Sustainable Futures Regional Project

In the spring of 2011,  members of Beta Alpha Psi used  their accounting skills while working along side the nonprofit group Sustainable Futures.  Sustainable Futures recycles wine and spirit bottles and rework them into glassware, bowls, vases, hurricane lanterns, wind chimes, soy candles and other products. 

Various restaurants downtown donate their empty glass bottles and are also glassware customers.  Bittercreek Alehouse and Red Feather are just a few businesses working with Sustainable Futures. You may have also seen Sustainable Futures at the downtown Saturday market.

Sustainable Futures has an untraditional workforce.  Many of their workers are women who were formerly incarcerated or are on work release programs.  They also employ refugees and at-risk youth. These kinds of workers find employment difficult or impossible to find on their own. Sustainable Futures trains them to make beautiful glassware while also transferring life skills training. This includes working on resumes, interview skills, using the internet, and how to find a job and successfully apply for it.  At the end of their time with the program they receive a letter of reference.

In April, our costing and budget teams presented their findings and recommendations at the regional Beta Alpha Psi meeting in Portland

To find more about Sustainable Futures click here.