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Oberlin, Ohio – Over the weekend, the Oberlin College football team participated in helping the Lorain County Habitat for Humanity begin to set up its ReStore. Store manager Ron Huff says that ReStore will take donations of new and used building supplies and re-sell them to the public at a reduced price.

“We want contractors, do-it-yourselfers ... anybody and everybody is welcome to shop or donate,” Huff said. Well, over the weekend, that is exactly what he got from the helping hands of the Oberlin College football team. According to Huff, there are more than 700 ReStore locations in the United States, but this is the first store in Lorain County.

The Yeomen gridiron warriors assisted in various ways in helping setup store and gained many valuable experiences of their own. " I gained a great deal of perspective," said Cody Wiewandt. "It is hard to imagine that there are such urgent areas of need so close by. As a team, we not only gained a valuable dose of reality, but also an even stronger sense of camaraderie. We all grew up a little bit, as individuals and as a team."

Rising-senior Chris Pottmeyer said of the ReStore project, “The team realizes the importance of giving back to this community; we give up our free time to play a sport we love and the least we can do is use our passion and dedication in a combined effort to help others, and this project allowed us to do that.”

In an effort to build a stronger relationship between Oberlin College and the Lorain County Community, Pottmeyer added, “It is important to give back to the community because we have the ability to help them, and it would be a waste to ignore that. Also, it is crucial to work towards a stronger relationship between Oberlin College and the surrounding community; it is beneficial to both sides and will hopefully lead towards a more consistent volunteer effort on the part of the students.”

Look for ReStore, which is set to open on May 19th, at its new location of 214 E. 34th St., in Lorain. The proceeds of ReStore's sales will benefit Lorain County Habitat for Humanity.

For more information about the Lorain County Habitat For Humanity, visit them online at http://www.loraincountyhabitat.org/