May 2022 Edition

Hello Friends,

Happy May! 2022 National Rebuilding Weekend was a fabulous success thanks to the 700+ volunteers who came out to help our neighbors in need. Our volunteers truly did it all: built new stairs and ramps, repaired porches, floors, and doors, fixed electrical and plumbing issues, replaced appliances, caulked and painted, replaced trim, installed new toilets, sinks, countertops and grab bars, added railings and new lighting, patched and repaired driveways, waterproofed basements, clean out basements, attics and filled countless dumpsters with yard waste and tree limbs, and the list goes on and on! The end result is 23 vulnerable families who are now safer and healthier in their own homes. Thanks to all for bringing our mission to life.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar -- we have lots of great events coming up (see below) and would love to see you. Please know how grateful we are to you for your ongoing support of our mission. Together, we are helping to preserve affordable housing and making a tangible difference for our Montgomery County neighbors in need. 

All the best,

Maury Peterson

Executive Director

Our entire board and staff team here at Rebuilding Together Montgomery County was blown away by the hard work of the 700+ volunteers who came out during our National Rebuilding Day event! Over the course of three days, NRD groups completed critical home repairs at 23 homes and nonprofit facilities around Montgomery County, ensuring our vulnerable neighbors will be able to remain safe and healthy in their homes for years to come. A huge thank you to all of our NRD groups and sponsors for such a successful and impactful event!

National Rebuilding Day 2022 Sponsors

Adventist Healthcare

Bethesda United Church of Christ

Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church

Christ Episcopal Church Kensington

Church of Christ at Manor Woods

Compass

Covenant Life Church

DAVIS Construction

DG Liu Contractor, Inc

Embrace Home Loans

Fivesquares Development

Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church

G.E. Frisco

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Grace United Methodist Church

Helping Hands Poolesville

Holy Cross Catholic Church

JPAR Stellar Living

Kynoch Environmental Management

Mill Creek Parish UMC

Miller & Long Co., Inc. 

Neelsville Presbyterian Church

Rock Spring Contracting

Saint Mark Presbyterian Church

Sandy Spring Bank

Shaare Torah

Shady Grove Presbyterian Church

Takoma Park Seventh-Day Adventist Church

Temple Beth Ami

Therrien Waddell

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville

Washington Property Company

National Rebuilding Day 2022 In-Kind Donors

Carey's Mechanical, LLC

Carpentry & Hardware Services, Inc.

Craig & Cindy Arold

DiGregorio Drywall LLC

Environmental Alternatives, LLC

Fine Earth Landscape, Inc.

Forrester Construction

Larry & Debbie Luhn

Lewis Johnston

Manders Companies, Inc.

Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service

Next Day Dumpsters

Prospect Waterproofing Co.

Rock Spring Contracting

Selective Hauling LLC

United Rentals

NRD Stories: Our Neighbors, Mr. & Mrs. G.

Mr. & Mrs. G. on National Rebuilding Day

Mr. and Mrs. G.’s story with RTMC begins back in the early 1990s, when RTMC was still known as Christmas in April. Mr. G. used to volunteer with Christmas in April as a House Captain, and he also worked on the committee that selected homes for repair. With a professional background in construction, Mr. G. brought years of experience to the organization and a passion for sharing his knowledge and skill with our community. Mr. G.’s service as a House Captain changed the lives of many fellow Montgomery County neighbors.

In the late 1990s, Mr. and Mrs. G. moved into their current home in Damascus, where they have resided for over 20 years. As time went by, maintaining the home became increasingly difficult for Mr. and Mrs. G., and late last year they reached out to RTMC for assistance with mounting repair issues. 

Long-time RTMC House Captain Jerry Liu, who was also a House Captain during the time Mr. G. was volunteering with RTMC, was on the job, along with the hard-working team from Sandy Spring Bank. During National Rebuilding Day, volunteers replaced doors and windows, repaired the dining room floor, patched and painted drywall on the ceiling, painted exterior trim, and addressed termite damage by replacing a large section of wooden flooring, supports, and trim.

Mr. and Mrs. G. spent the day with the volunteers, reconnecting with the community that they helped to lay the foundation for back in the earliest days of Christmas in April. Having given so much to our organization and their fellow neighbors, it was an honor to be able to give back to Mr. and Mrs. G. when they needed a helping hand. 

Mr. P. with volunteers on National Rebuilding Day

We are in awe of the work that the "Rehab Rebuilders" from Adventist HealthCare and Forrester Construction Company accomplished for homeowner Mr. P. during National Rebuilding Day. The group installed grab bars in both of the home’s bathrooms, installed a transfer tub bench, constructed new stairs with railings to the basement, installed smoke alarms, installed a railing and carpet strips for the steps to the second floor, installed new kitchen cabinets, and landscaped the front and back yards. The group plans to leverage additional resources to complete a major waterproofing effort in Mr. P.'s basement in the coming weeks. For years, Mr. P. has endured major flooding in his basement, which fills with up to 2 feet of standing water when storms pass through. Waterproofing the basement will ensure that Mr. P.'s home remains dry and secure, and Mr. P. will no longer have to worry about damage to his home every time storm clouds start to gather. Special thanks to Andra Henning, RTMC Board Member, for serving as House Captain for the project.

Volunteers had a fantastic time getting to know Mr. P. and learning about the place he calls home, filled with memories of his beloved late wife, his love of music, and his tenacity for life. Check out this fabulous blog post written by RTMC volunteer and RT National board member Tish King to learn more about Mr. P. and the project at his home!

Thank you to all who have sponsored our upcoming Cheers to Volunteers event so far! We look forward to sharing an evening out with our supporters and volunteers at Smokey Glen Farm in Gaithersburg.

There is still time to sponsor Cheers to Volunteers! Sponsorship levels begin at $100 and all levels include tickets to the event. We look forward to having you join us!

Presenting Sponsor

Pettit Family Charitable Foundation

Neighborhood Sponsor

Dave Modi

GAC Services

Mallick Plumbing & Heating

Backyard Sponsor

Goldin & Stafford, LLC

Jean Sperling

The Peterson Family

Good Neighbor Sponsor

Jeff Purdy

Nancy Floreen

Friend Sponsor

Francene Walker

NFP

As a small nonprofit, we rely on the support of our community to help keep our vulnerable neighbors safely in their homes year-round through our Safe and Healthy Homes program. Please consider becoming a monthly donor to RTMC to allow us to continue our essential work of providing critical home repairs and accessibility modifications for our neighbors in need.

For $5 a month, the price of a cup of coffee, you can change someone’s life. Become a monthly donor today by clicking here.