Quartersawn and Community Volunteers who came out on September 11th for a Day of Service and Remembrance and helped us make repairs for several homeowners in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Law School Club who came out to complete a punch list for a North Minneapolis homeowner on September 8th.
We are proud to welcome three new AmeriCorps members to the Rebuilding Together Twin Cities team: Kelly Bandman, Tim Erkel and Brent Suski.
Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College in Iowa. She has extensive experience working with groups of children of all ages as a camp counselor, program coordinator and student teacher. Kelly’s background is in the performing arts, which provided her the opportunity to work with volunteers and gain construction experience. She has a passion for community service and is excited about working with communities in need.
Tim holds a Bachelors degree in Political Science and Classics from Macalaster College. Most recently, he worked as a Business Licensing intern for the City of Minneapolis. He also interned with HOME Line, a nonprofit focused on renter’s rights, where he worked on public policy issues to help level the playing field between renters and landlords. Last year, Tim stepped in to volunteer as our Volunteer Coordinator after our AmeriCorps Volunteer Coordinator couldn’t complete his full term of service. Tim has been volunteering with us on a full-time basis since mid-February.
Brent recently completed a Masters of Architecture degree from the University of Minnesota. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gustavus Adolphus College. Brent has contributed to several large-scale rebuilding projects in Haiti that centered on community building and engagement. He served as a teaching assistant at the University of Minnesota and volunteered for Art Buddies at Bancroft Elementary School in Minneapolis.
This is the fifth year that Rebuilding Together has been awarded an AmeriCorps grant through the Corporation for National and Community Service. The goal of the AmeriCorps CapacityCorps program is to build the capacity of grassroots Rebuilding Together programs so they can be more sustainable, effective, and efficient in helping homeowners in need. Welcome Kelly, Tim and Brent!
Rebuilding Together Twin Cities partnered with 70 volunteers from CBRE this week to make repairs for two South Minneapolis homeowners, including Natoya, a single mother of three young children. Volunteers built a privacy fence so that Natoya’s children can safely use their yard for exercise and to play outdoors and made other interior and exterior repairs. In her thank you note to the volunteers, Natoya wrote, “Thank you for creating a safe environment for my family!”
These projects and others completed across the country are part of CBRE’s BuildMonth. Thank you to CBRE for their commitment to helping homeowners and communities in need and to the awesome volunteer team for their hard work!
We recently partnered with ATK to renovate a single-family home owned by the Minnesota Council for Veterans (MACV). MACV provides comprehensive program and supportive services to homeless veterans in four primary focus areas: emergency assistance, housing, employment and civil legal concerns. Through their programs, MACV supports homeless veterans in structured, transitional housing, which provides more than shelter for these veterans. This program offers a home-like environment and assistance in coordinating other needs to develop a personal plan for total recovery. The home renovated by ATK will be used to house a homeless female veteran and her children. We are proud to be partnering with ATK to support our nation’s veterans!
