Ability’s vision for Savannah. We feel honored to have supported their early development, and are committed to supporting their extraordinary work into the future.”

The greenhouse is being constructed from reclaimed material from numerous sites around Savannah, including the Savannah Gardens redevelopment site, a private residence in Savannah’s Historic District, and unusable stocks of tempered glass from DIRTT Environmental Solutions (http://www.dirtt.net). The structures is comprised of approximately 90% reclaimed materials, effectively diverting landfill waste for the benefit of the community, and includes sustainable features like solar photovoltaic energy, rainwater catchment and passive solar heating.  A formal ribbon cutting ceremony will take place once the greenhouse is fully completed.

“Design for Ability could not be more excited, nor grateful, for this new facility,” states Design for Ability Director, Meagan Hodge. “The construction of this greenhouse encompasses the green emerging industries our program focuses on: agriculture, construction and artisan. Students have been involved from the beginning, when materials were salvaged and restored for this structure.  They will also be a part of the growth, harvest and sale of all plant life from the greenhouse.  This type of vocational training program is a new concept here in Savannah, so project collaboration, like this one with Emergent Structures, helps us indentify key components needed in our curriculum for participating students.”

ABOUT DESIGN FOR ABILITY
Design for Ability serves as a universally designed apprenticeship for youth with exceptional needs that advocates for environmental stewardship through green jobs training and vocational education.

ABOUT EMERGENT STRUCTURES
Emergent Structures is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the land-filling of building materials through innovative re-purposing projects. We facilitate collaborations between architects, developers, engineers, contractors, property owners and municipal governments in order to replace short-sighted demolition practices with sustainable deconstruction and re-use strategies.