Like most nonprofits, HomeAid is focused on finishing the year strong and ensuring our budget remains in the black. We have hosted three successful fundraisers this year and our largest event, Bet on HomeAid Gala and Auction, is coming up this Saturday, November 12th. The sponsors and guests who attend these events help us sustain our mission all year long and allow us to continue our unique model of working directly with nonprofits to create construction solutions that work for them and the people they serve. Nonprofits provide housing and wrap-around services that help people make real progress which is why so many of the donations we receive go toward investing in our projects beyond just the physical structures we’ve helped build and renovate; we’ve purchased bunk beds with lockable storage for a men’s shelter, a state-of-the-art security system for a domestic violence shelter, and brand-new playground equipment for an after-school program. HomeAid, along with our Builder Captains, put a lot of care into our projects, with an equal amount of thought put into whom we’re serving. But to do it, we depend on financial support.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to attend an event, or even if you have, I want to encourage you to invest in HomeAid by making a tax-deductible contribution. Donations can easily be made through our website, which also allows people to become a monthly donor, so if you don’t want to write a $500 check at the end of the year, you can sign up to contribute $42 a month, spreading your donation out through the year.
You can see from the “Projects in Development” section on our website that HomeAid continues to tackle more and more projects and we can’t think of a better way to finish out the year than to know we have your support and commitment.
As always, please call me if you want to learn about HomeAid or how your donation impacts the nonprofits and people we serve.
With gratitude,
The giving season is here, and the HomeAid National Capital Region’s Holiday Home Essentials Drive makes it extra easy to volunteer this year! Whether you coordinate a drive with your office or book club, or choose to shop solo from your desk, every item on our nonprofit partners’ Amazon Wish Lists has been hand-selected to ensure it fills clients’ real needs. All household essentials purchased off the lists – including kitchen items, sheets, blankets, pillows, bathroom accessories, towels, laundry baskets, and cleaning supplies – will be shipped directly to our headquarters, where we’ll assemble “Welcome Home” baskets for delivery to our nonprofit service providers. Donations have a second benefit; the funds our partners save by not having to purchase these essentials means more funding for programs and services!
The Home Essentials Drive will run from now through December – thank you for making a difference this holiday season.
NVBIA’s Future Leaders of the Building Industry held its Annual Oktoberfest at Crafthouse Fairfax in October, collecting $2,065 in gift cards and donations for our nonprofit partners and the people they serve. Gift cards are especially effective, as they not only provide the immediate means to purchase a necessary item, but they provide autonomy. Gift cards give people the choice and flexibility to purchase exactly what they need, whether that’s minutes on a phone, a birthday cake for their child, or the exact brand of formula their baby requires. Thank you, NVBIA Future Leaders, for thoughtfully asking your members to make gift card donations and for supporting HomeAid National Capital Region!
HomeAid National Capital Region, Knutson Companies, and our trade partners have begun renovating a three-bay garage building on the campus of Mobile Hope in Leesburg, transforming the space into the Threads of Hope Training and Donation Center and serving as Mobile Hope’s second thrift retail store.
Threads of Hope provides free clothing to homeless and at-risk youth up to age 24, helping them on their journey toward self-sufficiency and improved well-being. Thrift retail sales to the public, currently offered at Mobile Hope’s “Graffiti & Silk” store in Purcellville, help fund Mobile Hope’s crisis programs and provide a setting to train homeless and at-risk youth in customer service, merchandising, clothes sorting, sales reconciliation, and retail management. This second renovated facility will expand upon both goals, as well as serve as a sorting center where volunteers can prepare hundreds of donations for distribution and sale.
Since March 2020, Mobile Hope has provided clothing for 181,000 people and projects a 10 percent increase in individuals served, plus a net revenue increase of $100,000 to $200,000 annually once the newly renovated facility is operational.
Pia Turner, a designer for K. Hovnanian’s corporate interior design team, is one of the talents behind the company’s materials selections and model home interior finishes, and HomeAid is lucky enough to include her as part of our team, too, when she volunteers to advise our nonprofit partners on making design choices for renovation projects where K. Hovnanian is the Builder Captain. She helped Christ House choose beautiful flooring, lighting, and paint in their Alexandria men’s shelter last year, for example, and this year, she’s working with our Communities of Trust project. She has organized K. Hovnanian’s annual golf tournament benefitting HomeAid for the past several years, and she’s a familiar face at all of our events. A stellar example of an employee who is very engaged in her company’s philanthropic efforts, we’re so grateful they – and she – chose us!
Q: When you work with our nonprofit partners on design choices, what is your approach from a design standpoint?
A: My goal is to add value and dignity to the whole renovation process through design elements. When a nonprofit has a huge ask, like a remodel, they may feel as though they can’t ask for more in terms of design choices. They are so often in the position of ‘you get what you get and you don’t get upset’ that they don’t even dream of getting what they really want. I want to change that perspective, and I can do it by providing choices. I love treating our partner organizations the same way I treat a customer; there should always be options. I help present choices that are easy to maintain and look beautiful, like luxury vinyl flooring, and I help educate partners through common misconceptions, like understanding that dark flooring is hard to keep looking clean – it shows every little speck! For lighting, we focus on fixtures that can accommodate LEDs. Low-maintenance, high-value choices can make a huge difference in a project.
Q: You’re very engaged in corporate philanthropy … what inspires you to keep saying ‘yes’?
A: I first learned about HomeAid when Gary Chandler, our division president, was HomeAid’s board chair, and he invited employees to go to HomeAid’s events throughout the year. I saw firsthand how the building community as a whole invested in HomeAid and its initiatives. All giving is worthy, but seeing a Builder Captain take on a project really was a powerful experience for me; seeing every dollar and every hour of donated time go directly to the people in need was eye-opening. Being able to touch and see the buildings also made it all feel so real, and getting to meet the people we’re helping serve truly affected me.
Q: Tell us a little about your career; what do you do for K. Hovnanian?
A: I started in home sales, then transitioned to a consultant in our Design Gallery, later managing the Gallery in the Mid-Atlantic for seven years. I moved next to the designer position, and now I work across the country, helping select the materials that will be in all of our homes, such as the tile, wood, and paint colors. Right now, I’m working on rebranding our model homes – it’s super exciting and really fun to get to play a role in defining how our homes will look and the vibe they’ll have based on what we install. It’s a dream position!
With Gratitude
Thank you, Centerview Title Group, for nominating us for an ALTA Good Deeds Foundation Grant! We were thrilled that you participated in our Builders for Babies diaper drive, we are honored to have earned your support, and we’re happy to report that we won the $5,000 grant! All of it will support our mission – in tune with the Good Deed Foundation’s mission of building and strengthening our local communities.
Longstanding Partnership
Thank you to NVBIA for your longstanding support and partnership. We loved celebrating with you at the NVBIA Great American Living Awards (GALA) and appreciate your generous donation!
Dine Out for HomeAid
A round of applause to Sedona Taphouse in Chantilly, which selected HomeAid National Capital Region as its Dine Out for Charity beneficiary for the month of November. Dine in on Mondays at the Chantilly, VA, location, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated back to HomeAid.
HomeAid Gala and Auction
Saturday, November 12, 2022 6:30 PM
Lansdowne Resort and Spa
GolfAid
March 2, 2023 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Topgolf Loudoun
*Save the Date
NVBIA Women in the Building Industry
Friday, December 9, 2022 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Reston Craft House
