Rebuild-a-Block Community Project in St. Paul Was a HUGE Success!

We were thrilled to partner with Lowe’s, Carter’s Kids, more than 130 community volunteers and several local partners and sponsors to complete a massive community project in St. Paul that included a new playground at the Chelsea Heights Elementary School, repairs for three families who live near the school, and improvements at the Northwest Como Recreational Center.

HGTV personality and Carter’s Kids founder, Carter Oosterhouse, worked with volunteers on May 2nd at the playground project; and the project culminated with a ribbon-cutting celebration later that day.  Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education Brenda Cassellius, Commissioner of MN Housing Mary Tingerthal, Council Member Russ Stark, and Deputy Superintendent of St. Paul Public Schools Michael Baumann also joined us for the ribbon-cutting celebration.

Jill Gebeke, Principal at Chelsea Heights, sent us a thank you note that said, “The playground is absolutely awesome!!! I was outside at recess today with the kids, and it was absolute chaos (in a good way). We couldn’t have done this without your Rebuilding Together team. On behalf of the students and staff, thank you.”

We also received this thank you note from Lori, one of the homeowners we helped through this project, “Thank you doesn’t even begin to reflect all that we feel! You have put in exhausting hours once our kitchen project got going…Thank you for making it happen! We have been so impressed with everyone we have met from Rebuilding Together. I have bragged about how everyone has been while interacting with my family…including my dog! It says a lot about who you are as individuals. You really care about the families you help!”

We would like to thank everyone who came together to make this project possible, especially the volunteers who worked hard despite the rain, snow and cold weather.  We’d also like to thank Lowe’s, Carter’s Kids, the Chelsea Heights Parent Teacher Organization, MN Housing Finance Agency, Metropolitan Council, Wells Fargo, Comcast, McGough Construction, Damon Farber Associates, Valspar, Stouts/Chianti Grille, On Site Sanitation, Linders, Tubby Smith Foundation, Mortenson Construction, Como Park Lutheran, St. Paul Bagelry, Davanni’s, Saint Paul Public Schools, City of Saint Paul, Saint Paul STAR Program, Minnesota Wisconsin Playground, Builders Association of the Twin Cities, Citi Cargo & Storage, Rainbow Foods, and Sinclair Recreation who contributed to this project.

Join Us for a Community Revitalization Project in St. Paul!

We are recruiting volunteers to help with a large community project on May 1st and 2nd in partnership with Lowe’s and Carter’s Kids. We’ll be repairing several homes, installing a playground at Chelsea Heights Elementary School and making improvements at the Northwest Como Rec Center. Register online at http://vhub.at/Twin_Cities_revitalization.

Rebuilding Together Partners with Lowe’s to Make Energy Efficiency Improvements

This fall, Rebuilding Together partnered with Lowe’s to address critical home needs during the cold winter months.  Lowe’s provided a grant that enabled us to make energy efficiency and weatherization improvements for more than 10 homeowners in need.

During the course of the fall, Lowe’s supported 65 Rebuilding Together affiliates, including Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, by helping them achieve their mission of giving low-income homeowners a safe and healthy home through grants for energy efficiency improvements.  Lowe’s has been a strong partner of the national Rebuilding Together network since 2007.  Since the beginning of this impactful partnership, Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation has donated $1 million annually to Rebuilding Together.  In 2012, Lowe’s doubled their support to $2 million dollars. Over $7 million has been contributed to support 687 Lowe’s and Rebuilding Together projects nationwide.  Thank you to Lowe’s for helping keep Twin Cities area homeowners warm this winter!

National Rebuilding Day Was a Huge Success!

Thanks again to the hundreds of volunteers who braved the rain to help 25 families in need on April 28th for National Rebuilding Day!  Thanks to your efforts, we were able to help homeowners like Erin, a proud owner of her Camden Neighborhood home.  Erin’s grandson recently began living with her, and because of the expense of taking care of him, she is not able to afford repairs to her home.  In her thank you note to the volunteers who worked with her, Erin wrote, “Thank you for allowing my house to become more of a home.”

We would also like to thank U.S. Senator Al Franken, who came out to meet volunteers and one of the homeowners we helped that day, as well as MN Housing Commissioner Mary Tingerthal, State Senator Linda Higgins, State Representative Bobby Joe Champion, Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels, and Rebecca Lucero from Congressman Keith Ellison’s office.

Finally, we would like to thank our sponsors and partners for National Rebuilding Day, including Wells Fargo, Builders Association of the Twin Cities Foundation, Honeywell, MidCountry Bank, US Bank, On Site Sanitation, Valspar, Catholic United Financial, Lowe’s, Caribou Coffee, Subway, CitiCargo & Storage, Target, The Big Day of Serving, Dunwoody College of Technology, Tree Trust, Mortenson Construction, Ironwood Carpentry, Neighborhood Improvement Program, American Public Media, Coca-Cola, Cookie Cart, Webster/Windsor Insulation and ABC Supply Company.