A Safe Sure We Can

Sure We Can is a non-profit recycling center, community space and sustainability hub in Brooklyn, NY that serves independent recyclers, or "canners" – people who collect bottles and cans to earn income to provide for themselves and their families – as well as the broader local community. For the past 16 years, SWC has served as the only redemption center in New York that directly supports canners by providing space and amenities to meet their needs in both their work and their lives, and aims to help create a sense of belonging and low-barrier access to work and community. Through our recycling work to our education, advocacy and outreach programs, we promote social inclusion, environmental awareness and economic empowerment. 

Thanks to your generous support last year, we saved Sure We Can from eviction and raised funds to finally secure a permanent home by purchasing our lot at 219 McKibbin St, where we've carried out our work for over a decade. This is a truly incredible milestone, and we are so grateful for the support that has allowed us to ensure our community is never without a place where they belong. But our work is far from over – we need your help again to make our lot a home we can be proud of!

Now that SWC has a permanent space, we can take on projects that have been delayed for years because we couldn’t invest in a space we might be kicked out of! Our lot has lots of quirks–in addition to lacking both water and sewage facilities, uneven concrete makes our space difficult to navigate by the elderly and persons with physical disabilities, who make up a huge part of our canners. To fulfill our mission of bringing dignity to this work, we want to provide an accessible, ADA-compliant physical space. As our community grows, so too must our capacity to make them feel safe and welcome, and these improvements are an essential part of that. 

With your help, we will raise $100,000 by the end of the year to support the critical infrastructure improvement of refinishing our site's concrete, which will make the site more hospitable and accessible for the hundreds of canners we serve as well as more inviting for the broader community. Please join us in our efforts to better serve our canners and community and make 219 McKibbin St truly feel like home!