Tuesday Sponsor Highlight: Booz Allen Hamilton

RTS thanks Booz Allen Hamilton for their continued partnership! Booz Allen Hamilton will return as a Sponsor on Spring Rebuilding Day 2011. Last year, over 40 volunteers transformed the home of Helen and her son Jeffrey, living in Beacon Hill. RTS looks forward to another great year with Booz Allen Hamilton volunteers and their outstanding Project Leaders, Matt Coldwell and Ed Ball. Thank you for your long-term support!

Thank you, Annual Appeal Donors!

RTS thanks our first 2010-2011 Annual Appeal donors! Thank you for your generosity toward our organization!

Annual Appeal Donors (as of 12-22-10)

Lawrence and Maribeth Martin
Richard Johnson
Jim and Deborah Bevier Revocable Trust
Jacklin Foushee
Tom and Jodi Kelly
Jill Cunningham
Pam and Ollie Cobb
Thomas and Elizabeth Swanson
Vince and Pam Madden
Georgi and Steve Krom
Merrick Bodmer
Dean Backholm Landscape Design, Inc.
Edean Ihlanfeldt - in honor of Anne Quigg
Steven F. Isaacson
Lea Carlson
Dr. and Mrs. Brian Cornell
Marjory A. Burns
Mark Cramer and Trudi Mueller - in honor of Kristen Cramer
Jeffrey and Dina Frank
Art and Sharon Lustig
Michael and Nancy Mariano, Sr.
Lawrence B. Faust
Paul and Debbie Slatt
Susie and George White
Ted and Allison Bickel
Don and Jean Cornell
The LaGuardias
Allison Spielman Advisors - in honor of Kevin and Sharon McCarty
Becky and Charlie Johnson
Donna F. Yates
Jeff Haines
Adam and Aubrey Cornell
Keating Homes
Eric and Kristin Miller
Marsha and Drew Murphy
Heide Felton
Monte Szendre - c/o Wilson Construction Company
James and Rose Flaherty
Larry and Tobey Dickson
Sarah and Joel Ihrie
Alex Hamling

To join others in making a donation to Rebuilding Together Seattle, you can mail a check to: 811 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109 (Payable to: "Rebuilding Together Seattle") or donate online. Please email mthirlby@rtseattle.org or call 206.682.1231 for more information on Annual Giving.

Support the RTS Coffee Sale!

RTS is excited to announce the sale of our specially labeled French Roast from Olympic Crest Coffee Roasters!  Bags are $10 each and proceeds will benefit the RTS programs, including the Year-Round Program, Veterans Program, Youth Board, and Young Professionals Society!  Order forms will be posted on our website at RTSeattle.org soon. Meanwhile, shoot me an email and I'll send an order form right away!  Sihrie@rtseattle.org. Get your Builder's Brew for New Year's host gifts, or as last minute Christmas stocking stuffers. Your choice of picture and whole bean or ground. Available for pickup at the RTS office in South Lake Union today!

Tuesday Sponsor Highlight: Greenpoint Technologies

Greenpoint Technologies will be back for Spring Rebuilding Day 2011 as a Community Developer sponsor!  They helped Dolores in West Seattle last year for SRD 2010.  RTS looks forward to another great partnership this April!

Thank you, Greenpoint Technologies!

Thank You Vulcan Inc.!

Last Thursday, RTS received a donation from Vulcan Inc. of a refigerator, stove, microwave, and desk.  Thank you, Vulcan Inc., for your continued generosity toward our organization!

Miss Seattle stops by the RTS office

Miss Seattle 2011, Lauren Kuhn, stopped by the Rebuilding Together Office today to discuss partnership opportunities to support her platform of volunteerism.  More news to come, but for now, a little teaser:

Thank You, Lauren!!

Local Couple Chooses RTS as Recipient of Holiday Party Fundraiser

On Saturday, December 18th, Matt Snell and Frank Chilelli raised funds for Rebuilding Together Seattle through their holiday party.

Matt and Frank have been hosting an annual holiday party at their home for over 10 years.  "One year we had up to 90 people and had to rent a tent with heater to extend the garage in order to have enough space to accomodate everyone," Matt said.  "A couple of years ago we added another tradition to our party and that was creating gift baskets and then selling raffle tickets to people who attend our party.  We have donated the raffle proceeds to various organizations throughout the years."  

This year, Frank and Matt decided to give half of the donations to Year Up (www.yearup.org) and half to Rebuilding Together Seattle!  

"As a realtor, I see firsthand many people who are unable to do basic repairs/maintenance to their homes in order to keep them safe and stay in them longer, so the work that RTS does is invaluable.  It was very easy this year to choose RTS to be one of the beneficiaries of our little holiday fundraiser," Matt explained.  

Check out Matt's company at Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate Executive and Frank's business, Frank&Cents.   

  

 

A few photos from the party!

RTS thanks Frank and Matt for their generous donation!

Tuesday Sponsor Highlight: Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland

Thank you, Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, for your continued support of Rebuilding Together Seattle!  We look forward to partnering with this great law firm in the spring! 

Avid RTS Blog readers: be on the lookout for a post on a different sponsor group every Tuesday up until Spring Rebuilding Day 2011 (April 30th)!

RTS & Seattle Bank to launch holiday supply drive!

Rebuilding Together Seattle (www.rtseattle.org) and Seattle Bank (www.seattlebank.com) will soon be teaming up to raise supplies for Rebuilding Together Seattle’s supply boxes this holiday season. Supplies donated to the Rebuilding Together Seattle & Seattle Bank Holiday Supply Drive will be dropped off at Seattle Bank locations and taken to the Rebuilding Together Seattle warehouse and used for future volunteer projects, including the 21st Annual Spring Rebuilding Day on Saturday, April 30, 2011.

SUPPLY DRIVE WISH LIST

• First aid kit
• Smoke detectors
• Latex gloves
• Grab bars
• Rubber gloves
• Safety goggles
• Masks
• All-purpose cleaner
• Windex/window cleaner
• Comet
• Glass cleaner
• Oven cleaner
• Garbage bags
• Paper towels
• Toilet paper
• Sponges
• Light bulbs

Stay tuned for further announcements!

A Letter From a Homeowner

Check out the improvements made at Lawrence and Helen's home!

RTS Energizer: Deb Alberts, The Home Depot

Project leaders Anne Quigg (RTS Board Member) and James Croft (The Home Depot) selected Deb Alberts as the RTS Energizer at their site.  The group helped veteran, Earl, clean up his yard in a big way!

Deb spent hours coordinating the products for the event and attended all three site visits to help with planning and removing cars.

"She was a vital player in the success of the event," James said.   "It wouldn't have been the same without her help!"

Great Work Deb!!!

To make a donation to Rebuilding Together Seattle in Deb's honor, please visit our donation website!

Lowe's + Rebuilding Together Seattle = Success!

On November 6th, RTS volunteers made a big impact on a couple in Burien, utilizing an energy efficiency grant from Lowe's.  Reverend John and his wife Verna, both veterans, were in great need of weatherization in their home before the winter months set in. Project Leaders Anne Timmermans and Berit Tomten (with some help from Kelly Lems) coordinated to have insulation added to the entire attic space, a new water heater installed along with insulated pipes, a new door, and window improvements.  They also added grab bars and a new faucet to the bathroom.  On the job were James and Cody from Advanced Plumbing Solutions, and John Angle from Sound Home Performance.

Great Work Team!!!

Rebuilding Together Named Charity of Choice by HGTV and DIY Network

Multi-Million Dollar Donation Includes Cash and Media Exposure
LAS VEGAS - - NOVEMBER 15, 2010 -

Rebuilding Together today announced a three-year commitment from Scripps Networks as charity of choice for HGTV and DIY Network. As Rebuilding Together's television media partners, the networks made a $1 million cash donation as well as a commitment to provide $15 million dollars in marketing support and media exposure for the organization's activities.

HGTV and DIY Network will work together to engage viewers in Rebuilding Together's mission to serve 800,000 low-income Americans each year. The organization's efforts include 10,000 projects annually to rehabilitate and provide critical repairs to homes as well as energy efficiency upgrades at no cost to homeowners. Additional details about the partnership are available at www.rebuildingtogether.org.

The new commitment comes as Rebuilding Together and HGTV wrap up Change the World. Start at Home, a three year community revitalization initiative that mobilized local volunteers, organized building projects and honored community heroes. During the campaign, the network also aired television specials that featured renovations for veteran's group homes and for homeowners in need.

"Rebuilding Together's mission critical work has been brought to the attention of millions of viewers by HGTV over the years," said Gary A. Officer, President & CEO, Rebuilding Together. "HGTV and DIY Network will allow us to increase our momentum to help America's low-income homeowners".

In August, HGTV was the official media partner of Rebuilding Together's Fifty for Five, a mass-volunteer gathering in which fifty hurricane damaged homes were restored in New Orleans' Gentilly neighborhood. HGTV promoted the event to audiences through a PSA campaign that featured actor Morgan Freeman. In addition, the network's popular home improvement experts Carter Oosterhouse and Scott McGillivray, along with DIY Network's Chris Grundy, volunteered at the event.

About Rebuilding Together
Rebuilding Together is the nation's leading nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing extensive rehabilitation and modification services to those in need at no cost to those served. With the help of everyday citizen volunteers, skilled trades people, the support of local business and major corporate partners, Rebuilding Together affiliates in America's largest cities and smallest towns make life considerably better for thousands of low-income homeowners and the communities in which they live by completing 10,000 projects per year. Rebuilding Together has programs dedicated to, energy efficiency, veteran's housing, aging in place and gulf coast reconstruction. For more information, visit www.RebuildingTogether.org. You can also follow Rebuilding Together on Twitter @rebldgtogthr or become a fan on Facebook at Facebook.com/RebuildingTogether . Becky Carter, Rebuilding Together/202-518-3500 office/ bcarter@rebuildingtogether.org.

About HGTV
HGTV, America's leader in home and lifestyle programming, is distributed to more than 99 million U.S. households and is one of cable's top-rated networks. HGTV's website, HGTV.com, is the nation's leading online home-and-garden destination and attracts an average of 5 million unique visitors per month. Amy Hammontree, HGTV/865-560-4639 office/ahammontree@hgtv.com.

About DIY Network
DIY Network, from the makers of HGTV and Food Network, is the go-to destination for rip-up, knock-out home improvement television. DIY Network's programs and experts answer the most sought-after questions and offer creative projects for do-it-yourself enthusiasts. One of the fastest growing digital networks and currently in more than 53 million homes, DIY Network's programming covers a broad range of categories, including home improvement and landscaping. The network's award-winning website, www.DIYnetwork.com, is a leader in the Nielsen Online Home and Garden category and features multiple resources, including thousands of do-it-yourself home improvement projects, expert advice, how-to videos and images, and user-friendly reference guides with step-by-step instructions. Brandii Toby, DIY Network/865-565-4280/btoby@diynetwork.com.



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RTS Energizer: Leon Gomez, The Home Depot

The RTS Energizer Award for an outstanding volunteer at the Veteran Rebuilding Day site where The Home Depot employees were helping homeowner Lawrence with numerous repairs to his home goes to Leon Gomez from the Tacoma Home Depot Store.

"Leon played an instrumental role in the organization and implementation of this very complicated project," said The Home Depot Project Manager, Jim Dignam. "Leon pre-walked the job, helped determine what could and could not be done, as well as lead the crews on the day (days) of the event," Jim explained. "Due to the amount of work that was requested (all new flooring, all new cabinets, new countertops and sinks, new paint, ramps, work spaces, drywall repairs, grab bars, vanity and fixtures) as well as the unforeseen problems (faulty foundations and rotten sub-flooring) Leon was on thejob for 4 days."

"Leon's leadership, work ethic and commitment to this project (under trying condition) was spectacular!!"

Project Leader, John Hanks, also nominated Leon for the RTS Energizer award.  "Leon has exhibited much dedication in his work on this project.  He has done everything from previewing the house to procuring materials and pre-fabricating the ramp to going back to finish the cabinets after the event," John said.

Leon, dealing with an unexpected foundation situation,

discovered after ripping up the carpet...

Way to go Leon!! Thank you for your dedication and enthusiasm. 

To make a donation to RTS in Leon's honor, please click here to visit our donation website. 

Home Depot Makeover on Veterans Rebuilding Day!

Lawrence and Helen's home recieved an incredible makeover from a team of over 30 volunteers from Home Depot.  On Thursday, November 4th, RTS and Home Depot Foundation partnered for the first Veterans Rebuilding Day.  Here are photos of the incredible transformation made possible by the hard working and enthusiastic volunteers from Home Depot:

Kitchen before:

Kitchen during:

Kitchen after (!!!!):

 Bathroom before:

Bathroom during:

Bathroom after:

Front yard before:

Front yard after:

Entry to garage before (where Lawrence does his dialysis):

 And even earlier before clearing everything away:

Ramp afterward!:

 Storage built in the garage:

Living room before:

Living room during...



Living room after:

GREAT WORK HOME DEPOT VOLUNTEERS!!!!