Dear Patti,

I want to thank all of our friends and supporters who made contributions to our year-end fundraising campaign. Your generosity means safety, independence, security and hope for our neighbors in need.

With the new year comes renewed focus. Our staff and volunteers are busy planning for our signature event of the year - National Rebuilding Day - which is Saturday, April 27, 2024. During the next two months we'll be visiting homeowners and nonprofit housing organizations and talking with our partners and House Captains to kick-off the planning process.

Would you like to become a partner and put together a team for National Rebuilding Day? Please email or call me at 571-933-6429 for more information.

Our RT Express volunteers are adding projects to their to-do lists too. RT Express now accounts for about 70% of the work we do. If you'd like to share your skills and join our RT Express group to help seniors safely age in place, please go to the Volunteer page on our website and follow the steps (watch a short intro video, complete a Volunteer Profile, and sign our Volunteer Agreement), and we'll add you to our Volunteer Opportunities email list. You can volunteer occasionally, or you can volunteer weekly - whatever fits your schedule. Most of our RT Express work is done during the week but we also schedule one Saturday project each month to accommodate volunteers' work schedules.

I also want to thank retiring board member Sanjay Srikantiah (pictured with me, above). Sanjay joined our board in 2018 and served as Treasurer for two years, and sat on many committees. Sanjay helped us get through the challenges of the pandemic and come out as a stronger organization.

Thank you for being a partner in safe and healthy homes for our neighbors.

#WeAreRebuilders

For most of the past five years, six volunteer team leaders have carried our Rebuilding Together Express program, which completes health and safety repairs and accessibility modifications for more than 60 low-income homeowners each year.

We are delighted to kick off 2024 by welcoming four new RT Express team leaders: David Throckmorton, Don Booth, Mark Scherger, and Gordon Meuse. On January 4, all 10 of our RT Express team leaders met with staff to give our new team leads a solid foundation and make plans for bringing them fully up to speed on project planning, project management, making complex repairs, leading volunteers, working with our homeowners, and tracking results.

Pictured above in the front row from left to right are Bard Jackson, David Throckmorton, Don Booth and Mark Scherger. In the back row from left to right are Don Ryan, RT-AFF Director of Partnerships, Gordon Meuse, Mark Heslep, Ken Mittleholtz, Bill Marshall, Bob Austin and Lander Allin.

Our expanded cadre of RT Express team leaders significantly expands our capacity to help correct health and safety hazards for our neighbors in need.

Dulin United Methodist Church is a year-round partner with RTAFF, working on both National Rebuilding Day and at least one other project each year. Last November they made repairs and modifications for Janet in Reston. Homeowner Janet wrote a wonderful letter of thanks to Team Dulin and Rebuilding Together-AFF and we'd like to share some of it with you.

"While November 23 is the official Thanksgiving Day this year, I'm here to tell you that November 4 and every day since then has been a Thanksgiving Day at my house. Team Dulin completed a gazillion tasks on my Rebuilding Together wish list and also checked off many of the "would be nice" items too.

Today, there is nary a space, inside or out, that isn't better/safer now thanks to Team Dulin.

Not only is my home better/safer now, I'm better too, thanks to the peace of mind and overall good juju you left behind. In addition to your awesome work, your camaraderie, lightness of spirit, and commitment to service made a lasting impression on me.

Thank you Team Dulin United Methodist Church for all you've done to make my world a little lighter, brighter and safer."

We couldn't say it better ourselves, and we are grateful that Dulin UMC continues to be our partner in making homes safe and healthy for our neighbors in need.

Please visit our Flickr to see more photos of Team Dulin and our other partners at work.

We had a great day working with Supervisor James Walkinshaw and the Braddock District Team in November, making repairs and modifications for Ms. D in Burke. The team showcased their amazing skills outside of their offices by replacing a vanity, sink and faucet in Ms. D's bathroom, installing a new dryer duct and flapper, replacing a broken window pane, and many other repairs. Additionally, the team took care of a code violation by repairing Ms. D's fence. I also want to thank RT-AFF volunteers Carl Santillo and Lou Wood for their support on this project. Together we help our neighbors in need live in safe and healthy homes.

Please visit our Flickr to see more photos of the Braddock District Team at work, along with many albums of photos with our other partners too.

Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church

Phone 703.528.1999 | Fax 703.528.1197

info@rebuildingtogether-aff.org | www.rebuildingtogether-aff.org