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Stocking up helps the community and the environment
The Stock Pile provides building materials to low-to-moderate income households,  non-profits

By Chris Boron
Observer-Reporter

The “go green” movement may be a relatively new concept, but The Stock Pile was ahead of its time. The Stock Pile, a non-profit charitable organization started by the Stark County Regional Planning Commission in 1999,is a building material reuse warehouse. The agency solicits donations of used and overstocked building materials to help people fix up their homes and keep usable items out of landfills.

Through a free membership based on income verification, qualified persons with low-to-moderate income can browse through the warehouse to purchase new or slightly used building materials. Depending on the condition of the item, materials are sold at nearly one-third of the market price.

Memberships are also available to other non-profit organizations, such as church, school, theater, and scouting groups and emergency shelters in need of building materials.

Brenda Sarsany, the project coordinator for The Stock Pile and an employee of the Stark County Regional Planning Commission, helped brainstorm the idea of the organization. She feels the agency runs a double-duty purpose. “The whole problem is that a lot of good materials are going to landfills,” Sarsany said. “We deal with both caring for the environment and housing needs, and The Stock Pile is a marriage between those two concerns.”

Becky Lewis*, the program manager at The Stock Pile, agreed with Sarsany. “It’s just a shame to throw away things in the waste stream when they are perfectly good usable items,” Lewis said. “We need to ‘think green’ as far as our earth goes that we all live on. But the main focus of The Stock Pile is to help those in the community who might not necessarily be able to afford to keep their homes safe, sanitary and even cosmetically pleasing.”

During the past nine years, The Stock Pile has grown in both square footage and memberships. The organization has more than 1,400 members who come to the Stark County warehouse to shop. These members are spread throughout 20 counties in two
states. It has also partnered with more than 195 non-profit agencies to supply building materials for projects.

Since its inception, The Stock Pile has diverted more than 700 tons of reusable building materials from landfills. It has received awards from the Department of Housing & Urban Development, the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce and Dominion East Ohio Gas for its service to the community. The majority of the materials are donated from various businesses and individuals, including home-furnishing stores, contractors and homeowners who are renovating. Nicole Hagy*, the donations coordinator at The Stock Pile, encourages donations from businesses and individuals who are no longer in need of their new or slightly used building materials.

“Each and every donation, no matter the size, is appreciated at The Stock Pile,” Hagy said. “If an organization or individual has an item they wish to contribute, we encourage them to call and set up a time for a Stock Pile employee to come and pick up the item at no cost to the donor.”

The Stock Pile accepts all building materials including doors, windows, roofing materials, siding, bricks, lumber, drywall, paneling, flooring, paints, stains, nuts and bolts, furniture and used appliances.

All items must be in good to excellent condition, and donors will receive an itemized receipt for tax purposes.

The Stock Pile warehouse is located at 1387 Clarendon Ave. S.W. in Canton. For a full list of accepted items, visit www.thestockpile.org or call the warehouse at (330) 455-4585.

You may contact Chris at cboron@psipublishing.com.
*Becky Lewis and Nicole Hagy are former employees of The Stock Pile.   To contact current Donations Coordinator and Program Manager, please visit our Contact page.