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ST. AUGUSTINE, FL (09/05/2011)(readMedia)-- After converting a former shipping container into a unique, modern living space, Flagler College Students In Free Enterprise [SIFE] and LOCI Design will show off the cutting edge project at a community preview on Sept. 9 and 10.

"What we want to show are the many uses for an old, throw-away container," said SIFE co-advisor Barry Sand about the project, "Containers for a Cause." "We want to introduce people to the versatility - that it can be used for anything from a place to live to a unique workspace."

The converted container will eventually be delivered to 27-year-old Ray Anderson Jr., a quadriplegic man who lives in Hastings.

Ten million shipping containers arrive in United States ports every year, and about 3 million are left to rust in salvage yards. But Sand said there are limitless possibilities for adapting the sturdy, cheap and portable containers into a variety of new uses.

For the past year, SIFE along with community organizations and local businesses, have helped to transform the rusting steel container - once used to transport goods overseas and across highways. The renovated container now includes a kitchenette, bathroom and a bedroom.

"This wasn't just Flagler College," said Donna Delorenzo, co-advisor to Flagler SIFE. "It was the cooperation of the whole community from the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office to the St. Johns County Housing Partnership to PQH Architects to the Hastings Youth Academy. So many businesses and individual volunteers pitched in."

The container was renovated in the parking lot of the St. Augustine Record.

The open house will take place at The Record's southwest parking lot, 1 News Place (at the corner of State Road 207 and 312) from 1 to 6 p.m. on Sept. 9 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 10.

For more information, call 826-8532.

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Flagler College is an independent, four-year, comprehensive baccalaureate college located in St. Augustine, Fla. The college offers 24 majors, 29 minors and two pre-professional programs, the largest majors being business, education and communication. Small by intent, Flagler College has an enrollment of about 2,600 students, as well as a satellite campus at Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, Fla. U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review regularly feature Flagler as a college that offers quality education at a relatively low cost; tuition is $22,500, including room and board. A relatively young institution (founded in 1968), Flagler College is also noted for the historic beauty of its campus. The main building is Ponce de Leon Hall, built in 1887 as a luxury resort by Henry Flagler, who co-founded the Standard Oil Company with John D. Rockefeller. For more on Flagler College, visit www.flagler.edu.

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