Nov. 10, 2018 – Chantilly, VA — HomeAid Northern Virginia (HANV) recognized local businesses, nonprofits and individuals for positive community impact and serving vulnerable families in the Northern Virginia region with its 2018 Presidents’ Circle Awards. HomeAid, a nonprofit that renovates homeless shelters and supportive housing facilities via the donated expertise, labor and resources of local homebuilders, presented the following awards at its 17th Annual Gala & Auction on Nov. 10th at Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg.
Loudoun Hunger Relief
(LHR, formerly Loudoun Interfaith Relief) is the largest food pantry in Loudoun County and has served the community for 27 years. Leesburg-based LHR distributes food to families six days a week, year-round. LHR collaborated with HANV this year on a full renovation of its food distribution space, which provides 1.2 million pounds of food to more than 8,000 individuals each year. The upgrade includes a separate lobby and waiting room for customers plus a new food selection “client choice” room that better displays the wide range of food items available. The new space gives families more autonomy over their choices, more privacy while they shop, and – as a result – more dignity while receiving food at Loudoun Hunger Relief’s distribution site. The renovation was led by Knutson Companies, which led the project as builder captain. The award recognizes the impact on the community through this project.
HomeAid’s trade partners are those in the home building industry – suppliers, manufacturers, electricians, plumbers, etc. – who play meaningful roles in shelter construction projects by donating materials, time, labor and expertise. A family-run, Chantilly-based company led by Young and Trish Kim, Staged Interior has enhanced HomeAid projects by providing furniture, accessories and labor in order to transform HANV renovation and new-build projects into warm, welcoming, family-friendly homes. The Trade Partner of the Year award recognizes Staged Interior’s customized, personalized focus to ensure that each completed project meets the needs of incoming residents. Staged Interior has donated more than $200,000 of furniture and accessories to HANV projects including: furnishings for a group home HANV built for Youth for Tomorrow for teen girls who are pregnant, homeless, runaways or survivors of sex trafficking; furnishings for the 7 HANV-renovated affordable housing units operated by Community Lodgings in Alexandria; and furnishings for the 12 supportive housing units in Woodbridge that HANV upgraded for Catholic Charities for families coming out of regional emergency shelters and domestic violence programs.
John Buhl, Jr. serves as president of Sterling, VA-based Buhl Electric Company, Inc., his family-founded and family-run company that has been wiring new homes in Virginia for more than 50 years. Under John’s leadership, the company has supported HANV through donation and in-kind services/expertise to 15 different HANV projects, including Youth for Tomorrow, Shelter House and ACTS Turning Points Domestic Violence Program. John has also generously supported HANV through sponsorship of numerous events, including the Gala, the annual Night at the Ballpark, and the Builder & Friends BBQ. The Presidents’ Award recognizes Buhl Electric’s willingness to regularly be “first in line to help” and provide meaningful assistance with HomeAid’s projects to serve our region’s communities. John has been an active member of HomeAid’s Board of Directors since 2016.
HomeAid Northern Virginia’s 2018 annual gala raised more than $400,000 to build and renovate homeless shelters, supportive housing and programmatic facilities. Falcon Heating and Air Conditioning served as the presenting sponsor of the event that included more than 450 people in attendance. The awards ceremony was sponsored by Builders Floor Service.
See more photos of the event here.HomeAid Northern Virginia, a chapter of HomeAid America, convenes and mobilizes the local homebuilding business community and its corporate partners to undertake new construction and major renovations for homeless shelters and supporting housing facilities owned by nonprofit service providers that help homeless individuals and families in our community gain stability and get back on the road to self-sufficiency. The organization was started in 2001 by members of the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (NVBIA) and, since then, has completed more than 127 projects valued at more than $15.7 million, serving more than 112,000 homeless individuals.
