August 2022 Edition

Hello Friends,

We've had a busy summer at RTMC after receiving calls from 14 homeowners who had no A/C in their homes. Our team jumped into action to restore A/C for these homeowners and ensure their safety in the heat. We are so grateful to the RTMC community for coming together to help raise funds for these much needed HVAC repairs and for our partners at GAC Services for helping to quickly schedule and complete the work for these homeowners. 

As summer winds down, we are gearing up for our community She Builds project on September 9th, and we are excited to welcome an amazing group of women volunteers to help us complete repairs at Stepping Stones Shelter. Our annual Golf Tournament is also coming up on October 3rd, and I invite you to join us in sponsorship - all funds raised will support our critical home repair work in the community.

We have several other volunteer projects coming up this fall and are excited to be getting back to volunteering in full force. Together, we are helping to preserve affordable housing and making a tangible difference for our Montgomery County neighbors in need. 

With gratitude,

Maury Peterson

Executive Director

RTMC homeowner Ms. O. with her new fan

At the beginning of August, RTMC had 14 homeowners without A/C awaiting HVAC repairs to restore A/C to their homes. HVAC repairs are among the most expensive repairs that RTMC provides to homeowners, and we sent out a call to the RTMC community to help raise the funds needed to repair these 14 HVAC systems. We are so grateful to all the amazing donors and partners who responded and stepped in to ensure that our homeowners without A/C would once again be cool and comfortable in their homes. Thank you to everyone who donated to help fund these much-needed HVAC repairs, and a special shoutout to RTMC Board Member Jean Sperling and RTMC volunteer Jeffrey Bocar.

Jean generously helped us launch an initiative to deliver fans to homeowners without A/C to help them stay cool while they waited for their HVAC repairs. In homes where the temperature climbed to 80+ degrees, these fans provided much-needed relief from the heat. Jeffrey, who works in HR at Sandy Spring Bank, mobilized the Sandy Spring Bank HR team, who collectively raised over $1,500 in just a few days to help ensure that our homeowners without A/C would once again be able to live safely and comfortably in their homes. So far, A/C repairs have been completed for 10 of the homeowners, and we are working to address the others as soon as possible. We are so thankful for the support of the RTMC community as we work to keep all of our homeowners cool!

Announcing Our New Partner: Optimum Construction

The vegetable garden installed by Karen and her volunteers at Priscilla's House

Our fabulous AmeriCorps Client Outreach Coordinator, Karen Kozopas, completed her AmeriCorps service with RTMC on August 12th. Over the past 11 months, Karen has done tremendous work helping to serve our homeowners, approaching every interaction with kindness, patience, and compassion and ensuring that all our homeowners are treated with the utmost respect and dignity. She has been an amazing ambassador for RTMC and has impacted the lives of so many of our Montgomery County neighbors.

During her term with us, Karen completed an independent service project to install a vegetable garden at Priscilla’s House, a local shelter in Germantown run by Interfaith Works. Karen utilized the help of local partners and volunteers to fill two raised garden beds with tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and flowers. Karen also provided training to the residents of Priscilla’s House to teach them how to care for the vegetable plants and find joy in the garden.

Thank you, Karen, for all your incredible contributions to RTMC and to our local community. We wish you all the best in your next chapter and look forward to welcoming you back as a volunteer in the future – once a rebuilder, always a rebuilder!

RTMC Golf Tournament

Our Tournament Sponsors:

Carey's Mechanical LLC

Miller & Long Concrete Construction

Novavax, Inc.

Join us for our annual RTMC golf tournament on Monday, October 3rd, 2022. All proceeds help us to continue our mission of repairing homes, revitalizing communities, and rebuilding lives for our vulnerable neighbors in Montgomery County. We look forward to welcoming all corporate executives, civic leaders, skilled-trades professionals, and community leaders to our event. Visit our updated golf website to learn more and register today.

Please note that due to overwhelming demand, we are now officially sold out of golf slots. There are still plenty of other sponsorship levels available, however, that will go straight to the bottom line of helping to provide critical home repairs for our neighbors, and we hope you will join us in sponsorship for the tournament. Thank you to everyone who has signed up to sponsor the tournament to date - we are so grateful for all of our amazing partners. 

Please contact Joni Keaton at JKeaton@rebuildingtogethermc.org with any questions.

Homeowner Stories: Our Neighbor, Ms. P.

Ms. P. with GAC Services technician Josh and RTMC staff member Joni

Our partners at GAC Services recently installed a brand-new HVAC unit for RTMC homeowner Ms. P., one of RTMC's 14 homeowners whose A/C stopped working and left her home unbearably hot. At 72 years old, and having lived in her home in Rockville for over 20 years, Ms. P. was thrilled to once again have A/C and to be able to continue to age in place safely in her home. The technicians on the job, Nelson and Josh, did a fantastic job with the install, and Ms. P. and RTMC staff member Joni got to see firsthand how the parts of the HVAC unit come together over the course of several hours.

We are so happy that Ms. P. is now safer in her home and will be able to stay cool and comfortable during the hot summer months. A huge thank you to GAC Services for their amazing partnership and for providing the highest quality services to our homeowners.

We received this lovely note from Ms. P. after the installation was complete:

“Thank you so much for the help I just received from Rebuilding Together. The A/C is working wonderfully and I feel more comfortable at home now. I want to thank all of you at Rebuilding Together for all the help I received with the new equipment and the installation of the new A/C. I also want to thank GAC, especially Josh and Nelson who have done a wonderful job with the A/C installation.”

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