CBRE Helps Three North Minneapolis Families

In September, we partnered with volunteers from CBRE to help three homeowners in need in North Minneapolis.  One of the homeowners we helped was Bertha, who has lived in her home for 25 years. In addition to raising her four children in her home, Bertha has offered her heart and home to foster kids, recalling fond memories with all of them. Currently, Bertha is raising three foster kids, a young girl and her two brothers.  She proudly remains physically active by attending activities such as Zumba at the YMCA.  Despite her physical activity, arthritis in her knees and back are now actively disrupting activities of daily living.  Her home had leaning, steep concrete stairs outside, which were challenging for her to navigate, especially when carrying groceries or with heavy snow.  The volunteers installed low-rise, elongated steps to help make it easier and safer for her to get in and out of her home.  They also installed grab bars in her bathroom to help Bertha get in and out of the shower more safely. The repairs and accessibility modifications made by the CBRE volunteers will have a tremendous impact on Bertha’s life as well as the lives she continues to touch.

Thank you to CBRE for your continued support of our efforts to help homeowners in need in the Twin Cities!

Senator Franken Revisits Tornado-Damaged Home Repaired this Spring

We were thrilled to host Senator Franken last month, who visited the home of Ora Lee in North Minneapolis.  Ora Lee’s home was damaged by the tornado that hit North Minneapolis in May 2011, and Senator Franken visited the home this past spring as we were beginning to make repairs.  Ora Lee’s home has been completed, and Senator Franken joined us for a tour of her home.  Thank you to all of the volunteers who made this project possible and to Senator Franken for supporting our efforts to help homeowners like Ora Lee!

Sears Helps Veterans in Need and Homeowners Affected by the North Minneapolis Tornado

We recently highlighted Sears Holdings Corporation as a partner in our efforts to assist homeowners who sustained damage to their homes from the tornado that ripped through North Minneapolis last year.  We would also like to recognize Sears’ efforts to assist veterans in need in the Twin Cities community through their Heroes at Home program.  In June, Sears sponsored a home repair project for a veteran of the U.S. Army who lives in St. Paul.

Rebuilding Together Twin Cities would like to thank Sears for their commitment to helping our veterans live independently in safe and healthy homes.  This spring, Heroes at Home projects were completed in more than 80 cities across the country.  To date, Sears has raised over $15 million for Heroes at Home through a nationwide in-store fundraising campaign.  The project we completed last month is just one of the hundreds of projects made possible by these donations.   Thank you to Sears for their continued support of our efforts to provide critical repairs and accessibility modifications for veterans in need!

North Minneapolis Tornado Recovery: A Year Later

Over the last year, Rebuilding Together Twin Cities has been working with several partners, including Habitat for Humanity, Sears and the Minneapolis Foundation, to make repairs for homeowners in need who were affected by the tornado that ripped through North Minneapolis last May.  To date, 43 homeowners have received free home repairs through these partnerships.

Despite the progress that has been made, there is still much to be done to help this community recover.  Assistance is still available for qualified low-income homeowners whose homes sustained damage from the tornado.  For more information, please contact us at 651-776-4273 or homeowners@rebuildingtogether-twincities.org.