Community Builders

Home Builders Care to be honored by Housing Unlimited, Inc.

2012-02-16T12:59:00.000-08:00

You are invited to join Home Builders Care and other community members at Housing Unlimited Inc’s (HUI) 2012 Welcome Home Celebration event on May 22 atthe Hyatt Regency Bethesda.

HUI Executive Director Abe Schuchman with volunteers fromRyan Homes

HUI’s 2012 honorees include Uma Ahluwalia, Director, Montgomery County Dept. of Health and Human Services and MNCBIA’s own HomeBuilders Care Foundation, who has assisted HUI over the years on a number ofrenovation projects.

HUI is one of HBCF's fabulous partner nonprofit organizations located in Montgomery County, MD. HUI provides independent supportive housing for people with psychiatric disabilities and currently owns 48 homes serving 140 individuals. They are growing!

With almost 300individuals on its waiting list, HUI must continue to expand to meet theever-growing need. Home numbers 49 and 50 are coming in 2012! Click to join in the celebration!

a once homeless man, now an author.

2012-02-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

Great story! A former Home Builders Care Assessment Center, men's emergency shelter client writes a memoir on overcoming illiteracy.

click to READ the Gazette newspaper article

Celebrating with the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless

2012-02-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

On February 2, MCCH announced that its Silver Flower Homes project has been awarded funding under HUD Section 811 for low-income, disabled persons.

MCCH also rededicated New Takoma Homes, a former SSIHC project housing six formerly homeless families. Coalition Homes is thankful to the Housing Opportunities Commission for transferring rental assistance vouchers, and to state and local governments for transferring existing SSIHC loans to Coalition Homes so that families can be safely housed. HBCF assisted with the renovation.

At the dedication ceremony, with partners Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and the Montgomery County Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs, Home Builders Care Foundation President Hugh Carroll made the following remarks:

It takes many helping hands to make a project successful.

Home Builders Care Foundation and another foundationcontributed a combined $45,000 for the renovation of two buildings elsewhere inTakoma Park thatwill house six families.

Special needs housing is vital for the community andcontributions from many are needed to make the kind of projects we are talking abouttoday successful.

Builders want to help because we see the need in thecommunity. We see the homeless adults, agreat percentage of whom are disabled.

We see the families displaced by the loss of a job, orstruggling to make ends meet when bills pile up.

I speak from experience in that regard. I had a relative that lost their home toforeclosure and was going through a divorce. This relative moved in with our family with two children. They lived with us for over a year and a halfand not really sure what they would have done had we not been able to help.

We see these needs and we are compelled to respond.

Home Builders Care Foundation contributed hundreds ofthousands of dollars plus in-kind contributions to expand the county’s primaryfacility for homeless men three years ago. We were honored to have thatfacility named the Home Builders Care Assessment Center. We are the non-profit organization that wascreated by the Maryland National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA).

It is no secret that this has been one of the worst businessclimates for home builders in recent years. Many in the industry have lost theirjobs. Many builders and tradecontractors are still struggling to stay afloat. Yet we still care about our communities andare still finding ways to give back because we believe (and agree with the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH)that everyone deserves the dignity of a home.

The Home Builders Care Foundation has been around for 28years and we hope to be around for many more years – continuing to build hopeand end homelessness.

We are enthusiastic to continue working with MCCH andCoalition Homes as the emphasis has shifted toward permanent supportive housingintegrated into the community.

Builders are hands-on people who like to see the results oftheir work. With MCCH and CoalitionHomes we know when we participate in a project it will be successful and theresults will show.

Other individuals, businesses and religious organizationsare helping in so many ways.

Volunteers have helped with landscaping, and companies havedonated landscaping materials at this and several other apartments.

Furniture, food and interior decorating are contributed tohelp residents get started in their new home.

Isn’t that the kind of community we all want to live in –where all of us use our talent and treasure to help those in need?

I will conclude with a suggestion for improved health. Our daughter, Maura, lives in Chicago andworks for the American Medical Association. She sent me an article recently that was published in their newsletter,American Medical News. It was titled“Volunteering Can Boost Physical and Mental Health”

A report that was published in the December, 2011issue of The International Journal of Person Centered Medicine, found thatpeople who give back to others lead more happy and healthy lives than those whodo not volunteer. So let’s all continueto lend a hand and have happier and healthier lives.

Home Builders Care Foundation Honors Four for Community Service

2012-01-27T12:23:00.000-08:00

Award Winnersinclude a materials supplier, the local NFL former players’ chapter, atechnical consulting firm, and a regional homebuilder.

The Home Builders Care Foundation (HBCF), the501 (c) (3) Non-Profit Community Outreach Program affiliated with the MarylandNational-Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA), announced its winnersof the 2011 Community Service Awards last evening at the association's Januarydinner meeting.

The award is presented annually to individuals or organizationsaffiliated with the local home building industry in recognition of significantcontributions to the community through unselfish efforts and dedication insupport of projects that help the poor and disadvantaged in our communities. Two Tom Sawyer Awards, one Directors’ Award andone Community Builder Award were presented by HBCF President Hugh Carroll.

Thefirst award of the evening, a Tom Sawyer Award for in-kind assistance, was presentedto MidSouthBuilding Supply. MidSouth playeda key role on a renovation project for St.Ann’s Infant and Maternity Home in Hyattsville MD.

For150 years, St. Ann's has been caring for the poor in our Nation’s Capital. TodaySt. Ann's operates three residential programs and a community day care centerand serves over 300 people each year. TheirChildren’s Residential Program provides care for infants and young children whohave been abused, neglected, or abandoned. This past summer, Home Builders Careled a renovation of the Children’s Wing to help make the facility look and feelmore like a home.

Beforethe renovation, there wasn’t much common space in the dorm-style wing and thekitchen dated back to 1961. Construction plans called for a wall to be knockeddown and the kitchen expanded to not only improve the dining area, but alsoserve more as a gathering place for older children. The bulk of the project called for newcabinets, countertops and flooring. Theproject received a tremendous boost when MidSouth, a local distributor andlong-time MNCBIA member, made a key 100% in-kind donation of upgraded kitchencabinets and countertops.

The next Tom SawyerAward was presented to the National Football League Players Association(NFLPA), Washington DC former player’s chapter, a group of gentleman withwhom builders have had the pleasure to work side-by-side with at St. Ann’s.

HBCFand the local NFLPA chapter came together in 2011 with Touchdown for Homes, a new nationwide charitable outreach programof the National Association of Home Buildersand the NFLPA that aims to bring together local home builders’ associations andformer NFL players to strengthen communities by building or renovating homesfor children or families in need and veterans.

TheTouchdown for Homes program launched in Washington DC with the St. Ann’sproject and members of the former players’ chapter were excited to play a keyrole. As Calvin Snowden, president of the chapter who played defense for theCardinals, Bills, and Chargers, said, “Everychild and every family should have a safe, comfortable place that feels likehome, whether it is temporary like here at St. Ann’s, or a permanent home tocall their own.” With SpainMusgrove, a former Redskin, coordinating chapter volunteers, the players helpedlay flooring, install cabinets and paint.

TheDirectors Award, recognizing an MNCBIA member who helps broaden the vision ofHome Builders Care, was presented next to Newport Partners, who helpedspear-head HBCF’s first energy-retrofit project.

Theproject was for Sasha Bruce Youthwork,a Washington DC nonprofit that seeks to improve the lives of homeless, runawayand disconnected youth in the nation’s capital. Each year, over 1,500 youth and5,000 of their family members receive shelter, transitional living, counselingand a wide range of support from Sasha Bruce.

Bylending their energy expertise, Newport helped HBCF’s HomeAid Washington DC chapterobtain the first $40,000 of grant funds from a new national EnvironmentalSustainability Program (ESP) funded by a grant from the Walmart Foundation to HomeAid America.

Thepurpose of the Walmart ESP grant program to HomeAid is to retrofit existingshelter facilities with energy efficient upgrades, allowing the serviceproviders to reduce their operating costs on energy by 40%. In the case of Sasha Bruce’s REACH program,this amounted to $5,000 a year.

Additionally,Newport helped secure an in-kind donation of $10,000 in sophisticatedmonitoring equipment from the US Dept. of Energy to study the future energy useof the home after project completion.

Thefinal award of the evening, the Community Builder Award, was presented to Millerand Smith Homes, who undertook a whole house renovation for the Community Services for Autistic Adults andChildren (CSAAC) in Gaithersburg, MD.

CSAACis the largest provider in the nation to serve individuals with autismexclusively with comprehensive programs from early childhood throughretirement. CSAAC homes provide individuals with an alternative to living in aninstitution or in their parents' homes, and allow residents to exerciseindependence as adults.

The$90,000 renovation included adding a third bedroom and a third full bath to accommodatea new resident. Additionally, thekitchen and two existing baths were completely redone, whole house worn-outcarpeting was replaced with more durable flooring, and other improvements weremade to enhance the dignity of the home. To complete the job, Miller andSmith secured the services of over 20 subcontractors and suppliers, and in-kinddonations to the tune of over $58,000.

The cooperation, dedication and spirit of these2011 Community Service Award Winners are excellent examples of why the HomeBuilders Care charitable construction program succeeds in helping endhomelessness by improving the lives of at-risk individuals and families in ourcommunities.

Join HBCF at MCCH's February 2 event. Ike Leggett to speak

2012-01-24T11:01:00.000-08:00

County Executive Ike Leggett to Join Coalition Homes in

Announcing Federal Funding for Takoma Park Project

When: February 2, 2012 at 11a.m.

Location: 8316 Flower Avenue, Takoma Park, MD 20912

Limited street parking is available on Wabash Ave and in the immediate neighborhood.

A portion of this event will be held outdoors. Please dress warmly!

Coalition Homes, the housing development affiliate of Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH), will announce a large federal grant plus long-term rental assistance for new housing for formerly homeless single adults. County Executive Isiah Leggett will speak.

Local support allowed Coalition Homes to purchase and renovate seven small apartments, and residents were moved in while Coalition Homes applied for the HUD grant. The Maryland Affordable Housing Trust provided an operating grant.

This event will also celebrate the rededication of two Takoma Park buildings with six apartments for homeless families formerly owned by Silver Spring Interfaith Housing Coalition and purchased last year by Coalition Homes. Those buildings are nearing the completion of renovations that were funded by Montgomery County and two private foundations - including Home Builders Care Foundation! In total, Coalition Homes and other programs of MCCH provide permanent supportive housing to over 360 households.

Contact John Enagonio at 301-917-6643 or jenagonio@mcch.net or Diane Aten at 301-917-6644 or daten@mcch.net for more information.

Volunteering can boost physical and mental health : ... American Medical News

2012-01-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

Did you know that volunteering can boost physical and mental health?

The author of a new study, published in the American Medical News, says Doctors should recommend to patients that they donate time in their communities

click link to read article.

mednews: Volunteering can boost physical and mental health :: Jan. 17, 2012 ... American Medical News

NAHB: Home Builders, Former NFL Players Strengthen Communities with Touchdown for Homes

2012-01-11T09:50:00.000-08:00

News Release from the National Association of Home Builders....
NAHB: Home Builders, Former NFL Players Strengthen Communities with Touchdown for Homes

Pictured at the ribbon cutting ceremony at St. Ann's are (l to r) HBCF president Hugh Carroll, St. Ann’s Administrator Sister Mary Bader, former Washington Redskin Spain Musgrove, former Detroit Lion John Stufflebeem, former Redskin Brig Owens, HBCF board member Rich MacDonough, and Marc McDonald and Dave Slough from Mohawk Industries. Other donors to the project include Mid-South Building Supply and Atlantic Electric Supply.

Seasons Greetings from Home Builders Care

2011-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:00

Are You Homeless and in Need of Shelter in the DC-MD area?

2011-12-22T10:03:00.000-08:00

Shelter Hotlines & Info in the Maryland-National Capital Area

Washington DC

For shelter referrals, outreach and transportation services to homeless persons in the D.C. area - Please call the DC Shelter Hotline 1-800-535-7252 or 202-399-7093

Prince George's County, Maryland

Please call the central point of intake, the Homeless Hot Line at 1-888-731-0999.

Montgomery County, Maryland

Contact the Crisis Center 24 hours a day at 240-777-4000

Home Builders Care Assessment Center (Men's Emergency Shelter) 301-545-5025

Calvert County, Maryland -

Dept. Of Social Services - 443-550-6900 / 866-629-6882.

Charles County, Maryland -

Please contact the Dept. Of Social Services’s Service Intake Unit at 301-392-6724.

St. Mary's County, Maryland -

Please call the St. Mary's County 24 hour hotline at 301-863-6661.

Holiday Toy Drive Set for December 15 - Wish List Available!

2011-11-29T12:58:00.000-08:00

Each and every year, the Home Builders Care Foundation organizes at least two holiday drives to benefit local community organizations serving the needy. This year, our Holiday Toy Drive will benefit the children (ages 0-12) in residential programs at St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home in Hyattsville.

2011 Christmas Gift Suggestions

(Ages 0-12)

Alarm clocks or clock-radios

Action Figures (Transformers, Iron Man, Power Rangers, etc.)

Baby dolls (African American), baby doll accessories

Barbies (African American) and accessories

Batteries for toys and games

Bicycle Helmets for children 6-12

Car Toys for Pre-schoolers (Fisher-Price Shake N’Go, Cars )

CD Player/Radios

Crayola Drawing Sets

Dolls (LalaLoopsy, Princess, etc.)

Dress up Clothes sets

Electronic Games (Stand alone games – Bop-It, Hot Potato, Simon Flash, etc.)

Fashion Dolls & accessories – such as Moxie Girls (Bria, Sophina, Sasha, Bijou, Arizona)

Fashion Designer Craft Sets

Gift cards:

CVS Giant Food Home Depot

Kmart Payless Shoes Sears

Staples Target Walmart

Learning Toys for babies & preschoolers (Fisher-Price, Baby Einstein, Leap Frog, etc.)

Games (such as Guess Who, Uno)

Race Car Sets – tracks and cars (Hot Wheels, Matchbox, etc.)

Loopz Game

Nerf footballs, regular (junior size) footballs

Pictureka

Radio control vehicles

Red Rover

Spy Toys

Toy Tools

Toy Housekeeping sets –such as vacuum cleaners

TV Star Toys for the Toddler Set (Handy Manny, Dora the Explorer, Diego, Elmo, Mickey)

Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters/ Kung Zhu Hamsters and accessories

Clothing for boys & girls sizes 3T- 16/18:

Bibs - Toddler-size (large) bibs

Jackets or sweaters (cardigan style, zip front fleece, or hooded sweatshirts)

Jeans, casual pants

Pajamas

Shirts (t-shirts, long sleeve knit shirts, etc.)

Socks

Sweat pants & sweatshirts

Underwear (tops and bottoms)

Great morning for the Help the Homeless Walk

2011-11-19T09:00:00.001-08:00

Stephen Paul of Mid-Atlantic Builders with our first president

two walkers for Home Builders Care with the Caps mascot.

Thanks to everyone who came out on a brisk Saturday morning for the final Help the Homeless Walk on the National Mall. It was a beautiful day! We met George and Screech!

Thanks also to members of MNCBIA who pooled their resources this year to sign on as a $20,000 partner of the Walkathon. Also thanks to Mid-Atlantic Builders for their $2,500 sponsorship and their support! http://www.midatlanticbuilders.com/blog/index.php/2011/11/mid-atlantic-builders-walks-for-the-homeless/

Next year, the Help the Homeless Program takes a new turn with a smaller community walk-oriented approach. So while the big walk downtown is ending, new smaller local community walks will pop up closer to home.

Thanks Fannie Mae for your years of support to help end homelessness in the Washington DC area.

Help the Homeless Walkathon is this Saturday Nov. 19!

2011-11-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

There is only a few more days until this year's Help the Homeless (HTH) Walkathon on November 19th, the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Please join us ! Walking with HBCF or Sponsoring a walker and our efforts is easy!

1)   Click the HTH logo here to visit the main HTH page.

2)   Chose Register to Walk or Make a Donation.

3)   Then - most importantly - Select Your beneficiary "Home Builders Care Foundation - MD013" from the alphabetized Drop Down List of beneficiaries.

4) Hit GO & Sign On!

Your walker fee and donation dollars will benefit HBCF!

Walk Day is Easy! So lace up your sneakers and join us! The route is an easy 3.1 miles around the National Mall and Tidal Basin areas. Tell your middle & high schoolers that they can earn valuable SSL hours by walking for Home Builders Care! If you cannot make it, you can even register as a "virtual walker" and still support HBCF.

Thank you to MNCBIA members for signing on as a $20,000 sponsor of the Walk!

Give to the MAX

2011-11-08T12:41:00.000-08:00

You've seen the signs... you've read the news... you've received the emails.... Give to the Max Day is November 9!

Is YOUR NAME on the list of Home Builders Care's 2011 donors? No? well, get on it!

We would love you to participate! Now is the time to support Home Builders Care Foundation. And Give to the Max makes it SO EASY !

Simply Click to Donate Online at http://give2max.razoo.com/story/Homebuilderscare?referral_code=share

And for a $20 minimum donation, as our gift, a Home Builders Care green shopping tote is yours!

So please give. Then forward this message to your colleagues. Every little bit helps!

Questions? Please contact me! Thank you in advance for your donation!

Patti B. Kane

Director
Home Builders Care Foundation, Inc.
HomeAid DC LLC
the charitable affiliates of MNCBIA
1738 Elton Road Suite 200
Silver Spring, MD 20903
301-445-5410 (phone)
301-445-5499 (fax)
pkane@mncbia.org (email)

HomeAid Washington DC starts new project at Sasha Bruce House!

2011-11-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

After two years of assessment and planning, we are under construction at Sasha Bruce House (SBH)!

SBH is an emergency youth shelter owned and operated by Sasha Bruce Youthwork and a flagship “safe home” in the Capitol Hill area of Washington DC. It is DC’s only open-access short-term shelter for young people. It is open 24 hours a day, serving youth ages 11 to 17.

The SBH program runs at capacity (10 beds total) year long. On-site services include crisis intervention; individual, group, and family counseling; case management, support for shelter graduates, and temporary respite care. In order for the agency to increase needed bed capacity by 50%, District regulators are requiring a better system of egress to be put in place.

Serving as Builder Captain on the project is Comstock Services LLC.

The mission of Sasha Bruce Youthwork is to improve the lives of runaway, homeless, abused, and neglected and at-risk youth and their families in the Washington area. The organization provides shelter, counseling, life skills training and positive youth development activities to approximately 1,500 youth and 5,000 family members each year.

Miller and Smith Homes Captains Building Project for Autistic Adults in Supportive Housing

2011-11-03T11:56:00.000-07:00

The demolition has begun! This week, a team of builders from Miller & Smith Homes began work to renovate and reconfigure a group home operated by CSAAC (Community Services for Autistic Adults and Children). The home is owned by Residential Continuum Inc. (RCI) and rented exclusively to CSAAC. The goal of the building project is to add an additional bed space and improve safety at one of its group homes for disabled autistic adults.

The home, a townhouse in Gaithersburg, MD, currently houses two higher-functioning autistic adult men. The renovation will include adding a third bedroom, adding a third full bath, completely renovating the kitchen with flooring, cabinets, counter tops, and Energy Star appliances, upgrading two existing bathrooms to address past water damage issues, removing and replacing an unsafe deck, replacing whole house worn-out carpeting with more durable flooring, and making other improvements to enhance the dignity of the home.

Often, routine repairs and replacements of elements in group homes are frequent due to the special needs of residents.

CSAAC is the largest provider in the nation to serve individuals with autism exclusively with comprehensive programs from early childhood through retirement. RCI/CSAAC homes provide individuals with an alternative to living in an institution or in their parents' homes, and allow residents to exercise independence as adults.

Like other organizations serving autistic individuals, CSAAC's services, especially its housing services, are in demand and growing. Nationally, it is projected that as many as 500,000 autistic children will reach adulthood and need supportive services in the next 15 years.

Currently, in Montgomery County MD, according to the January 2011 statistics from the Maryland Development Disabilities Administration, a total of 729 qualified individuals are on the waiting list for housing and community services.

This project will welcome a new member into the RCI/CSAAC family by adding one much needed residential unit.

Home Builders Care is so very thankful to Miller and Smith for leading the charge on this wonderful project! Additional funding for this project has also been received from Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund and the Home Depot Foundation.

Winter Gala Silent Auction set for December 3

2011-10-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

Mark your calendars for December 3 and plan to join us at the Winter Gala!

MNCBIA's elegant Winter Gala & Silent Auction event celebrates the holiday season as well as the end of another successful year for the Association, its members and the industry.

A highlight of the evening is the presentation of the prestigious Milton E. Kettler Award for lifetime achievement, and the Joseph C. Rodgers Sr. Award to an Associate Member also honored for lifetime achievement of service to the community.

The Silent Auction portion of the evening, taking place during the cocktail reception, typically includes several high value items and gifts donated by members and friends and is another highlight of this elegant evening at the Columbia Country Club. Proceeds benefit Home Builders Care!

WE NEED AUCTION ITEMS! If you have an item you wish to donate or simply wish to sponsor an item, please download our donation form or contact Patti B. Kane, HBCF Director. We'd love your participation!

Newport Partners energy efficiency blog features our REACH retrofit

2011-10-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

the REACH transitional home

A blog links to a blog! Curious about what happens during the retrofit of a building constructed in the 1920s? Here's your chance! Energy-efficiency buffs will appreciate our energy expert's perspective as he spends a week onsite observing our Walmart funded Environmental Sustainability Program (ESP) project in Washington DC. Thank you Mike Moore, P.E. LEED AP, of Newport Partners LLC.

http://newportpartnersllc.com/wordpress/?p=702

Home Builders Help Homeless Provider Go Green

2011-10-10T10:11:00.000-07:00

HomeAid Washington DC Commences Energy Retrofit Project for Sasha Bruce Youthwork’s Transitional Home

Project made possible through $600,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation

October 10, 2011

For Immediate Release

Contacts:
Patti B. Kane, 240-375-5395, pkane@mncbia.org
James S. Beck, 202-577-3015, jbeck@sashabruce.org

WASHINGTON DC – HomeAid Washington DC (HomeAid DC), a nonprofit charitable construction program affiliated with the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA), began an extensive energy efficiency retrofit project today at the REACH youth home, operated by Sasha Bruce Youthwork (SBY), a District-based nonprofit organization meeting the urgent needs of at-risk youth and their families. The project is one of the first of its kind as part of a new national Environmental Sustainability Program (ESP) recently launched by HomeAid DC’s national affiliate, HomeAid America, and funded by a generous grant from the Walmart Foundation.

This ESP project is made possible through a grant received by HomeAid America from the Walmart Foundation. The purpose of the ESP grant is to enable HomeAid chapters, like HomeAidDC, across the country to retrofit existing facilities serving homeless and at-risk people with energy efficient upgrades, allowing the service providers operating those facilities to increase their service delivery capacity to their clients by reducing their operating costs for energy. Organizations like Sasha Bruce will benefit with lower monthly expenses for energy and water, resulting in increased comfort and efficiencies in their facilities and an overall reduction in their environmental impact.

HomeAid DC is partnering with two local companies, Efficient Home LLC and Newport Partners LLC, both energy efficiency experts and members of the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA), to complete several green, energy saving upgrades at the home, located in Southeast DC. The total construction value of the project is approximately $60,000. Both companies have already donated and/or committed over $10,000 worth of in-kind services towards the project. Walmart has provided $41,000 in funding. Additionally, more than a half dozen Energy Star appliances are being provided by GE Appliances and Lighting.

In April, an energy audit conducted by Newport Partners revealed numerous areas where the urban townhome’s energy efficiency could be improved. The scope of work, to be completed by Efficient Home, includes installing new energy-efficient HVAC equipment, water heaters, and appliances. Other task items include substantial window replacements, duct and air sealing, attic insulation, energy-efficient lighting and fixtures as well as adding new sensors and controls.

The goal of this retrofit project is to reduce the REACH home’s energy use by at least 40 percent, allowing Sasha Bruce to focus more of their resources on direct client care such as shelter, counseling, educational remediation, life skills development, substance abuse counseling and other positive youth development activities. It is estimated that the retrofit will save Sasha Bruce approximately $5,000 a year in energy costs. The Department of Energy (DoE) is interested in the project and has funded the installation of monitoring equipment to study the future energy use of the home after project completion. Newport Partners will manage this portion of the project.

“We are excited to begin one of HomeAid’s first Environmental Sustainability Projects, and are thankful to Walmart for the opportunity to assist Sasha Bruce through this green initiative,” notes Liza Bowles, Principal of Newport Partners and a board member of HomeAid Washington DC, an affiliated program of the Home Builders Care Foundation. “In today’s economy, it’s important that organizations like Sasha Bruce save as much as possible on operating costs, like utility bills, so that they can concentrate their resources on serving their clients.”

“Our agency has an important calling – it is to improve the lives of runaway, homeless, neglected and at-risk youth in the nation’s capital,” said Deborah Shore, Sasha Bruce Youthwork’s Executive Director. “The ongoing recession has hit homeless families particularly hard,” she said, “and the support of HomeAid Washington DC and the Home Builders Care Foundation couldn’t come at a better time. Budgets are tight, and while we struggle to stay ‘in the black’, creating energy efficiencies at this facility will also help us to stay ‘in the green’ and to give at-risk youth the tools and supplies necessary to succeed. Many thanks to Liza Bowles and all of the energy efficiency experts lending their time to this project. This partnership is a model approach to responsible stewardship of resources and to lifting the entire community.”

About HomeAid Washington DC:
HomeAid DC is a program of the Home Builders Care Foundation (HBCF), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable construction program affiliated with the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association. HBCF’s mission is to complete shelter-related construction projects by utilizing the building industry's specialized skills and collaborating with existing community service and care providers serving the homeless and other at-risk families and individuals. HomeAid DC is also a local chapter of HomeAid America.

About HomeAid America:
HomeAid is a leading national non-profit provider of housing for homeless families and individuals. The HomeAid mission is to build and maintain dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives. Through the generosity of builders, their trades and their suppliers, HomeAid has completed more than 250 housing projects nationwide at a cost of more than $171 million, of which nearly fifty percent has been donated by the building industry. HomeAid currently has 29 additional projects in development. HomeAid’s facilities offer 2,100,000 bed-nights annually through HomeAid’s network of 19 active chapters in 13 states.

About Sasha Bruce Youthwork:
Sasha Bruce Youthwork is a community based nonprofit agency which seeks to improve the lives of homeless, runaway and disconnected youth in the nation’s capital. Each year, over 1,500 youth and 5,000 of their family members receive shelter, transitional living, counseling and a wide range of proven supports. The Sasha Bruce House is the city’s only open-access, youth-specific emergency shelter.

About Newport Partners:
Newport Partners provides a full range of professional consulting, analytical, and technical services to the building industry and beyond. Newport works with its nationwide client base to maximize new and existing building’s energy-use while minimizing the costs. Their services include energy modeling and indoor environmental analysis.

About Efficient Home LLC:
Efficient Home is a one-stop shop providing energy audits and remedial repairs to improve a home's efficiency, comfort, and safety. Their whole house approach helps their clients save money on utility bills, improves home comfort, and live healthier and greener today. Complete services are delivered throughout the Maryland and Washington, DC area.

###

NAHB: Touchdown for Homes in Washington, D.C.: St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home

2011-09-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

This summer, former NFL football players worked side-by-side with our local home builders and contractors to renovate a residential wing of St. Ann’s Infant & Maternity Home in Hyattsville, MD.

The Home Builders Care Foundation (HBCF) of the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA) coordinated the community service project, which is converting an older, institutional-like section of the children’s residential wing into a warm, comfortable living space.

The completed kitchen in the St. Louise Residential Children's Wing at St. Ann's.

Here's a link to a great video on the project -

NAHB: Touchdown for Homes in Washington, D.C.: St. Ann's Infant and Maternity Home

Play Cornhole & Help the Homeless 9/22

2011-09-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

Join HBCF at MNCBIA's Builder Connections on Thursday September 22 and participate in a Help the Homeless mini-walk activity! We are Playing Corn Hole. Toss a Corn Bag. Help the Homeless. All participants will Get Sacked! You can also make a donation in support of Home Builders Care Foundation (a selected beneficiary) via the Help the Homeless website.

Unable to attend. Donate $20 and HBCF will send you, as our gift, a fabulous reusable green grocery tote - so you will be ready when Montgomery County MD's bag tax takes effect in January 2012. Donate to HBCF online at via Network for Good.

Questions? Send an email to build@hbcf.org

Volunteer project in honor of 9/11

2011-09-20T13:49:00.000-07:00

In honor of Sept. 11 and to honor of a fallen soldier, HBCF and members of MNCBIA undertook a simple community service project to help a Gold Star Mom honor her son. A dozen volunteers signed on to help on a rainy Friday morning.

Read more about the project on the Gazette newpapers website -
Builders-landscape-gaithersburg-yard-of-proud-Gold Star Mom

Learn more about Gold Star Mom Paula Davis and her son PFC Justin R. Davis by watching the video "Five Years Without Justin"