August Volunteer Spotlight: Betsie Eikenberry

What motivates you to volunteer?I'm very passionate about making a big difference in small ways.  If everyone pitches in where they can, we can make a big difference together. Why ACR?I think it's very important to be mindful about our consumerism.  We live in such a throw-away society, that we've forgotten that things can be reused and repurposed.  My family really enjoys searching for and finding new-to-us treasures, it's almost like a sport!  So it seemed natural to volunteer for an organization with reuse and repurpose at its core.  I want ACR to continue to be a resource in our community and volunteers are needed for that!How long have you volunteered with ACR?I actually went to volunteer orientation almost exactly a year ago!  Are you more into the arts aspect of ACR or the conservation aspect and why?I would say that I'm into both equally.  I made a commitment in 2019 to sew or knit as much of my own wardrobe as possible in order to circumvent the ready-to-wear clothing industry.  As a whole, it's a very wasteful and environmentally harmful industry.  ACR has been essential to that endeavor, I get the majority of my fabric here!  So really, the two aspects are intertwined for me.  Where else have you/do you volunteer?My other main volunteering gig is on the Board of Directors for Austin Humanists at Work.  I am the secretary and I also manage our inventory and donations.  We help people experiencing homelessness by providing them with personal care items, undergarments, warmth items and other things, no strings attached. What do you enjoy the most out of volunteering for ACR?I really enjoy spending time with like-minded people who also enjoy making and creating with thrifted items.  But I'm not going to lie, I really love spending time with all that beautiful fabric.Do you have any interesting or funny stories about something that happened while you were volunteering at ACR?Well, I roll fabric at home while listening to murder and true crime podcasts, so there's a little bit of weird energy in each roll of fabric!