Volunteer Spotlight: Katherine Kraus

 Each month, we feature one of the many volunteers that help to make the magic of Austin Creative Reuse possible. This month, it's core volunteer Katherine Kraus! What motivates you to volunteer? I love being a part of a community and helping out with like minded people for a good cause.  Why ACR? It was very exciting to find a place where I could combine my creative passion with my love of the environment and conservation. I worked in the professional costume industry for years and really did not like the waste caused by my industry and the fashion industry. How long have you volunteered with ACR? A little over a month Are you more into the arts aspect of ACR or the conservation aspect and why?It's a close call, but the conservation side. Finding ACR was a really cool way to find my "place" in a conservation effort. I also don't think people realize how their random purchases can create so much waste. This is a fantastic way to not let art, craft, and office supplies end up in the landfill.  Where else have/do you volunteer? I volunteer at Urban Roots and I help out at Dreamtime Animal Sanctuary. What do you enjoy the most out of volunteering at ACR? I really like seeing how excited customers get about the center and all of their interesting finds. Especially kids, it adds some extra entertainment to my shifts. Do you have any interesting or funny stories about something that happened while you were volunteering at ACR?I thought it was funny that my first few days here I was organizing and setting up the bead department for the re-opening... in my last wardrobe job, I oversaw all the beads for the show. Apparently, I couldn't stay away. Katherine toured with a production of Disney's Aladdin and was in charge of all of the beading/craft maintenance. Below are a few of the heavily beaded costumes that she spent a lot of time with!