One in four parents miss work or school because they can’t afford the diapers that are required to leave their baby in daycare. It’s a staggering statistic and one that highlights a barrier many families face in their pursuit of stability and self-sufficiency.
Clean diapers are not a luxury; they are a basic need for every baby and toddler. Yet for too many families living in our area, the high cost of diapers creates an impossible choice between meeting this essential need and covering other critical expenses like rent, food, or transportation. Without an adequate supply of diapers, parents are often unable to access childcare, which means missed workdays and lost wages. Over time, these challenges compound, making it even harder for families to move forward.
When parents are forced to stay home, workplaces lose valuable employees and families lose opportunities to build a more secure future. Addressing this need is not only about providing diapers and wipes, but also about removing barriers and opening doors.
Join us in closing a critical gap for families across our region by participating in our Builders for Babies Diaper Drive, kicking off on Mother’s Day (May 10) and continuing through Father’s Day (June 16). There are lots of ways to help but by becoming a Builders for Babies Champion with a $2,000 commitment, you will fund an entire pallet of diapers, ensuring babies are clean, dry, and healthy.
Last year, our online donors made an incredible impact, helping us provide 40 pallets of diapers and wipes to local nonprofits serving babies experiencing or at risk of homelessness, on top of the generous contributions collected at our donation sites.
Please consider becoming a Builders for Babies Champion by donating a pallet of diapers to create the foundation for lasting change because sometimes, the smallest essentials make the biggest difference.
With gratitude,
Our Annual Builders & Friends BBQ brings together our region’s top builders, trade partners, and other industry leaders to celebrate our mission of building new lives through construction, community engagement, and education. We can’t wait to see you for this year’s BBQ, on June 18, 2026, from 3:30-6:30pm at the National Botanic Garden in Chantilly, VA! In addition to top-rate networking opportunities, we’ll welcome you with delicious food from Mission BBQ, craft beer from Lost Rhino, cornhole games, ice cream from C.C. Frozen Treats, and live music from Eric Stanley and Doug Wall from Liberty Street Band.
Presented by Buhl Electric Co., Inc., tickets are $75 per person, with a wide range of sponsorship opportunities available that include up to eight registrations for the event. Find out more and make plans to be there – you won’t want to miss the season’s best opportunity for making new connections and renewing partnerships.
For any Builder Captain or Trade Partner who volunteered on a HomeAid project between June 2025 and June 2026, you are also eligible for TWO FREE tickets to the event; please contact Michelle Fargher to reserve tickets.
Looking to get involved but not sure how? Consider volunteering at the BBQ! We’re always looking for help with loading the truck at our headquarters, registration, running the raffle, helping in the parking lot, and cleanup. Contact Michelle Fargher for more information, and we’ll look forward to welcoming you to our crew.
HomeAid, Builder Captain Drees Homes, and Habitat for Humanity of Washington, DC & Northern VA teamed up on a project that will ultimately deliver 10 affordable townhomes to the grounds of Fairfax Presbyterian Church, creating a vibrant new community. Unlike most of HomeAid’s projects, however, our work will be focused solely on site work: Drees Homes and partners have prepared the ground and built the concrete foundations and we will be turning over the construction project to Habitat for Humanity. Once completed, Homestretch will own and manage one of the homes and nurture a sense of belonging for all who will call this place their own. The other units will be part of Habitat for Humanity’s Home Ownership Program.
As Alicia Cox Skoug, division president for Drees Homes and board member for HomeAid told us in last month’s issue of Building Hope, Drees’ land development team had some availability to develop a job site, and, by focusing on site work, “We were able to work with HomeAid and Habitat to make it happen. I am sure the final townhomes will be a wonderful opportunity for families!”
HomeAid partners frequently with Homestretch, which shares a similar vision of empowering families with children living in Virginia to attain permanent housing and self-sufficiency by giving them the skills, knowledge and hope they need to become productive participants in the community. We look forward to watching Glebe View Townhomes take shape now that HomeAid and Drees have completed the all-important foundation.
On Mother’s Day (May 10), we’ll kick off Builders for Babies 2026, when we collect diapers and wipes for local nonprofits who serve families with young children, experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. This year, we’ll repeat our goal of collecting one million diapers and wipes for over 40 nonprofits, after our supporters showed us last year that our huge goals are always worth aspiring to because the people we serve matter. The collection drive will conclude on Father’s Day (June 21), with deliveries to nonprofits in the DC and Northern Virginia area on July 7. Then, on July 10, the HomeAid team, in partnership with Rycon Construction, will distribute diapers and wipes to nonprofits in the Richmond area.
We’ll achieve one million diapers and wipes just as we always have: by encouraging supporters like you to make an online donation, purchase diapers and wipes, and/or serve as a collection site! It’s never been more important: As prices rise, there is now more need than ever for these items, but diapers and wipes cannot be purchased using Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). So, this is where YOU come in.
“The diapers and wipes from HomeAid are among the most significant gifts we receive,” said Elaine Wright, director of institutional giving for Homestretch. “A gift of diapers meets an urgent, daily need for families experiencing homelessness, keeping babies healthy and clean while allowing parents to work, attend school, or access childcare. Beyond the practical, it relieves stress, restores dignity, and shows families that they, and their children, matter. For a family already choosing between food, transportation, and rent, diapers are often a daily source of stress.”
Help us continue to make that kind of impact on families in our region – and be part of an effort that has collected over 2,743,000 diapers and wipes since 2018.
Attention Nonprofits! If you would like to be included in our diapers and wipes distribution network, please contact Michelle Fargher.
Mitch Elmore, president of HDS Drywall Service, Inc., and his family-owned company took on their first project with HomeAid in 2013, and they haven’t slowed down since. Most recently, HDS has participated 10 times in our turnover program, designed to help organizations quickly prepare units that need new flooring and fresh paint before new families can move in. Find out why Mitch and his company keep saying, ‘Yes’ to HomeAid!
Q: You’ve been very involved with our Turnover program; what is it about those project that appeals to your company so much?
A: What keeps us coming back is simple — we get to be part of the moment a family stops surviving and starts living again. When we walk into a turnover unit, we see four walls and a ceiling. But we know that what we leave behind is so much more than fresh drywall and a clean coat of paint. We’re creating the backdrop for a child doing homework at a real kitchen table, for a parent finally sleeping somewhere safe. That’s not something you can put a price tag on. Our focus is always on doing the work right — clean lines, solid finishes, nothing halfway — because these families deserve the same quality as anyone else. They deserve to walk into a space that feels like a home, not a hand-me-down.
Q: What would you say to another trade partner thinking about getting involved with HomeAid?
A: Stop thinking about it and just do it. I know trades are busy. I know margins are tight and schedules are packed. But the Turnover program is one of the most efficient, well-organized ways to give back that I’ve ever seen — HomeAid makes it easy to show up and make a real difference without it becoming a burden on your business. And once you do it once, and you see that unit go from worn-down to warm and welcoming, you’ll be hooked. You’ll want your crew there. You’ll want your name on that work. There’s a pride that comes with these projects that you just don’t get anywhere else. Our industry builds things — I want to make sure we’re building futures, not just square footage.
Q: What has your years of working with HomeAid taught you about homelessness in NoVa, and how does it feel personally and professionally to know that you’re part of the solution?
A: This work has taught me that homelessness in Northern Virginia doesn’t look the way most people picture it. It’s families. It’s working parents who hit a rough patch. It’s kids who just need stability to have a real shot at life. That realization changed how I see this work — and honestly, how I see my role as a contractor. Professionally, it’s made me a better businessman because it reminds me why the craft matters. Personally, it’s humbling in a way that’s hard to describe. After three or four years of doing these projects, I don’t take a single job for granted. Every wall we correct, every room we paint — I think about who’s going to live there. Knowing that what our hands build can help break a cycle of homelessness for a family in our own community? That’s not just a good feeling. That’s a reason to keep getting up and going to work.
2025 Impact Report
HomeAid National Capital Region’s 2025 Impact Report is now available online, providing an inside look at how our work transforms lives. Learn more about the five construction projects we completed, the results of our nonprofit partnerships and community outreach, and how our supporters make a difference in their communities every day.
Additional highlights include information on our 15 Turnover Projects, Builders for Babies Program, and Project Playhouse. Take a deeper dive into our Annual Impact Report today!
Care Day
Thank you, Beazer Homes, for participating in this year’s National Day of Service through a Care Day with HomeAid! On March 20, seven volunteers packed over 150 meals for the PathForward Homeless Services Center’s Bagged Meal Program (BMP), an ongoing initiative which distributes bagged meals at the Homeless Services Center and through street outreach efforts in Arlington, VA. Interested in participating in a Care Day? These hands-on volunteer service days, during which volunteers come together to give back to a local HomeAid nonprofit partner, make a big difference in a nonprofit’s ability to use vital savings elsewhere. Contact Michelle Fargher for information.
Leadership Conference
Kristyn Burr, CEO, and Courtney Bishop, vice president of fundraising and communications, represented HomeAid National Capital Region at HomeAid America’s Leadership Conference from March 16-19 in Hawaii. The conference gathered HomeAid leaders from across the country to focus on ending homelessness through construction, community engagement, and education. Attendees learned more about HomeAid Hawaii’s efforts to serve as a key partner in building “Kauhale” villages (community-driven housing) and creating rapid, long-term housing solutions for wildfire survivors, such as the Ka La‘i Ola project in Maui.
Celebrating 25 Years
In 2007, Terri Stagi, Fiona Hughes and Leslie Strittmatter learned just how many barriers women in shelters were facing because they lacked appropriate clothing.They took action, launching “Women Giving Back,” a program under HomeAid Northern Virginia and operating out of a closet at the Northern Virginia’s Builder Association so that they could provide free, quality clothing to women in need. As they outgrew the closet, they moved to a warehouse space in 2011, and, in 2016, HomeAid, Builder Captain, Knutson Companies, and trade partners renovated 7,064 square feet of space, essentially doubling the size of the WGB Store and allowing for a larger retail area; more storage capacity; a playroom for children while mothers shop; and administrative offices. Now an independent 501(c)3, Women Giving Back serves more than 32,000 women and children in need every year. It’s a story we’re so proud to be a part of!
Builders for Babies Diaper Drive
Collection: Mother’s Day (May 10) through Father’s Day (June 21).
Delivery Day: Tuesday, July 7, 2026
Builders & Friends BBQ
June 18, 2026, 3:30-6:30 p.m.
National Botanic Garden
26320 Ticonderoga Road
Chantilly, VA, 20152
