Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today is Giving Tuesday, and I realized that Colorado Gives Day,
which is a week from today, probably gets a little
more attention in this state. But they're both important days
during this holiday season and as people start thinking about
making some donations near the end of the year, sometimes
for a tax deduction, sometimes just to do something nice.
(00:20):
And my colleague Brenda Stewart, the editor on our news desk,
has talked to me a couple of times about this
really cool organization called Blue Star Recyclers. And Jonathan Sabar
is business manager over at Blue Star Recyclers, and it's
a very personal story for both of them. So Brenda,
(00:41):
maybe I'll just kind of hand us off to you
for a minute here, and maybe I'll jump in with
a question here and there.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
But why don't you pick it up?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
As you know, I've got a couple of charities that
are near and deared in my heart. Special Olympics is one,
but Blue Star Recyclers gets top billing. I found out
about them doing a news story one day they were
opening a facility in Denver. They had one in Colorado
Springs and Jonathan feel free to jump in anytime here
and I watch them work and they hire people, most
(01:11):
of them on the autism spectrum, people with disabilities, who
would otherwise be sitting home playing video games and collecting
Social Security and taking our tax dollars, and instead they're
trained to work at a recycling electronics recycling facility here
in Denver, recycling things that would otherwise go into a
(01:33):
landfill and materials that we will run out of one day,
and they're working and instead of collecting our tax dollars,
they are actually contributing there and paying taxes and working
full time and very productive members of society. And they're very,
very good at it. Osha loves this place because they
(01:56):
have no accidents.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
And the reason is most of the time accidents happened
by taking shortcuts. People on the spectrum do not take shortcuts.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It's a great insight.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
They don't need a metal detector because people on.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
The spectrum will not take anything that doesn't belong to them.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So Jonathan, let me let me bring in here, and
I want to ask you can you can add whatever
you want to about the business part. But Brenda was
telling me that this is also a you know, a
personal cause and mission for you, and I'd love to
hear a little of that story as well.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Absolutely, I'm wondering if we found out about it from
the same news story, because Yeah, my mother called me
one day saying she had just heard about this company,
Blue Star Recyclers, that was going to be opening in
Denver and that it would be perfect for our son Ian. So,
my son, Ian is autistic. He was at the time
(02:51):
getting close to aging out of the Jefferson County School's
transition program and they had him. They found him a
job working at a pizza place. But the pizza place
had him holding pizza boxes. They looked at him and
all they saw was a disability. And at Blue Star
they see each person for their unique strengths and what
(03:16):
they will do well, not what can't you do, but
what are you going to do better than most people?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
And Ian, your son, I should mention my son works
right along my son Jack works alongside your son Ian.
Have you noticed I've noticed a big change in my
son since he started working there.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Absolutely, it has been life changing for Ian and it
has been life changing for our family. And he is
excited to get up and go to work, and there
are there there have been times when he's had an
opportunity to do something, have a recreational thing instead of
going to work, and he makes sure that he still
gets to go in on another day so that he
(03:58):
doesn't miss a work day.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
I don't know if you were there when they had
a huge snowstorm and at the time, Bill Morris was
the CEO and he was running it and he said
it's an optional day because it's snowing. And then he
sent us all an email saying, snow Daz Schmow day.
Our guys, they have a schedule to work, They show
up one hundred percent of the time, and not one
(04:22):
of them would say no, I'm staying home today. They
will not do that, and they're pretty The company itself
is it's a nonprofit, their self sustaining for the most part.
They accept electronics, and I will say, please, if you
do nothing else, please donate those used computers, use television
sets that will otherwise go on a landfill. But I'm
(04:45):
here asking people to donate money to keep this place
alive and running and so that we can employ even
more people on the spectrum.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
And you will come to your generous offer in a second.
But I want to bring Gina into the conversation as well.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Yeah, We're speaking with Jonathan Save, our businessman, manager of
Blue Star Recyclers, on this Giving Tuesday, which is a
double whammy of Giving Tuesday and Colorado Gives Day coming
up next Tuesday. But Jonathan, when Brenda talks about you know,
being able to give, whether it's being able to recycle
items or give your money, what would you be able
to do with I don't know. Let's say one hundred
(05:18):
dollars donation to Blue Star Recyclers, what does that do
for the nonprofit?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
So one hundred dollars that's going to allow us to
get more tools, that that's going to allow us to
pay for a few hours of salary for a potential employee. Yeah,
so we are not quite one hundred percent sustainable on
earned revenue, and that comes both from what people pay
(05:44):
to recycle something like a TV set as well as computers,
which are free to recycle because there's enough valuable material.
But the charitable donations through Colorado Gives Day and other
filmthropic opportunities, that's what allows us to grow and hire
more people and expand the mission. And that's why it's
(06:04):
just so critical.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Now I am going to throw this out there, whether
you donate today or next week on Colorado Gibs Day,
I am going to match the first five hundred dollars
in donations. So I'm asking everybody to step up and
come on double triple my donation.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And so the way we'll do this, folks is Brent
Brenda's going to match five hundred dollars in donations. So
the easiest way to do this, I think if you
donate and again the website, I don't think I've mentioned it,
blue Star Recyclers with an S on the end dot
org Bluestar Recyclers dot org. If you donate some money
over there, what you can do is email me Ross
(06:47):
at iHeartMedia dot com. You don't need my last name,
Ross at iHeartMedia dot com. Email me a copy of
your digital receipt. Please make sure it does not include
your credit card number. I do not want your financial information. Hell,
just you know the proof that you did it. I'll
get them over to Brenda and she's going to match
(07:07):
the first five hundred dollars. You know, anytime between now
and at least next Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
And if you go on the Colorado Gives site, they'll
give you a list. There's a drop down bar who
do you want to donate to on this day? And
they match it as well, So come on, you're getting
like a triple quadruple whammy here, and all you got
to do is hit Blue Star Recyclers. And I made
sure they're there because I do it every year and
Ross we.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
Should mention because a listener text in it too when
we talk about Colorado Gives Day, early giving is happening
right now, so you can go on to the website
and give. You don't have to wait till next Tuesday
in order to give. There's all those opportunities. Like Brenda mentioned,
you could just search Blue Star Recyclers on their website
and then have the easy portal from there.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
And I will say, wallet Hub lists Colorado is one
of the top giving states in the country. So come on,
let's prove them right, guys.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Let's do it, and folks blue Star re Cyclers dot
org to learn more that you can go to the
Colorado Gives Day website as Gina just mentioned and find
Blue Star Recyclers that way. And part of the reason
I wanted to have these guys and have this on
the show, not just because it's such a personal thing
to one of my colleagues, but also the fact that
I just love that they are taking these folks who
(08:18):
might otherwise have very few opportunities in life and giving
them actual work in a for profit venture in the
real business world. And I just think it's a win
all the way around, and I love it. If you
need any more information, you can also go to my
blog at Rosskominsky dot comments all up there on the website.
Jonathan sab Our, business manager of Blue Star Recyclers, thanks
(08:40):
for your time and thanks for what you do.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Absolutely thanks so much for having me. Glad to do it.
Today is Giving Tuesday, and I realized that Colorado Gives Day,
which is a week from today, probably gets a little
more attention in this state. But they're both important days
during this holiday season and as people start thinking about
making some donations near the end of the year, sometimes
for a tax deduction, sometimes just to do something nice.
(00:20):
And my colleague Brenda Stewart, the editor on our news desk,
has talked to me a couple of times about this
really cool organization called Blue Star Recyclers. And Jonathan Sabar
is business manager over at Blue Star Recyclers, and it's
a very personal story for both of them. So Brenda,
(00:41):
maybe I'll just kind of hand us off to you
for a minute here, and maybe I'll jump in with
a question here and there.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
But why don't you pick it up?
Speaker 3 (00:47):
As you know, I've got a couple of charities that
are near and deared in my heart. Special Olympics is one,
but Blue Star Recyclers gets top billing. I found out
about them doing a news story one day they were
opening a facility in Denver. They had one in Colorado
Springs and Jonathan feel free to jump in anytime here
and I watch them work and they hire people, most
(01:11):
of them on the autism spectrum, people with disabilities, who
would otherwise be sitting home playing video games and collecting
Social Security and taking our tax dollars, and instead they're
trained to work at a recycling electronics recycling facility here
in Denver, recycling things that would otherwise go into a
(01:33):
landfill and materials that we will run out of one day,
and they're working and instead of collecting our tax dollars,
they are actually contributing there and paying taxes and working
full time and very productive members of society. And they're very,
very good at it. Osha loves this place because they
(01:56):
have no accidents.
Speaker 4 (01:57):
And the reason is most of the time accidents happened
by taking shortcuts. People on the spectrum do not take shortcuts.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
It's a great insight.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
They don't need a metal detector because people on.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
The spectrum will not take anything that doesn't belong to them.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
So Jonathan, let me let me bring in here, and
I want to ask you can you can add whatever
you want to about the business part. But Brenda was
telling me that this is also a you know, a
personal cause and mission for you, and I'd love to
hear a little of that story as well.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Absolutely, I'm wondering if we found out about it from
the same news story, because Yeah, my mother called me
one day saying she had just heard about this company,
Blue Star Recyclers, that was going to be opening in
Denver and that it would be perfect for our son Ian. So,
my son, Ian is autistic. He was at the time
(02:51):
getting close to aging out of the Jefferson County School's
transition program and they had him. They found him a
job working at a pizza place. But the pizza place
had him holding pizza boxes. They looked at him and
all they saw was a disability. And at Blue Star
they see each person for their unique strengths and what
(03:16):
they will do well, not what can't you do, but
what are you going to do better than most people?
Speaker 3 (03:23):
And Ian, your son, I should mention my son works
right along my son Jack works alongside your son Ian.
Have you noticed I've noticed a big change in my
son since he started working there.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Absolutely, it has been life changing for Ian and it
has been life changing for our family. And he is
excited to get up and go to work, and there
are there there have been times when he's had an
opportunity to do something, have a recreational thing instead of
going to work, and he makes sure that he still
gets to go in on another day so that he
(03:58):
doesn't miss a work day.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
I don't know if you were there when they had
a huge snowstorm and at the time, Bill Morris was
the CEO and he was running it and he said
it's an optional day because it's snowing. And then he
sent us all an email saying, snow Daz Schmow day.
Our guys, they have a schedule to work, They show
up one hundred percent of the time, and not one
(04:22):
of them would say no, I'm staying home today. They
will not do that, and they're pretty The company itself
is it's a nonprofit, their self sustaining for the most part.
They accept electronics, and I will say, please, if you
do nothing else, please donate those used computers, use television
sets that will otherwise go on a landfill. But I'm
(04:45):
here asking people to donate money to keep this place
alive and running and so that we can employ even
more people on the spectrum.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
And you will come to your generous offer in a second.
But I want to bring Gina into the conversation as well.
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Yeah, We're speaking with Jonathan Save, our businessman, manager of
Blue Star Recyclers, on this Giving Tuesday, which is a
double whammy of Giving Tuesday and Colorado Gives Day coming
up next Tuesday. But Jonathan, when Brenda talks about you know,
being able to give, whether it's being able to recycle
items or give your money, what would you be able
to do with I don't know. Let's say one hundred
(05:18):
dollars donation to Blue Star Recyclers, what does that do
for the nonprofit?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
So one hundred dollars that's going to allow us to
get more tools, that that's going to allow us to
pay for a few hours of salary for a potential employee. Yeah,
so we are not quite one hundred percent sustainable on
earned revenue, and that comes both from what people pay
(05:44):
to recycle something like a TV set as well as computers,
which are free to recycle because there's enough valuable material.
But the charitable donations through Colorado Gives Day and other
filmthropic opportunities, that's what allows us to grow and hire
more people and expand the mission. And that's why it's
(06:04):
just so critical.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Now I am going to throw this out there, whether
you donate today or next week on Colorado Gibs Day,
I am going to match the first five hundred dollars
in donations. So I'm asking everybody to step up and
come on double triple my donation.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
And so the way we'll do this, folks is Brent
Brenda's going to match five hundred dollars in donations. So
the easiest way to do this, I think if you
donate and again the website, I don't think I've mentioned it,
blue Star Recyclers with an S on the end dot
org Bluestar Recyclers dot org. If you donate some money
over there, what you can do is email me Ross
(06:47):
at iHeartMedia dot com. You don't need my last name,
Ross at iHeartMedia dot com. Email me a copy of
your digital receipt. Please make sure it does not include
your credit card number. I do not want your financial information. Hell,
just you know the proof that you did it. I'll
get them over to Brenda and she's going to match
(07:07):
the first five hundred dollars. You know, anytime between now
and at least next Tuesday.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
And if you go on the Colorado Gives site, they'll
give you a list. There's a drop down bar who
do you want to donate to on this day? And
they match it as well, So come on, you're getting
like a triple quadruple whammy here, and all you got
to do is hit Blue Star Recyclers. And I made
sure they're there because I do it every year and
Ross we.
Speaker 5 (07:31):
Should mention because a listener text in it too when
we talk about Colorado Gives Day, early giving is happening
right now, so you can go on to the website
and give. You don't have to wait till next Tuesday
in order to give. There's all those opportunities. Like Brenda mentioned,
you could just search Blue Star Recyclers on their website
and then have the easy portal from there.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
And I will say, wallet Hub lists Colorado is one
of the top giving states in the country. So come on,
let's prove them right, guys.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Let's do it, and folks blue Star re Cyclers dot
org to learn more that you can go to the
Colorado Gives Day website as Gina just mentioned and find
Blue Star Recyclers that way. And part of the reason
I wanted to have these guys and have this on
the show, not just because it's such a personal thing
to one of my colleagues, but also the fact that
I just love that they are taking these folks who
(08:18):
might otherwise have very few opportunities in life and giving
them actual work in a for profit venture in the
real business world. And I just think it's a win
all the way around, and I love it. If you
need any more information, you can also go to my
blog at Rosskominsky dot comments all up there on the website.
Jonathan sab Our, business manager of Blue Star Recyclers, thanks
(08:40):
for your time and thanks for what you do.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Absolutely thanks so much for having me. Glad to do it.
The Ross Kaminsky Show News
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