Internship Opportunity at RTS!

Are you a college student looking to acquire excellent experience in the non-profit industry and other related fields?

Rebuilding Together Seattle has an ongoing internship opportunity for college students in Seattle! RTS interns work for approximately 15-20 hours per week, and assist with various development, program, marketing, and administrative activities at the RTS Office.

For more information, please read the Internship Job Description, or email mthirlby@rtseattle.org. Please note that RTS internship candidates must be professional, organized, show good attention to detail, and be comfortable working in a diverse work environment. Thank you for your consideration!

-The RTS Staff
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Job Description
Rebuilding Together Seattle Intern

Rebuilding Together Seattle (www.rtseattle.org) offers a year-round, part-time internship program for college students or early graduates. The intern is supervised by the RTS Executive Director, and works with the RTS Board of Directors & Staff on various office operations. Projects may include (but are not limited to):

• Entering contact information into RTS database
• Tracking important outreach and development activities on Microsoft Excel
• Organizing and maintaining office supplies and the RTS warehouse
• Assisting with mailing projects and events
• Answering the phones and speaking with clients
• Helping execute rebuilding day logistics
• Facilitating the RTS client application process
• Conducting in-kind solicitation projects for office supplies and warehouse inventory
• Conducting community partner and sponsor research
• Conducting various outreach activities
• Creating documents on Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and various Adobe programs
• Printing and tracking thank you notes to individual and in-kind donors
• Assisting with activities concerning the RTS Youth Board and Young Professionals Society
• Miscellaneous projects assigned by Executive Director and Program & Outreach Coordinator

QUALITIES OF INTERN

Required Qualities & Skills
Must be: professional, trustworthy, organized, responsible, hardworking, team-player, positive attitude, flexible, patient, friendly, strong phone skills, show excellent attention to detail, good writing skills, demonstrates solid follow-through, knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel.
Preferred Qualities:
-experience working or volunteering for a non-profit organization; knowledge of the non-profit industry
-some knowledge of the home and/or construction industry

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE & HOURLY RATE
• 3-5 days per week, 15-20 hours per week
• The RTS Internship position begins as a non-paid, temporary position for all candidates. After a 1 month commitment, the intern is considered for a monthly stipend, depending on the intern’s commitment level and work performance
• Please note: Official schedule to be agreed upon by the Executive Director and Intern.

DIRECTIONS FOR APPLICANTS
Please email your cover letter and resume to mthirlby@rtseattle.org with the subject line: “Intern Applicant.” Please mention (in your email) when you would like to start working and approximately how many hours per week you are available. RTS will contact you if we would like to set up an interview. For more information about RTS, please visit www.rtseattle.org. Thank you for your interest in Rebuilding Together Seattle!

Thanks from the Hazell family to Honeywell

On Saturday, October 23, Honeywell volunteers completed their 5th project with Rebuilding Together Seattle to help a family in the Greenlake neighborhood of Seattle. The following week, the Rebuilding Together Seattle office received an email from the Hazell family, sharing their appreciation for Honeywell's work.

The RTS Staff & Board hopes that RTS supporters will enjoy "reading the impact" that a sponsor and group of volunteers had on one of our families. Thank you, Honeywell!
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10-29-10 to info@rtseattle.org:

Amazing improvements. Awesome - it took my breathe away! Thank you all so much for such fantastic work. The kitchen floor is beautiful and the new faucet too. It's unbelievable how much can be accomplished in one day; and the wonderful work that a group of people can do. All the yard work in the back and front - beautiful job in the rockery. When I came up the front steps were much safer with the railings in front, and better stairs and porch. Everything was much more organized inside. Thank you again.
Evelyn Hazell - homeowner, 98 years old

Thank you. When I came out of the house I couldn't believe all the amazing talented volunteers who came. I was speechless. Thank you so much for everything you did: from fixing the railings, repairing the stairs, securing the porch, to the yard work in the front and back, the beautiful kitchen floor and faucet, the new vapor barrier in the crawl space, and even fixing a light and the toilet handle. A special thanks for the help with organization and cleaning.

I also saw something else: people connecting with one another, on a personal level. How wonderful!

I wanted to share a memory from when I was a child. I remember my mom and dad had friends and family that got together to play the game pinochle. One of them needed to have a basement dug for his house on Mercer Island. So instead of playing cards, one weekend they dug out the basement for their friends. The men dug, and the women brought food and cleaned (it was the fifties). It was like a big picnic, and everyone was doing something. Like this wonderful group of people who came to my mom's house to work on it. What amazing people they all are. My thanks goes out to these caring people.
Annette (Evelyn's daughter)

My first impression is the opening up of the view of the house from the street. It's amazing.
From the front room it's especially impressive with much more daylight into the home, with a cheerful feeling.
Kurt (son in law)

The sense of security is improved with the sturdy railings and the new stairs for my mom. It's a great relief. The new kitchen floor is beautiful. A great accomplishment for one day's work. I love the openness with the trimming of the trees. Wow - the backyard rockery looks great. Thank you!
Sue (daughter)

On a more laconic bent: y'all done a good thing.
Ken (friend)

A Successful Rebuild Day for Honeywell!

On Saturday, october 23rd, approximately 30 volunteers from Honeywell showed up to make a difference in the lives of a mother and her daughter.  200 hours of labor were applied in one day to complete a number of significant projects at the home of Evelyn, who is 97 years-old, and her daughter, Annette.  Honeywell volunteers replaced the kitchen flooring, completely reconstructed rotting front porch stairs, reinforced many areas of the porch structure, trimmed the trees, cleaned up the gardens and yard, replaced a leaky faucet, helped organize the home's clutter, repaired metal handrails, repaired toilet hardware, and installed a new vapor barrier in storage area.

Annette was overwhelmed with the results and nearby neighbors made a point to share how deserving Evelyn was for the support of Rebuilding Together Seattle, as she herself had a long history of helping others in the neighborhood.
"I would like to thank you all one final time for giving up your Saturday and offering your talents to support another very successful Rebuilding Together project," Gary Ballas, Honeywell Project Leader and RTS Board member, said to his team.

"I think it's telling that a woman who is self-admittedly never at a loss for words was literally speechless. We all had a good laugh over this fact - even Annette,"  he explained.  "Once the work was finished and people had cleared out, it all sort of caught up with her and she was in tears over the transformation. Annette and her mother have had some tough times,  and I was amazed at the improvement in her perspective from being around so many positive people doing something good simply because they knew they could."

Evelyn's daughter, Annette

Back garden and yard before

  Back garden and yard after

Front area before

 front area after

 rotting steps before

 during

 and after!

 kitchen floor before

 kitchen floor after

 The group, hard at work

GREAT WORK, HONEYWELL!!



Extreme Home Clutter Removal by Home Depot!

The Home Depot Foundation is sponsoring a Veteran Rebuilding Day next week on Thursday, November 4th.  Volunteers from Home Depot will complete work at the homes of three veterans in one day.  For a typical rebuilding day, many teams go in ahead of time to take care of some prep work.  Volunteers from Home Depot took prep work to the extreme by removing three cars from the backyard of a veteran in need!! The homeowner, Earl,  served in the Marine Corps and is a veteran of the Korean War.  Earl was already overwhelmed with the amount of help he was getting- and the rebuilding day hasn't even happened yet!!

Great Work Home Depot Volunteers!!

RTS Welcomes Kyle Weeks to the Development Committee

Kyle at our inaugural Beer & Wine Tasting event on October 1st

1. Why did you choose to get involved with RTS?  How did you first get involved?

The company I work for did a project back in June with RTS. The event was a lot of fun and I was immediately interested in getting involved again. Since then I’ve worked on two other RTS projects.

2. What do you enjoy the most about working with our organization?
I really enjoy the wide variety of people that get together for the same cause and desire to help someone in need. It’s amazing the work you can accomplish in such a limited amount of time when you have that many people working together towards the same goal.
3. What do your colleagues or other volunteers say about RTS? Why do they want to volunteer their time?

I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t enjoy helping out at the RTS events, and all are willing to help out again in the future. You get to give back, meet wonderful people, and have fun all at the same time.
4. What about RTS’ mission are you most drawn to?

I’m drawn most to the hands on attitude of RTS. I like that they get out there, do work, and are able to see significant results at the end of the day.
5. Do you have any other comments you’d like to share at this time?

I’m glad that I have been offered the opportunity to become more involved with RTS and I’m looking forward to the future with them. Thanks!

Thank you, Kyle!!

Thank you, Michelle Wilson & Alpine Mortgage!

RTS thanks Michelle Wilson & Alpine Mortgage for their donation this month to our organization! Thank you for continuing your RTS Mortgage Program, to provide more clients with essential home repairs.

To learn more about Michelle's program, email: michelle@alpinemtg.com

Thank you, Brewery Sponsors!

Rebuilding Together Seattle would once again like to thank Pike Brewing Company and Diamond Knot Brewing Company for their participation in our 1st Annual Beer & Wine Tasting. Thank you for making our event possible!

Volunteer Shout Out: Kelly Lems

RTS thanks volunteer, Kelly Lems, for her enthusiasm in helping with TWO fall rebuilding days- including our Lowes Energy Efficiency and Weatherization Project and The Home Depot Veterans Rebuild Day! 

Thank you, Kelly, for your commitment to RTS!

Volunteer Shout Out: Erin Scheopner!

Erin (R) and friend, Candace Priestly (L), busy volunteering in April!

RTS thanks volunteer, Erin Scheopner (YPS Service Chair) for her hard work on October 1st!

Erin - thank you for helping out at our inaugural event and making our check-in process so efficient!

Volunteer Shout Out: Rick Jones!

RTS thanks volunteer, Rick Jones, for his wonderful words at our 1st Annual Beer & Wine Tasting Event.

Thank you, Rick, for sharing your story!

Watch Rebuilding Together's Fifty for Five Highlights Video!

A Celebration of Community and Commitment August 24-29, 2010

Rebuilding Together celebrated the unwavering spirit of the Gulf Coast and New Orleans as another fifty homes were rehabilitated, and Rebuilding Together came closer to the pledge of 1,000 homes completed in the Gulf. Community block parties, local music and entertainment, a thousand volunteers, and celebrities were all present at project sites all week; creating one of the biggest impact projects New Orleans has experienced since the first hurricane in 2005.

WATCH THE VIDEO TODAY! http://fiftyforfive.org/

Sears Raises $12 Million Over Three Years to Support Rebuilding Together's Veterans Housing

Sears' Heroes at Home campaign supports veterans nationwide

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rebuilding Together, the nation's leading nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership, announced that Sears has raised $12 million dollars over the past three years for veteran housing projects, as part of Sears' Heroes at Home program. A collaboration between Rebuilding Together and Sears Holdings, Heroes at Home assists military families and veterans across the nation by making necessary repairs, improvements and modifications to their homes.

For the past several years, Sears customers have been given the opportunity to donate in stores or online to Rebuilding Together and the Heroes at Home program. This year, Sears led many additional fundraising efforts to support Rebuilding Together's veteran housing projects. As a result of the targeted campaigns, including a text-to-donate program, CauseWorld mobile phone application and exclusive apparel promotion, Sears raised more than $3.1 million in 2010, which will help modify over 270 veteran homes and nonprofit veterans centers by the end of 2010 alone.

"Sears' ongoing dedication to military veterans through Heroes at Home is appropriately reflected through the reported success and impact the program continues to have on families and communities nationwide," said Gary A. Officer, president and CEO of Rebuilding Together. "The in-store donations and campaigns have given Sears' customers the unique opportunity to become involved in an incredible mission and donate funds to a worthy cause."

717 homes of military families and veterans, and veterans' nonprofit centers have been repaired through Heroes at Home since the program began three years ago. The Heroes at Home projects have ranged from aiding veterans who were unable to complete necessary repairs, to families struggling with the sudden deployment of a family member, forcing them to leave their critical home renovations unfinished.

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.
Media Contact: BCarter@rebuildingtogether.org (202) 518-3500.

ABOUT SEARS HOLDINGS: Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation's fourth largest broadline retailer with approximately 3,900 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Sears Holdings is the 2010 ENERGY STAR® Retail Partner of the Year. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has the Country Living collection, which is offered by Sears and Kmart. We are the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 12 million service calls made annually. Sears Holdings Corporation operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation. For more information, visit Sears Holdings' website at www.searsholdings.com
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RTS supporters raise over $38,000 to benefit the Year-Round Program!

On Friday, October 1, 2010, over 200 attendees gathered at REI for Rebuilding Together Seattle's 1st Annual Beer & Wine Tasting to help raise funds for the new Year-Round Program at RTS.

The evening consisted of beer & wine tastings, great food, a Silent Auction, Live Auction, Raise the Paddle, and an opportunity to hear the inspiring story of Betty and her daughter Beverly, a family assisted by RTS volunteers in April 2010.

With the support of Event Sponsors (Infiniti of Kirkland, BlackRock, and Nintendo) and attendees, RTS raised over $38,000!

RTS thanks Presenting Sponsor, Infiniti of Kirkland, and Venue Sponsor, REI, for making our event possible. RTS thanks the Pike Brewing Company, Diamond Knot Brewing Company, and our featured wineries (selected by McCarthy & Schiering) for providing wonderful beer and wine! RTS also thanks Lisa Olson of Lisa O's Rolling Bistro, for supplying her catering services and wonderful food for the event attendees.

Thank you, event attendees, for your participation! Your support will allow RTS to assist more homeowners and non-profit facilities in need.

SAVE THE DATE! Saturday, October 1, 2011 will be RTS's 2nd Annual Beer & Wine Tasting!
For more information on this event, or how your company can get involved, please contact Sarah Ihrie at sihrie@rtseattle.org or 206.682.1231.

Thank you Catering Companies!

RTS sends a huge thank you to the local catering companies that donated to our inaugeral Beer & Wine Tasting fundraising event on Oct 1st.

Lisa O's Rolling Bistro not only donated several platters of appetizers to our event, she was also our main food provider, donating her services for the night of the event.

Macrina Bakery, South Lake Grill (of the Neighborhood Grills), and Seattle Catering donated appetizers to the fundraiser to keep our hungry VIP guests fed during the premiere wine tastings before the start of the main event.

Volunteer Shout Out: Richard Petrone!

Richard (center) gathers with EmCee and friends!

RTS Thanks Richard Petrone for his great help with our 1st Annual Beer & Wine Tasting!

Richard, a Project Manager for Rebuilding Together Seattle, was a great help procuring fantastic Silent and Live Auction Items, referring RTS to our EmCee, and recruiting wonderful attendees and donors.

Thank you, Richard, for all of your continued support!