Shopping Online with Amazon?

If you’re planning to shop online at Amazon, please be sure to start at www.smile.amazon.com and enter Rebuilding Together Twin Cities as your charity of choice. You can support our work while you shop, at no cost to you!

What is AmazonSmile?

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same prices, selection and shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to your favorite charitable organization.

How do I shop at AmazonSmile?

  1. Go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device. You may want to add a bookmark to AmazonSmile to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.
  2. Sign up for an Amazon Smile account.
  3. On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you need to select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. AmazonSmile will remember your selection, and then every eligible purchase you make on AmazonSmile will result in a donation.

Thanks To…

WSB & Associates – Volunteers worked Beverly and Erskine’s home, finishing the two stair projects and working to complete the interior painting project.

Honeywell Retired Volunteer Program Ramp Team – Our incredible ramp team worked to construct a ramp at Charles and Yvonne’s home, making it possible for Yvonne’s mother to move into their home this spring and making it easier for Charles to get in and out of the home safely.

Safe at Home Volunteers – Amy McKinley, James Bathen, Matthew Kudwa, Regina Rippel, Wesley Anderson, Mariette Cole, and Adam Beckwith

The Sound You Never Want to Hear, But Are Grateful You Did

The piercing sound of your smoke detector goes off. Your bedroom is filling with smoke. You have two minutes to get out of your house before the smoke will impact your ability to breathe. Do you know how to exit your home? Do you have a working fire extinguisher within reach? Imagine the scenario without having a smoke detector.

Rebuilding Together Twin Cities’ Safe at Home Program is designed to prevent falls and ensure the safety of homes of residents with disabilities, 55 years and older. One of the quickest modifications we perform to make a home safer is to ensure that there are enough working smoke detectors in a home. This year, we are partnering with the American Red Cross serving the Twin Cities Area’s “Home Fire Campaign,” which is providing ten-year smoke detectors and safety education material at no cost to help prepare homeowners in the event of a fire.

As an AmeriCorps Project Coordinator, I speak to many homeowners that haven’t updated their smoke detectors in years or are unable to change the batteries. Some have fire extinguishers that are 20 plus years old. This leaves many residents vulnerable in the event of a home fire. I encourage everyone to make sure that they have working smoke detectors, an accessible fire extinguisher, and an escape plan. As a former Conservation Corps member who served on fire base camps and a survivor of a workplace fire, I know how quickly you must react when dealing with fire at any size. Although, the sound of an alarm is jarring and still startles me to this day, I am grateful for that tiny, round device.

For more information on smoke detectors and fire safety, please visit:

http://www.redcross.org/local/mn/home-fire-campaign-new

Author Krista Yamashita is currently serving as an AmeriCorps CapacityCorps member with Rebuilding Together Twin Cities.