Old Barn Self Storage in Grass Valley, Calif., supports local education by collecting and recycling old electronics and holding Happy Art contests that provide cash prizes to winning students and teachers. The winning artwork also gets enlarged and displayed next to an iconic Happy sign that adorns the hillside next to the facilitys property and overlooks Highway 20/49. The sign is visible to 25,000 motorists each day, according to the source.
Old Barn works with 29 nonprofit and educational groups for its rotating, monthly e-waste collection program. The self-storage facility collects unwanted computers, monitors, printers, cell phones, radios and other devices each month, and typically raises about $200 to $300 for the participating partner group. The facility works with SIMS Recycling Solutions to pick up and process the collected items.
They crush it, separate it; everything is used, said Lew Aebersold, Old Barns facility manager.
Nearby Union Hill Elementary School was among the first schools to participate in Old Barns Happy Art contest last year, with several Union Hill students winning cash prizes and the first-place winners teacher earning $200 for classroom supplies. This month, the school will be the beneficiary of proceeds earned from the self-storage facilitys electronics drive.
Locally owned and operated, Old Barn Self Storage has served Grass Valley and neighboring Nevada County communities since 2005.
