Melting Pot : Building Good Will

When Tijuana was ravaged by floods and hundreds of poor hillside residents lost their homes in mudslides early last year, the Red Cross and other relief agencies provided basic emergency supplies. But Judy Bishop of San Diego realized that people would soon need something more: They’d have to rebuild their homes.

Bishop organized a donation drive in San Diego that drew about 400 tons of lumber, drywall, flooring, carpeting and other materials in two days. It took 27 tractor-trailers to haul it all down.

The tremendous response from homeowners, businesses and contractors, combined with the obvious need in Mexico, prompted an idea: “There might be a business here,” reasoned Bishop, formerly a senior account executive in the electronics industry. With investment banker Ted Reiff, she launched Building Materials Distributors, a nonprofit operation that recycles building supplies for a clientele that comes almost exclusively from across the border.

For six months--while Reiff still kept his day job--the two “borrowed trucks, employees and yards,” Reiff says, as they collected material from businesses and contractors (who can get tax write-offs for their contributions). “We sprung out on our own last July,” says Reiff, who is the company’s president. “Now we have our own trucks, yard, people.”

The company’s 10 employees work on a one-acre site just a stone’s throw from the border. Virtually anything used in any building of any kind--lumber, plumbing and electrical supplies, roofing tile, doors, windows, awnings, fencing, cabinets, mirrored closet doors, tools and more--is available, cheap.

A bank being remodeled donated oak trim, wood plank flooring and 5,700 square feet of commercial-grade carpet. “It’s in excellent condition, and it’s priced $500,” says Reiff. “We sell items here for pennies on the dollar.” Pesos and dollars are accepted.

“Basically 100%” of its customers are from Tijuana, he says. One is Alicia Coronel, who comes twice a week for supplies to build her concrete-block and wood “casita.” She estimates that she’s saved at least $1,000. Materials are “muy caro” in Mexico, she says.

The company hasn’t ignored its charitable roots, making monthly runs to Tijuana community centers and churches. “It’s not as many as I would like because the doggone duties are so high,” Reiff says. “Even though the items are donated, we still have to pay the duties.”

“This whole thing revolved around Judy wanting to make a difference,” he says. “Our mission is twofold: to preserve the landfill space and to offer affordable materials to low-income people. We’re like the Goodwill of the building industry.”