Every December, I like to take stock of how far we’ve come, and HomeAid National Capital Region has had a truly exceptional year in 2023. We completed seven construction projects for seven nonprofit partners, totaling a $806,000 investment in our communities and impacting thousands of people in just one year. And, in doing so, we – along with our incredible trade partners and builder captains – saved our partners $684,376 in donations – funds that they can now redirect toward critically important programs and services supporting those experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness. We added beds for those coming out of homelessness, we created opportunities and safety for at-risk youth, we imagined spaces for workforce development, we provided dignity and hope to those still experiencing homelessness by providing a space to grab a warm cup of coffee and hot breakfast, added three affordable housing units to the Richmond Highway corridor ensuring the area remains an accessible and diverse community, and we collaborated on Loudoun County’s first Food Hub dedicated to preventing food waste and distribution to those in need.
We also completed our very first project in our nation’s capital – which you can read about more in-depth in this issue of Building Hope – and delighted in working with Don Knutson, who led our first project 22 years ago. We hosted 10 Care Days, with nearly 150 volunteers contributing about 500 hours of service work such as landscaping and cleaning, saving our partners over $20,000 in labor and $10,000 in supplies. We distributed hundreds of backpacks and school supply gift cards for schoolchildren and collected and distributed over 250,000 diapers and wipes. What is harder to conceptualize is the sheer number of individuals who made all of this possible, whether through their attendance at one of our events, service on our Board or on one of our committees, their sponsorship or donation, or literally any of the other countless ways an individual can make such a huge impact on an organization they love. As M. Russell Ballard brilliantly said, “Great things are brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands anxiously engaged in a good cause.”
Your belief in us is humbling, and a testament to what can happen when people come together with a passion and purpose to serve and help others. Thank you for tirelessly working alongside us to ensure our nonprofit partners have the resources and spaces they need to better serve their clients. We couldn’t have done it without you!
With gratitude,
HomeAid National Capital Region’s “Building for Change” Gala & Auction” welcomed more than 300 supporters to Westfield Marriott Washington Dulles, where together we raised more than $300,000 in critically important funding – funding that will support our mission of helping people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness build new lives through construction, community engagement, and education. The funds were raised through sponsorships, ticket sales, and the silent and live auctions, as well as through the always-exciting Paddle Challenge, with a $10,000 match donation coming from Jonathan and Lauren Kinard.
We also announced and honored three recipients for our prestigious Presidents’ Circle Awards. The 2023 Awards, sponsored by 84 Lumber, recognized the following people and organizations for their work in advancing HomeAid’s mission:
Presidents’ Award: Bob Narod
The HomeAid National Capital Region Presidents’ Awards recognizes those in our community who have gone the extra mile to further HomeAid’s mission of building new lives for those experiencing homelessness. Bob Narod has operated his full-service architectural photography company since 1985, and he began volunteering with HomeAid 20 years ago to capture the special moments and celebrations so important to our organization. He’s taken thousands of photos capturing signature events, projects, and ribbon cuttings, many of which you’ve seen in our newsletters, social media, and Flickr pages, and he’s even recruited his son, Brendan, to continue his legacy of giving back to HomeAid through imagery that will last generations.
Trade Partner of the Year Award: General Electric
HomeAid’s trade partners are those in the home building industry who play meaningful roles in HomeAid’s construction projects by donating materials, time, labor, and expertise. General Electric has been volunteering with and contributing to HomeAid since 2008, providing appliances for 36 projects and donating $130,000 worth of time, labor, and materials. The total impact of their support has improved 7,967 lives, including those at our project for our 2023 Communities of Trust project.
Nonprofit Service Provider Project of the Year Award: Communities of Trust
In February 2023, K. Hovnanian and 18 trade partners transformed a vacant building nestled in the Hybla Valley community of Fairfax County, Virginia, for Communities of Trust. This now-vibrant space allows the nonprofit to provide after-school programs, mentoring and homework assistance, and work to enhance the positive engagement of the community with law enforcement. The 1,582-square-foot renovation included two offices for one-on-one meetings, and installation of luxury vinyl plank flooring throughout the building. The large open-spaced area is used for guest speakers, homework stations, workforce development opportunities, movie nights, and other community activities. The construction team also added a kitchenette, renovated three bathrooms, painted, installed two water fountains, new lighting, blinds and windows. HomeAid’s partnership with K. Hovnanian Homes saved the nonprofit $102,199 in labor, time, and expertise, all of which was 100 percent donated. In addition to the award, Communities of Trust received a $1,000 donation and enjoyed a Gala table for 10, sponsored by James Hardie.
Stanley Martin served as the presenting sponsor of the Gala & Auction, with over 40 additional event sponsors joining in. Thank you to all for making this year’s event the enormous success that it was!
Missed this year’s event? Be sure to check out the hundreds of professional photos taken this year!
We’re closing in on the final weeks to donate to the HomeAid National Capital Region’s Home Essentials Drive, and we hope you’ll check out our nonprofit partners’ Amazon Wish List – still loaded with kitchen items, blankets, bathroom accessories, towels, laundry baskets, and cleaning supplies. We’ll take care of assembling and delivering the baskets to our nonprofit partners, and every item purchased means more funding that our nonprofit partners can spend on programs and services rather than on supplies.
Make someone’s holiday extra happy this year by shopping our Amazon Wish List! Please direct any questions to Caryn Krupczak at ckrupczak@homeaidncr.org.
On November 30, HomeAid celebrated the completion of our very first project in the nation’s capital, with a ribbon cutting at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church in Columbia Heights. The 100-year-old building houses “Loaves and Fishes” – which serves hot meals on weekends and Federal holidays and hosts a weekend food pantry – and Thrive DC, a nonprofit organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness by providing a safety net for people experiencing housing instability, food insecurity, and economic crisis. Working with Builder Captain, Don Knutson of Knutson Companies – who also served as the Builder Captain on our first project 22 years ago – and 13 trade partners, the 5,000 square foot project focused on the total renovation of the dining room and kitchen, restrooms, hallways, laundry room, food pantry and stairwells, and storage facilities.
Loaves and Fishes serves 15,000 individuals a year, while Thrive – the sole provider of homeless services for Ward One and much of the surrounding area – serves more than 2,000 men, women, and children each year. As Don Knutson shared during the renovation project, “My sincere hope is that everyone who walks into this building in need leaves with a feeling of joy and happiness, knowing from the newly renovated space that someone cared and took time to help them out.”
Thank you, Knutson Companies, and the following trade partners, for making this project possible. And a special thank you to Brett Tressler and Ollin Toler from Knutson Companies, who managed the project from start to finish. It is an honor to work with you!
ABW
Carter Lumber
Dunn’s Floor Covering
Eastern Applicators
Kohler
Legacy Contractors
NEKA
Southern Electric
Timberlake Cabinetry
Titan Erosion Control
VCI
Virginia Cleaning and Punchout, Inc. (VCP)
VR Electric
There are countless details that go into planning and hosting a function the size and magnitude of HomeAid’s Annual Gala & Auction, and two of our volunteers, Denise Davis, gallery assistant with K. Hovanian Mid-Atlantic Division, LLC, and Alison Onaran, formerly design consultant with K. Hovnanian, put their winning touch on everything from the centerpieces to auction items and from registration to the paddle challenge. We sat down with both women – after the Gala was in the rearview mirror! – to learn a little bit more about what drives them … and why they thankfully chose us.
Q: What inspired you to get more deeply invested in helping advance our mission by serving on the Gala Committee?
Denise: Last year, my supervisor asked me to get involved by finding donations for the auction – I used to have my own catering business, so constructing events was kind of my thing! I procured auction items and volunteered at the Gala as a greeter, and I was happy to be invited to serve on the Gala Committee this year. One of our first tasks was to develop the theme, which carried us all the way to the morning of the Gala, when Alison, several other volunteers, and I assembled the centerpieces, which I had designed. It felt so good to see it all come to fruition.
Alison: I first learned of HomeAid soon after joining K.Hovnanian, and my first volunteer experience – at GolfAid – was so much fun. It was a great way to network and meet others in the industry who are equally passionate about HomeAid’s mission, and I’ve enjoyed carrying that passion forward with Denise. Whether we were putting baskets together for auctions, procuring donations, or coordinating menus for events, her passion is contagious and inspired me to also join the Gala committee. Knowing that I enjoy crafts and creating floral arrangements, she also encouraged me to help build the centerpieces – it was a team effort, and we had so much fun bringing those to life! I really love working on projects with others where we can stand back and say, “Look at what we accomplished!” It brings me joy to see the impact we can have on others.
Q: What do you love most about working on the Gala?
Denise: Seeing the event come together for a great cause. I tell everyone that getting involved gives us the opportunity to allow others to live a little better.
Alison: Working alongside other like-minded people. Everyone works together as a team and contributes their individual talents, toward the same goal, and it’s exciting to see all the pieces fall into place. Everyone is busy with work and family, but taking bits and pieces of your time to help make a difference can make a big impact. In the building industry, people are goal driven and motivated to execute and complete projects, which is why this team works so well together.
Q: Prior to volunteering, did you have any experience supporting at-risk populations?
Denise: When I had my catering business, I had a contract with Fairfax County whereby I delivered lunches Monday to Friday to under-privileged children. It was then that I realized there are far too many families who are living without the bare necessities. I also volunteered with my church to go to a homeless shelter in Reston to serve breakfast. Working with HomeAid and helping provide for those experiencing homelessness and those who are struggling is so important to me.
Alison: As a native Northern Virginian, I’m familiar with the issues surrounding food insecurity and the un-housed population; no one is immune to finding themselves in a situation where they need assistance. Growing up, I saw my grandmother volunteer her time with Meals on Wheels, delivering meals to the elderly dealing with food insecurity. I started participating in food and toy drives when I was in high school and continue to do so today, alongside my children. Giving back is so important to me, which is why working alongside HomeAid is so fulfilling. It was so exciting to see all those paddles go up!
Thank You
Thank you to Morgan Stanley, for the recent grant award! This generous donation will help sustain our operations and support our mission of providing facilities for those experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.
Happy Holidays!
The HomeAid National Capital Region office will be closed from Monday, December 25, 2023, through Monday, January 1, 2024, so that we can enjoy some downtime with our families over the holidays. We will reopen on Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
GolfAid
Thursday, March 7, 2024
3:00 p.m. to 6:00p.m.
TopGolf Loudoun
NVBIA Future Leaders & WBI Holiday Party
December 14, 2023
4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
AJ Madison Showroom, Tysons Corner, VA.
Guests are encouraged to bring household essentials for HomeAid National Capital Region.
