Honeywell Ramp Team Completes 75th Ramp

Our incredible Honeywell Retirees Volunteer Program (HRVP) Ramp Team just finished their 75th ramp, and we would like to take a moment to thank and congratulate them on their service to our community! They have built 75 ramps over 12 years, improving the safety and independence of the older adults and individuals living with a disability who live in those 75 homes.

Several years ago, we talked with one of the Ramp Team Leaders, Armand Peterson, about the Ramp Team and how it started. He said, “The retiree ramp project grew out of initiatives started at the Honeywell Retirees Volunteer Program (HRVP). HRVP dated back to 1979, but its mission was to help retirees find volunteer activities in their communities. Honeywell reconfigured its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in the early 2000s…”Housing and Shelter” was defined as one of the key objectives, and Honeywell supported it by becoming a national corporate partner of Rebuilding Together. Paul Parrish solicited retiree volunteers for the RTTC Safe at Home programs, and the ramp projects grew out of these original efforts.”

The current ramp team consists of 21 members who regularly come together during the summer months to build ramps for those in need. Current members include:

  • Bill Berschneider
  • Brad Delapena
  • Vern Draxler
  • Eric Erickson
  • Jim Farley
  • Larry Fisher
  • Rick Johnson
  • Tom Keljik
  • Tim Kennedy
  • Lindsey Kopp
  • Tom Lorentz
  • Mike Meyers
  • Richard Parnell
  • Paul Parrish
  • Armand Peterson
  • Jim Raivala
  • Jasbir Singh
  • Thomas Steidl
  • Ernest Stelzer
  • Glenn Strand
  • Paul Thornton

We are immensely grateful to this team for their hard work and dedication over the years! We simply couldn’t do what we do with you!

Honeywell Ramp Team Celebrating 10th Year and 66 Ramps!

Our incredible Honeywell Retirees Volunteer Program (HRVP) Ramp Team just celebrated 10 years of service to our community! They have built 66 ramps during those 10 years, improving the safety and independence of the older adults and individuals living with a disability who live in those 66 homes.

Several years ago, we talked with one of the Ramp Team Leaders, Armand Peterson, about the Ramp Team and how it started. He said, “The retiree ramp project grew out of initiatives started at the Honeywell Retirees Volunteer Program (HRVP). HRVP dated back to 1979, but its mission was to help retirees find volunteer activities in their communities. Honeywell reconfigured its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in the early 2000s…”Housing and Shelter” was defined as one of the key objectives, and Honeywell supported it by becoming a national corporate partner of Rebuilding Together. Paul Parrish solicited retiree volunteers for the RTTC Safe at Home programs, and the ramp projects grew out of these original efforts.”

This incredible team continues to volunteer in rain, shine, or snow! Even during the pandemic, they have continued this important work. We are so thankful for all that they do!

Ramp Enables COVID-19 Survivor to Come Home

Last month, we were thrilled and proud to build a ramp for Duane so he could return home after a battle with COVID-19!  We would like to send a huge thank you to our Honeywell Retired Volunteer Program Ramp Team for their hard work on this project.  We’d also like to thank our other partners who came together to make this happen, including St. Bridget’s Church in Minneapolis and the Knights of Columbus.

Check out KARE 11’s story about this project here.