It’s National Rebuilding Month!

Did you know that April is National Rebuilding Month?  Nearly 40,000 volunteers will serve in more than 1,600 rebuild projects led by Rebuilding Together affiliates across the country this month.

Throughout April, Rebuilding Together affiliates and volunteers will serve veterans, older adults, low-income families with children and victims of disaster by providing them with a variety of critical home repairs, including: flooring repairs and replacement, weatherization repairs, roof and handrail replacements, accessibility modifications, painting, landscaping and other major home rehabilitations. The repairs are provided free of charge to the homeowners who, often faced with diminishing resources, must choose food and medicine over critical home repairs — choices that, over time, can lead to crumbling foundations, dangerously sagging roofs and windows and doors that can’t be securely shut.

In our community, Rebuilding Together Twin Cities is hosting several home repair projects and a nonprofit facility improvement project during National Rebuilding Month. We are proud to be part of this nationwide effort to improve the homes and lives of those in need during National Rebuilding Month!

Rebuilding Together National Names New President and CEO

Please join us in welcoming Caroline Blakely as President and CEO of Rebuilding Together National!

“After an extensive national search, the board of directors unanimously agreed that Caroline’s expertise and successful 30-year career in both business and law make her an ideal choice to lead Rebuilding Together. Her strong leadership skills, wide-ranging corporate and real estate connections, and engaging enthusiasm will help our organization energize impact and reach to serve more people and communities,” said Sherry Chris, who has served on the Rebuilding Together Board for more than three years and was recently elected to chair the national Board of Directors.

Caroline joins Rebuilding Together from Cassin & Cassin LLP where she was a partner in the Real Estate Finance Group. She also served as vice president in Fannie Mae’s multifamily business, defining its strategic direction for growing asset management and counter party responsibilities. Earlier, Caroline practiced real estate, banking, and corporate law in the Washington, D.C., area, including co-founding a woman-owned firm specializing in Resolution Trust Corporation matters.

“Rebuilding Together is a strong organization now poised to go beyond transforming lives one house at a time to revitalizing entire neighborhoods. It is a privilege to join the affiliates, staff, and corporate and community partners of Rebuilding Together to make this vision a reality,” Caroline said.

Active in business and community service organizations, Caroline was a member of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC) Board of Governors. She was recently elected to the board of the public mortgage real estate investment trust ARES Commercial Real Estate (ACRE). She is a member of the Urban Land Institute’s Responsible Property Investment Council, and the steering committee of the Women’s Leadership Initiative. She volunteers on the boards of trustees for Global Communities and subsidiary, Vitas, which specialize in international development and microfinance.

Caroline received her Juris Doctor cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center and her Bachelor of Arts with high distinction, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Virginia.

Funder Appreciation: Honeywell

Honeywell has been a long-time supporter of Rebuilding Together on both the local and national levels.  Last fall, we completed our 36th project in partnership with Honeywell in the Twin Cities, and they have donated more than $200,000 to support these projects.  Since 2003, 15,500 Honeywell volunteers and Rebuilding Together affiliates have repaired more than 490 homes and non-profit centers in Honeywell communities in the United States, Canada and Mexico, rehabilitating and revitalizing low-income housing, schools, and other community assets.  We are extremely proud of our long-standing partnership with Honeywell and appreciate their support!

Make a Difference. Serve a Year.

We are currently recruiting two AmeriCorps members to serve in the Twin Cities from August 2015 through July 2016 as part of the Rebuilding Together CapacityCorps program.  If you would like more information or are interested in applying, please visit our application page.  The deadline to apply is April 30th.

More information about Rebuilding Together’s CapacityCorps Program:

The Rebuilding Together CapacityCorps is a high-impact, full-time AmeriCorps program with 60 full-time members serving communities and families throughout the country.  Rebuilding Together CapacityCorps members help build the capacity of Rebuilding Together affiliates by serving low-income homeowners through volunteer recruitment, client and community outreach, direct home repairs, and new project implementation.  The Rebuilding Together CapacityCorps program offers an incredible, personal experience, exposing members to varying opportunities to rebuild the health and safety of families and communities.