Salvage and Reuse in Action with Delivery of Office Furniture to Island Nonprofits
NANTUCKET, MA — In an innovative partnership to encourage sustainability, salvage and reuse, The Community Foundation for Nantucket (CFN), Remain and Boston Building Resources (BBR) are joining forces to deliver nearly 40 pieces of high-quality office furniture to nonprofit organizations across the island. This initiative reflects a shared commitment between the organizations to environmental stewardship and strengthening the island’s salvage and reuse efforts.
This project was identified by Remain as an opportunity to demonstrate circular economy principles in action—repurposing durable, gently used office furnishings to extend their useful life while reducing waste. These items, sourced from a decommissioned Boston-area office, will be trucked to Nantucket on April 18 and distributed to organizations serving the island community, including:
- The Warming Place
- Fairwinds
- Nantucket Boys and Girls Club
- Nantucket Book Foundation
- Maria Mitchell Association
- Nantucket Community Sailing
- Tuckernuck Land Trust
- Nantucket Resource Partnership
- Nantucket Land & Water Council
- Landmark House
- Nantucket Center for Elder Affairs
- Nantucket Community School
“This is a great example of how collaboration and sustainability can go hand in hand,” said Sunny Daily, executive director of the Community Foundation for Nantucket. “We’re grateful to Remain for bringing this opportunity to us to help the island’s nonprofits.”
The initiative builds upon Remain’s long-standing efforts in salvage and reuse—an integral part of the organization’s broader mission to reduce construction and demolition waste on Nantucket. For more than a decade, Remain has championed better waste management across the island, supporting initiatives that address everything from single-use plastic reduction to more efficient and equitable systems for waste collection and disposal. By advancing local reuse practices and circular material flows, Remain works to preserve valuable resources, ease the cost burden of materials and foster more resilient, affordable and sustainable development on Nantucket. Reuse, in particular, has remained central to Remain’s approach—encouraging both individuals and institutions to rethink waste not as an endpoint, but as a potential resource within a thriving circular economy.
“Remain is always looking for ways to rethink how resources can be reused in order to eliminate waste and lessen the carbon impact,” said Cecil Barron Jensen, executive director of Remain. “By supporting this effort with a grant, local nonprofits can furnish functional, inspiring work environments with high-quality furniture from the secondhand market. It’s a win for sustainability and for the community.”
The furnishings themselves are being delivered by Boston Building Resources, a nonprofit consumer co-op and reuse center based in Boston, Mass. BBR is dedicated to reclaiming salvaged and donated building materials and making them accessible to individuals and communities, reducing environmental impact while supporting meaningful reuse.
“It’s rewarding to see items that might otherwise go to waste instead find new life on Nantucket,” said Kord Jablonski, of Boston Building Resources. “For more than 30 years, BBR has been working to divert useful items from the waste stream to grow the circular economy and build stronger communities. We are extremely excited to have such enthusiastic reuse partners on Nantucket.”
“By uniting around shared values like sustainability, community resilience and creative reuse, this partnership shows how resourceful, mission-driven collaboration can meet both environmental and social needs, on Nantucket and beyond,” said Sunny Daily.
About the Community Foundation for Nantucket
The Community Foundation for Nantucket works to enhance the well-being of our community by addressing critical issues and supporting the social, physical, cultural, economic and environmental conditions essential for all Islanders to flourish and fulfill their potential.
About Remain
Remain works to bring creative thinking to environmental and community challenges, elevate local industry and encourage innovation and resilience. Remain Nantucket engages in charitable work to support the evolution of a healthy year-round community across the island. Remain Ventures invests in buildings and mission-related businesses that strengthen Nantucket’s year-round economy and spark innovation that brings long-term value to the island’s residents. Both Remain Nantucket and Remain Ventures are funded by Wendy Schmidt and her husband Eric to support the local economy, community and environmental vitality of the island of Nantucket.
About Boston Building Resources
Boston Building Resources is a nonprofit consumer co-op and reuse center that empowers homeowners and organizations through sustainable solutions, affordable building materials and educational resources.