We recently partnered with volunteers from Old National Bank to build a privacy fence at one of Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans homes for veterans! This will improve the safety and security of the veterans who lives in the home. Thanks to the volunteers from Old National Bank for giving their time to make this project happen!
We
are thrilled to share that our HRVP Ramp Team recently completed their 50th
Ramp at a transitional home operated by the Minnesota Assistance Council for
Veterans (MACV). These incredible
volunteers braved the rain and mud to make sure that this project was a
success, so homeless veterans can access the transitional housing provided by
MACV.
David
Nguyen, metro housing team leader for Minnesota Housing Council for Veterans
said, “The ramp for our transitional housing is instrumental for MACV to
efficiently serve all of our Veterans in need.
The ramp allows Veterans with wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility
barriers to safely and efficiently enter and exit the house. Most importantly, it allows us to serve those
who served us with the respect and dignity they deserve. Already, we are looking at moving two Veterans
into the house that received Rebuilding Together Twin Cities’ last ramp
build. Both Veterans have mobility
issues and we know that we will achieve our mission of ending Veteran
homelessness with your support.”
Rebuilding
Together Twin Cities is incredibly grateful to the HRVP Ramp Team, and we are
look forward to continuing this partnership!
Our incredible Ramp Team recently completed their 49th project at a Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV) home that provides transitional housing for veterans. MACV provides comprehensive program and supportive services to homeless veterans, including housing, employment and legal services.
Improving the accessibility of MACV homes is critical to ensuring that they can serve all veterans in our community. The ramp our volunteers constructed will ensure the home is accessible for veterans living with a disability.
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. The organization did not conduct or sponsor volunteer activities on its own. It was strictly a broker. However, that began to change when Honeywell headquarters was moved to New Jersey after being acquired by Allied Signal. Honeywell reconfigured its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in the early 2000s and streamlined its charitable donations to align more clearly with the company’s business objectives. These were named “Honeywell Hometown Solutions,” and four or five key objectives were defined. “Housing and Shelter” was defined as one of the key objectives, and Honeywell supported it by becoming a national corporate partner of Rebuilding Together. HRVP was urged by local Honeywell personnel to support these initiatives by sponsoring activities relating to the five key objectives. Paul Parrish solicited retiree volunteers for the RTTC Safe at Home programs, and the ramp projects grew out of these original efforts.”
He went on to say, “We often get asked, ‘How many ramps have you guys built?’ One of our problems in answering that question is that, for most of our early days, we just built ramps, with no thought about keeping track of the numbers. Fortunately, Bill Berschneider keeps track of his volunteer efforts, and he came up with a good historical count, and we are now listing the ramp number on communications relative to each new project.”
We are extremely grateful to the Ramp Team for all of their hard work over the years, and we are looking forward to celebrating the 50th ramp project!
Last month, we partnered with Honeywell and Robbinsdale Cooper High School to make repairs and improvements to a transitional home operated by the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV). MACV is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been assisting veterans for over 25 years, including providing transitional housing for veterans. Nearly 70 volunteers came out to help with this project, which focused on replacing a retaining wall. A current resident of this MACV house is a graduate from Robbinsdale Cooper High School. The football team from Robbinsdale Cooper High School volunteered side-by-side with Honeywell employees, making the project even more meaningful.
This project is the 38th local collaborative project between Honeywell and Rebuilding Together Twin Cities, and we are very proud of our long-standing partnership!
