Rebuilding Together: Transforming Lives and Revitalizing Communities One Home at a Time
What began in 1973 with a small group of people in Midland, Texas, has grown into one of the leading nonprofit housing organizations in the country.
Not bad for an organization that started out performing repair and rehabilitation work in their community once a year in April.
Today, Rebuilding Together – with more than 100 affiliates and nearly 100,000 volunteers – complete about 10,000 rebuild projects across the country each year.
In 2016 alone, 89,748 skilled and general volunteers performed repairs on 9,127 homes, 275 nonprofit and educational facilities and 84 community spaces nationwide.
A Safe and Healthy Home for Every Person
For more than 40 years, Rebuilding Together has been repairing and rehabilitating the homes of veterans, people with disabilities and low-income families.
The organization does a little bit of everything, but the most common repairs are flooring, plumbing and electrical work. In addition, accessibility modifications for seniors and the addition or repair of exterior wheelchair ramps is also performed.
How long each affiliate spends on a home depends on the magnitude of the job as well as the funds they raise and receive.
As always, health and safety is first and foremost. This includes making sure homeowners have the following:
- A working smoke detector.
- A properly ventilated stove.
- A visible house number should emergency services need to find them.
Rebuilding Together holds many different events throughout the year, including National Rebuilding Month, an annual month-long service in April that culminates with National Rebuilding Day.
Want to get involved with Rebuilding Together? Visit their volunteer page for ways to get involved and find an affiliate near you.