Arts + Business Council to Honor The Resource Exchange & Revolution Recovery at Awards Celebration

Online, May 7, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The Arts + Business Council of Greater Philadelphia is thrilled to honor the Resource Exchange and Revolution Recovery with the Business + Arts Partnership: Small to Mid-Size Business with an Arts Organization Award, sponsored by The Bancorp Bank. The Resource Exchange and Revolution Recovery will receive this honor at the Arts + Business Council's 29th Annual Award Celebration on May 13 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"We are excited to honor a partnership that explores what it looks like to be both environmentally conscious and arts minded; proving that the two are not mutually exclusive," said, Karin Copeland, Arts + Business Council Executive Director

Since 2010, the unique creative reuse/recycling partnership between The Resource Exchange and Revolution Recovery has kept over 2 million pounds of valuable material out of Philadelphia's landfills. In 2013 alone, over 28 tons of film and theatre props and set pieces, art supplies, textiles, lumber, and many other reusable materials were put back into the creative economy, and over 96 tons of set construction materials were recycled. The Resource Exchange's flagship program reSETS (Setting Entertainment Towards Sustainability) was initiated to transform the previously landfilled "waste" from Philadelphia's creative industries into low cost materials and inspiration for a wide variety of art, craft, design and building projects throughout Greater Philadelphia. The strategic partnership with Revolution Recovery enabled The Resource Exchange to better serve reSETS program participants by offering strategies for diversion that resulted in much more material being recovered than would have been achieved separately. This business/nonprofit partnership improves the environment, enhances the arts and culture of the region, provides affordable reusable material to the community, creates jobs, and contributes to a local, sustainable economy.

"This award throws a spotight on the artistic, environmental, and economic benefits of transforming the creation of waste into creative energy," said The Resource Exchange Executive Director, Karyn Gerred. "It also honors the dedicated staff, volunteers, and supporters of both The Resource Exchange and Revolution Recovery, who do the often difficult but necessary and rewarding work of generating new possibilities from previously wasted resources."

The 29th Annual Arts & Business Council Awards Celebration will take place from 6-9pm at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Please join the Resource Exchange and Revolution Recovery, as well as the other honorees for a night of arts, culture and fun.

About the Resource Exchange

The Resource Exchange was founded as the only salvaged and surplus materials organization in the Philadelphia region dedicated to serving the creative community. Their mission is to promote creative reuse, recycling, and resource conservation by diverting valuable materials from the waste stream and redirecting them to artists, builders, educators and the general public. In addition to putting tons of low cost reusable materials back into the local economy for creating, building, and learning, they provide a workshop/gallery space for monthly exhibits, events, and how-to classes by local artists, craftspeople, and makers of all kinds who creatively reuse materials.

About Revolution Recovery

Revolution Recovery is committed to being experts in their field and leading the construction and industrial materials recycling industry to new levels. They believe in corporate social responsibility and incorporate the "three p's" of sustainability - people, profit, and planet - in everything that they do. Having a holistic vision builds a better business. Revolution Recovery is fortunate to have their environmental goals align with their economic goals: the more they recycle, the more profitable they are. They love this dynamic because growing their business does not distract them from their commitment to building better communities where they live, work and play.

About the Arts & Business Council of Greater Philadelphia

The Arts + Business Council of Greater Philadelphia (ABC) strengthens our creative sector, including arts, culture and for-profit creative businesses, by engaging the business, legal & technology communities, providing capacity-building services, and serving as a thought leader and a convener. ABC, with the support of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, is uniquely positioned to actively connect the creative sector with the business, legal and technology communities. For more information, please visit www.artsandbusinessphila.org or call 215.790.3620.

Media Contacts

The Resource Exchange

Karyn Gerred | kgerred@theresourceexchange.org | 267.997.0060

Arts + Business Council of Greater Philadelphia

Anna Stokes | astokes@artsandbusinessphila.org | 215.790.3638