Local nonprofit, Re:Purpose Savannah, recently garnered national recognition when the organization was featured on CBS Evening News and CBS Saturday Morning.

With nearly 5 million viewers across the United States, CBS Evening News is one of the highest-rated news shows in the U.S. and CBS Saturday Morning sees close to 2 million viewers each week. Both shows cover current news and highlights unique news stories that would otherwise only be seen in local outlets.

The story, “A Georgia nonprofit is on a mission to give building materials new life,” aired on December 23rd on CBS Evening News and January 6th on CBS Saturday Morning, and covered the mission of Re:Purpose, its staff, and what they accomplish daily in the hopes of salvaging and preserving history through deconstruction.

Mae Bowley, executive director of Re:Purpose, gave CBS reporters a tour of their facility and warehouse, showing examples of irreplaceable wood that is hundreds of years old and holds historic significance to locals. They promoted the wood that Re:Purpose Savannah salvages when they successfully convince owners to deconstruct a building instead of demolishing it, which greatly reduces environmental and public health risks.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the construction and demolition industry in the U.S. sends an estimated 145 million tons of waste to U.S. landfills, accounting for a quarter of all waste. Re:Purpose is trying to redirect some of that waste for the betterment of our futures.

"Construction and demolition is the single biggest contributor to American landfills," says Bowley, "so this is an urgent, urgent area to address our current practices."

"The built environment holds so much of our history," says Katie Fitzhugh, Director of Deconstruction for Re:Purpose Savannah, "and so when you lose it, we lose a lot of the stories and the connections that go with that."

The features also highlighted the nonprofit as an all women+ venture in a male-dominated industry. Currently, more than 90% of the construction industry is composed of men.

"There are barriers, whether they're formal or informal," Bowley explains. "And removing those barriers helps women break into a really rewarding industry, and start long, productive, healthy careers."

Since the piece aired, the organization has seen a spike in support, inquiries, donations, and purchases nationwide. The piece also appeared on CBS Saturday morning news. 

Re:Purpose Savannah is a women+ (including women-identified, trans, non-binary, and other underrepresented people)-led and operated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that diverts materials from the landfill through the deconstruction of historic buildings in Savannah, GA. Re:Purpose Savannah captures and shares the value of historic structures through shared research and documentation of buildings, the careful deconstruction and salvage of the architectural fabric of projects, and by making goods available for reuse at their marsh-front lumber yard. 

To see the entire CBS Evening News, the Saturday Morning feature and to learn more about Re:Purpose Savannah go to www.repurposesavannah.or

For media inquiries email Yolanda Morris at [email protected].