Teaming up with Honeywell and Cooper High School to Renovate Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery

On October 3rd, we partnered with 50 volunteers from Honeywell and Robbinsdale Cooper High School to renovate and make improvements to the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery.  Volunteers spent the day painting interior hallways and rooms, landscaping the grounds, building a deck and refurbishing some recreational equipment for children.

The Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery provides temporary shelter for thousands of children annually and provides crisis counseling and support programs for parents.   Executive Director Mary Pat Lee said, “Our mission at the crisis nursery is to create a safe and secure environment for the well-being of the children we serve. These improvements will help bring smiles to the faces of many children and families struggling to overcome challenges. We are so thankful to all of the volunteers from Honeywell and Cooper High School, along with Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, who came here today to give us a helping hand.”

This project marks the 28th collaboration between Rebuilding Together Twin Cities and Honeywell to help homeowners and communities in need throughout the Twin Cities.  It is also one of many that have been completed in an ongoing partnership between Honeywell Hometown Solutions and Cooper High School’s Cooper Cares program.

Thanks to everyone from Honeywell and Robbinsdale Cooper High School who came together to make to make this project possible!

Honeywell and Robbinsdale Cooper High School Make Improvements to Majestic Hills Ranch

Nearly 125 volunteers from Honeywell and Robbinsdale Cooper High School joined forces on May 16th to make improvements and repairs at the Majestic Hills Ranch, a 105-acre horse farm located in Lakeville, which has helped hundreds of U.S. Military veterans and children with developmental disabilities through therapeutic horseback riding programs.

Volunteers built a ramp to a hydraulic lift to enable those in wheelchairs to safely board a horse. They also assembled a patio to serve as a safe, comfortable seating area for those watching family members participate in therapeutic classes. They repaired and painted the fence surrounding the riding arena, stabilized a manure bunker, laid gravel, pained a large sign board, cleaned out barn stalls, and landscaped.

“Collectively, the Honeywell and Cooper volunteers are the largest volunteer group we’ve ever had at the site,” said Kris Zieska, director of children’s programs at Majestic Hills Ranch. “Thanks to their efforts, our ranch is now a safer, more beautiful place for the veterans and children we serve, and their work on the wheelchair ramp will enable even more people to experience therapeutic riding.”

This project marks the 18th completed locally through Rebuilding Together Twin Cities’ partnership with Honeywell.  Thank you to Honeywell and Robbinsdale Cooper High School for your continued commitment to helping homeowners and communities in need throughout the Twin Cities!

 

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.

Volunteers from Honeywell and Robbinsdale Cooper High School Repair Home of Air Force Veteran

On Thursday, October 11th, we partnered with 50 volunteers from Honeywell and the Robbinsdale Cooper High School football team to make repairs to the home of a 57-year-old Air Force veteran named William and his wife, Sharon.  William and Sharon have taken good care of their modest home, but it is prone to flooding.  William lost his job as a painter last year and wasn’t able to flood-proof the home on his own.  The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans referred William and Sharon to Rebuilding Together Twin Cities for help.  Volunteers created a French drain, installed a new paver sidewalk, repaired the deck and installed a new basement ceiling.  They also painted the living room, dining room, basement and kitchen cupboards and power-washed the exterior of the home.

This project marks the 17th completed locally through Rebuilding Together Twin Cities’ partnership with Honeywell.  Thank you to Honeywell and Robbinsdale Cooper High School for your continued commitment to helping homeowners in need in our community!