Welcome New Rebuilding Together President and CEO Charley Shimanski

The Board of Directors of Rebuilding Together, Inc. recently announced that after an extensive nationwide search, it has elected Charles S. Shimanski as president and chief executive officer (CEO).

As president and CEO, Charley will have responsibility for the overall management of Rebuilding Together. He will be responsible for developing, establishing and implementing strategic goals for the organization moving forward and will be the key liaison to the 187 affiliates across the nation. He also will serve as the primary spokesperson and national fundraiser for Rebuilding Together.

Charley joins Rebuilding Together from the American Red Cross, where he has served since 2008. He worked at Red Cross national headquarters since 2010, most recently as a senior vice president of Development and as senior vice president of Disaster Services. Prior to that, Charley was CEO of the Red Cross regional office in Denver. During his tenure at the Red Cross, Charley created and implemented fundraising campaigns, led major disaster relief programs and worked closely with affiliate organizations. Prior to the Red Cross, he was president and CEO of the Colorado Nonprofit Association from 2004-2008. From 1993-2004, Charley served as the executive director of The American Alpine Club in Colorado.

Charley is also the author of several guidebooks on nonprofit excellence and individual giving. He served on the National Advisory Council for the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA and on the National Advisory Council for the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University in 2011. He received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin.

Charley’s strong experience and knowledge of nonprofits, fundraising, affiliate relationships, and disaster recovery will help guide Rebuilding Together to best serve our vision of a safe and healthy home for every person.  We are thrilled to have him lead our organization.  Welcome Charley!

New Partnership with AARP Foundation to Help Homeowners Age-in-Place

We are thrilled to announce that we will be partnering with Rebuilding Together National and AARP Foundation on a new pilot to help even more homeowners age-in-place.  Rebuilding Together Twin Cities is one of 12 Rebuilding Together affiliates selected to participate in this exciting pilot program, which is based off of our Safe at Home program.  The Safe at Home program focuses on providing low-income homeowners with free home safety and accessibility modifications.  Under this new pilot, we will be able to serve moderate-income homeowners who live above 50 percent of their area median income. These homeowners, who would usually not meet the financial criteria for our free home modification services, can now quality for home repairs based on a sliding payment scale.   The proceeds from this fee-for-service program will go towards providing more low-income families with free home repairs, allowing us to help a greater number of homeowners.

We will also be partnering with the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) on this pilot. Through its national partnership with Rebuilding Together, AOTA will provide insights into prioritizing repairs so that we can ensure that our repairs allow recipients to age-in-place in a safe and healthy home.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the majority of falls happen in or around the home. This makes providing fall prevention home improvements, like grab bars, all the more important. Falls are the most common cause of injury related deaths, nonfatal injuries, and trauma related hospital visits for older adults. These injuries cost the U.S. over $19 billion a year, a number that will rise as the baby boomer generation ages.

The other Rebuilding Together affiliates participating in the pilot are in: Sacramento, CA; Clay County, MO; Alexandria, VA; Central Ohio; Colorado Springs, CO; Milwaukee, WI; Chicago, IL; Oklahoma City, OK; Pittsburgh, PA; Silicon Valley, CA; and Omaha, NE.

AmeriCorps Week

March 9th – 17th was AmeriCorps Week, which is an opportunity to highlight the impact of AmeriCorps members on communities across the country.  As part of AmeriCorps Week, Tim Erkel, one of our AmeriCorps members, joined other members from the Rebuilding Together affiliate network in Durham, North Carolina for the Safe and Healthy Housing Summit from March 8th-10th.  This event was supported by ConocoPhillips and included 33 AmeriCorps members from 17 states.  The AmeriCorps members came together to identify housing-related risks for three low-income Durham families and develop and implement solutions to make their homes safer, healthier and more energy efficient.

Tim said of his experience, “The Safe and Healthy Housing Summit in North Carolina was a fantastic experience that presented a wonderful opportunity for me to bring knowledge and insight back to my affiliate and to do some good in a different community than my own. Learning about the house as a system and how improvements that we make affect it was enlightening, and going out in to the community and practicing those principles with my fellow CapacityCorps members was inspiring. I’m deeply honored to have been selected to attend the Summit.”

Rebuilding Together CapacityCorps is a National Direct AmeriCorps program with 65 full-time members serving at 35 local affiliates in 20 states. Rebuilding Together AmeriCorps members build the capacity of Rebuilding Together programs so that they become sustainable, effective and efficient in helping additional low-income homeowners in need. As developing housing preservation leaders, these AmeriCorps members serve essential roles in building the capacity of their host sites in areas such as recruiting and managing volunteers, performing direct home repairs, building community partnerships, and creating new programs.

Farewell from Rebuilding Together National CEO Gary Officer

Dear Friends,

Earlier this month I tendered my resignation to the Board of Directors at Rebuilding Together after six and a half years of service to this wonderful organization. My resignation followed months of discussions about the organization’s future priorities, and how to best position our wonderful affiliates to better serve the critical needs of their communities.  My resignation was planned and without regret, and I will continue to work with the board through the transition.

My tenure as the President and CEO of Rebuilding Together occurred during a period of tremendous growth for the organization. Our growth, impact, and ability to meet the housing needs of hardworking families, occurred because we were able to tap the very best of our national spirit. We successfully marshaled the will of our nation’s volunteers; the genius of our charitable impulse; and our common concern and empathy for our neighbors in need. These noble traits, rolled into one, provided the critical foundation for our work, and the execution of our mission.

As volunteers, sponsors, donors, and partners alike, each of you played an essential role in the success of our work. We simply could not have advanced our agenda – our mission, without your support. To each of you, I want to extend a personal and heartfelt thank you.

My departure, however, should not distract from the fundamental importance of our vision of a safe and healthy home for every person. More than ever, low- and moderate-income families need the support of organizations like Rebuilding Together. Our ability to perform renovations and repairs on the homes of deserving families – free of charge – provides much needed relief and security at a time of continued economic uncertainty. The preservation of the home contributes so much to the well-being of the family. Quality homeownership provides the primary source for inter-generational wealth transfer, positively affects educational outcomes, and is a major contributor towards health outcomes for family members. Your continued support is needed.

As Rebuilding Together undertakes this important leadership transition in the months ahead, I am confident that this critical nonprofit and network of almost 200 affiliates will continue the important work that has characterized our history. I would like to thank you for your encouragement and friendship during my tenure, but more importantly, for your continued support for this incredible organization as we seek to assist as many needy families as our resources will allow.

With gratitude,

Gary A. Officer