Ruth’s Reusable Resources will be holding a fund-raising auction on Saturday, Nov. 12, from 5 to 9 p.m. at Scarborough High School.

Owner Ruth Libby will be auctioning off 50 chairs and desks that have been painted by various Maine artists for the event, called “Have a Seat.”

The auction is Libby’s first attempt to raise money from the public to purchase or build a new location for the free teacher store. So far she has about $10,000 for the move.

Ruth’s Reusable Resources has been located at the Bessey School in Scarborough for about a dozen years. But the amount of material Libby has and the number of teachers that visit the store has increased over time and the organization has run out of room. Additionally, the school is not well suited to be a warehouse and store.

The property is now proposed to be renovated into senior housing as part of a YMCA building project, but even before that project was discussed Libby was trying to find a place to move.

Libby hopes to have a new location identified and opened by next fall. Ideally, the new store would be reopened in Scarborough. If that is not possible, then any location near the Maine Turnpike would also be acceptable, she said.

Once she reopens her store, Libby plans on offering a store for the public to purchase items, something that she cannot do now because of the space constraints. She also is planning opening up several satellite stores in other parts of the state.

School districts from across the state pay a per-student fee to the organization, which allows school staff to shop at the store for free. All of the materials at the store are donated from area businesses that otherwise would have thrown it away.

“I don’t do this to make money; it just makes sense,” Libby said.

Ruth