Thanks To….

Safe at Home Volunteers: Mariette Cole, Steve Johnson, Wesley Anderson, and Owen Christensen

Volunteers who came to our Journeyman Volunteer Night: Conrad Pawlina, Darwin Barker, Kyle Jackson, David L’Allier, Joe Abad, and Erin Bertschinger.

Office and Warehouse Volunteers: Mariette Cole, Elise Sjogren, and Craig Bruneau

Dunwoody students who did everything from helping with office and warehouse tasks to completing home repair projects: Robby Deusenbery, Brian Henrich, Thomas Connor, Jason Gascho, and Anthony Swanberg

Home Repair Volunteers: Joe Abad and Matt Edens

Farewell from Rebuilding Together National CEO Gary Officer

Dear Friends,

Earlier this month I tendered my resignation to the Board of Directors at Rebuilding Together after six and a half years of service to this wonderful organization. My resignation followed months of discussions about the organization’s future priorities, and how to best position our wonderful affiliates to better serve the critical needs of their communities.  My resignation was planned and without regret, and I will continue to work with the board through the transition.

My tenure as the President and CEO of Rebuilding Together occurred during a period of tremendous growth for the organization. Our growth, impact, and ability to meet the housing needs of hardworking families, occurred because we were able to tap the very best of our national spirit. We successfully marshaled the will of our nation’s volunteers; the genius of our charitable impulse; and our common concern and empathy for our neighbors in need. These noble traits, rolled into one, provided the critical foundation for our work, and the execution of our mission.

As volunteers, sponsors, donors, and partners alike, each of you played an essential role in the success of our work. We simply could not have advanced our agenda – our mission, without your support. To each of you, I want to extend a personal and heartfelt thank you.

My departure, however, should not distract from the fundamental importance of our vision of a safe and healthy home for every person. More than ever, low- and moderate-income families need the support of organizations like Rebuilding Together. Our ability to perform renovations and repairs on the homes of deserving families – free of charge – provides much needed relief and security at a time of continued economic uncertainty. The preservation of the home contributes so much to the well-being of the family. Quality homeownership provides the primary source for inter-generational wealth transfer, positively affects educational outcomes, and is a major contributor towards health outcomes for family members. Your continued support is needed.

As Rebuilding Together undertakes this important leadership transition in the months ahead, I am confident that this critical nonprofit and network of almost 200 affiliates will continue the important work that has characterized our history. I would like to thank you for your encouragement and friendship during my tenure, but more importantly, for your continued support for this incredible organization as we seek to assist as many needy families as our resources will allow.

With gratitude,

Gary A. Officer

Teaming Up with Honeywell to Make a Difference at the Sunshine Foundation’s Dream Village

We were thrilled to partner with Honeywell to coordinate a community service project at the Sunshine Foundation’s Dream Village in Davenport, Florida last month.  The Sunshine Foundation’s sole purpose is to answer the dreams of chronically ill, seriously ill, physically challenged and abused children, ages three to eighteen, whose families cannot fulfill their requests due to the financial strain that child’s illness may cause.  The Dream Village is a 22-acre resort nestled in a fairy tale setting and offers amenities and activities, all specially designed to be accessible for wheelchairs and other special needs.  Guests at the Dream Village enjoy the theme parks and attractions nearby and return each day to relax in their cottage.  Since its opening, the Dream Village has welcomed over 20,000 children.

Our Construction Supervisor Dave Christensen and his wife Nancy helped plan, coordinate and carry out this project.  They supervised volunteers from Honeywell who completed a therapeutic riding arena, including building a small barn and shade structure for horses, building a fence around the arena perimeter, building a shade structure for playground area and landscaping.

Dave said of the volunteers, “The Honeywell crew was amazing and very enthusiastic. We had to make them stop at the end of the day. They wanted to keep going.  It was a GREAT event!”

The project at the Dream Village was just one of three community service projects completed by Honeywell volunteers on January 18th.  In addition to the project at the Sunshine Foundation’s Dream Village, volunteers completed service projects at the Eatonville Police Station and Denton Johnson Community Center.  Honeywell held its annual sales kickoff meeting in Orlando that week and completed these service events as a thank you to the hosting region.  Approximately 150 volunteers infused more than 600 hours into the community, and Honeywell contributed approximately $23,000 to Rebuilding Together Affiliates to fund these projects.

Year in Review

2012 was a busy year!  We partnered with 768 volunteers who dedicated more than 6,800 hours of service to repair 85 homes, renovate five nonprofit facilities and revitalize three community spaces.  Thank you to all of our volunteers who dedicated their time and energy to these projects!

We would also like to recognize our generous sponsors and partners.  Your support enables us to stretch our resources further and help more low-income homeowners live independently in safe and healthy homes.  The following organizations provided support for Rebuilding Together Twin Cities from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012:

CORPORATIONS, FOUNDATIONS, CHURCHES & CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS

$50,000+
Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation
Maxwell House Drops of Good Campaign
Wells Fargo Housing Foundation

$20,000 to $49,999
Honeywell
Mosaic Company
Otto Bremer Foundation
Sears
Wells Fargo Foundation

$10,000 to $19,999
Ameriprise Financial
F.R. Bigelow Foundation
GLS Companies
Honeywell Volunteerism Committee
Horton Holding
Minnesota Timberwolves FastBreak Foundation
Park Nicollet Foundation
Stevens Square Foundation
Travelers Foundation

$5,000 to $9,999
CBRE
MidCountry Bank
Richard A Newman Foundation
James R. Thorpe Foundation
Turner Family Foundation
U.S. Bank

Up to $4,999
Accenture
Allianz
Bank of America
Dorsey & Whitney Foundation
EMC Insurance Foundation
Flower Valley Vineyards
The Michelle & David Fries Charitable Fund
Gannett Foundation
General Reinsurance Corporation
Guy Carpenter
Select Evergreen Construction
Wayzata Community Church

IN-KIND GIFTS

$90,000+
Wells Fargo Housing Foundation

$5,000 to $25,000
Highmark Builders, Inc.
Nemer Fieger
Standard Heating & Air Conditioning
Tile by Design
Valspar

Up to $4,999
ABC Supply
Agosto
Citi-Cargo & Storage
Cub Foods
Hands On Twin Cities
Haro Electric
Home Depot Foundation
Honeywell
JG Hause Construction
On Site Sanitation
Riverland Ag Corp
Steward Charitable Services
Target

In addition to helping more homeowners and communities than ever, we also grew in terms of staff in 2012.  In August, we hired Tyler White as a part-time Office Manager.  Three new AmeriCorps members joined us in August. We also hired Tony Sjogren as Program Manager in December.

As the need for our services continues to grow, we plan to help more homeowners than ever in 2013.  Thank you again for helping us ensure that more people can live independently in homes that are safe and healthy!