As you’ll learn in this issue of Building Hope, we kicked off a new project in Winchester this month, renovating two buildings for CCAP to support their clothing shop and food pantry. I love projects like these for so many reasons; the top among them is that we’re the only organization in the area working with nonprofits to build and renovate their facilities, filling a critical need in our community.

Yes, other organizations do similar work for individuals who own homes – and some may even build houses alongside future homeowners – but no one in our region works directly with nonprofits to build, renovate, and modernize spaces that they depend on to serve their clients. It’s an important distinction, because nonprofits don’t just provide shelter or housing; they also provide wrap-around services that help people make real progress. This has become especially critical over the last few years, as needs in our region continue to escalate: It used to be, for example, that people turned to food pantries as a supplemental source of food. Today, food insecurity is so high that many people rely solely on food pantries to put food on the table for their families. Similarly, CCAP’s clothing program is a critical source of resources that would otherwise be out of reach – enabling people to find what they need for work, school, or even job interviews.

And, because we partner with homebuilding professionals – who know building codes and products like the backs of their hands – we can provide sustainable, long-term solutions for our nonprofit partners. That makes a big difference for our nonprofit partners, who often work out of available space that wasn’t necessarily designed for their very-specific needs. The CCAP Clothing House operates out of a former auto parts store, and thanks to our team of professional builders, we can help design and build space that meets their programmatic needs and allows them to run things more efficiently, which not only saves nonprofits money in building costs but also provides significant savings over time.

Thank you to our Builder Captains and volunteers who work alongside us on these projects. Your efforts are changing the trajectory of how nonprofits work and deliver services to their clients, your building capacity, improving efficiencies, and giving people hope.

One of our favorite events of the year is happening soon, and we sure hope you’ll be there! Make plans today to attend our13^th Annual Builders & Friends BBQ on Thursday June 16 from 4-7pm, where we celebrate the homebuilders and trade partners who make our mission of rebuilding lives possible. We’ll offer all-you-can-eat BBQ, a craft beer open bar, seasonal cocktails, live music, cornhole games, and awesome raffle prizes (including our famous wheelbarrow of beer!) – all at the beautiful and spacious National Botanic Garden overlooking the water.

Registration and sponsorship opportunities are NOW open – we need you and your company’s support now more than ever, and we look forward to seeing and celebrating with you in June.

Thank you to our event sponsors!

Volunteerism and collection drives often surge around the winter holidays, and with feedback from our non-profit partners, we are shifting our annual Builders for Babies diaper and wipes drive to the weeks between Mother’s Day (May 8th) and Father’s Day (June 19th). This change will ensure that we align with a time when our partners are both in critical need of supplies and when they have the capacity to store them. We know we can reach our goal of 50,000 diapers and wipes with the help of our generous community! Here’s how you can get involved:

• Organize a diaper and wipe drive; we can help you with collection boxes and promotional flyers.
• Shop our Amazon wishlist, which will ship directly to our HomeAid Northern Virginia office.
• Schedule a time between June 21-23, 2022, to drop off donations at our office.
• Print and share our flyer.
• Like, comment, and share our social media posts.

Contributing items like diapers and wipes are vitally important anytime, but with prices rising as supply issues continue, there’s no better time than now to help! Unfortunately, diapers and wipes cannot be purchased using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

On Monday, June 20 at the Belmont Country Club in Ashburn, Toll Brothers – along with Darvish Construction – will be holding their Charity Golf Tournament, with HomeAid Northern Virginia as their sole beneficiary! The tournament has, over the years, raised more than $200,000 in support of HomeAid’s mission – critically important funds that help us renovate and build housing and programmatic facilities that provide shelter, dignity, and safety for at-risk kids, single moms, veterans, intellectually disabled adults, and countless others who are coming out of crisis in our community and need a hand up.

In addition to the important funds that the tournament will bring to HomeAid, third-party charity fundraisers expand our capacity enormously in terms of event planning and hosting and help spread awareness about our mission and homelessness to an entirely new group of people – often resulting in a whole new group of HomeAid supporters and partners.

For more information, please feel free to contact Darvish Construction’s Melissa Dorsey at 571.283.1142. Or, to host a third party fundraiser, contact HomeAid’s Kristyn Burr at 571.283.6320

Thank you, Toll Brothers and Darvish Construction, for your continued generosity!

Dan Guay, president of Tri-state Drywall, was born into the homebuilding and commercial business and has been running the second-generation company since 2006. This month, he and his team worked on their first HomeAid Northern Virginia project with Builder Captain Merritt Construction Services, a $100,000 renovation and build out for House of Mercy Thrift Store and Food Pantry in Manassas. Find out why this veteran of the industry stepped up and said “yes!” to their first HomeAid project.

Q: What inspired you to help out with the House of Mercy project?

A: We initially heard about HomeAid through Eric Dunn at Merritt Construction, with whom we’ve had a long working relationship – our companies have been partners for years. When he reached out and told us that they had taken on this renovation project with HomeAid and they needed help, we didn’t hesitate. The bottom line is, when you work with someone, have a great relationship with them, and they as you for your help with a great cause, you say yes.

Q: What surprised you most about the House of Mercy project?

A: House of Mercy wasn’t an organization we knew about, so we obviously learned a lot, and they were in need of our help. My challenge to other trades is to reach out to someone who really needs something – an organization who relies on volunteers and donations – and give your time and resources to them.

Q: What do you love most about your career with Tri-State and the homebuilding industry in general?

A: Since we are a second-generation company, going into the construction industry has been good for my family and it’s been a lucrative career choice for me. It’s allowed me to do projects I love like this HomeAid project – being able to put my knowledge to good use and make the community a better place for the next generation.

HomeAid on Social

Wait, what? We have event photos on Flickr? Indeed, we do! And, we share a lot of photos and details of all of our events, projects, and other can’t-miss-news on our Facebook and Instagram pages, as well as on LinkedIn. Be sure to follow us!

GolfAid Photos Now Online

GolfAid Photos Now Online
Be sure to head over to our online Flickr album to view and download your favorite shots from a fun night of golfing and networking at TopGolf, where we raised $54,000 to support our mission. Thanks again to the generosity of Bob Narod Photography for capturing the fun!