Executive Director & CEO Corner
We’re closing in on the biggest event of the year, our 2023 Gala & Auction, and while it’s always a really busy final week, I want to take a moment to share my gratitude for the countless people who work so hard behind the scenes to make the magic happen every year. Our Gala Committee meets year-round, starting off with developing a theme, procuring silent auction items to fit every price point, handling registration on-site, and taking care of a myriad of details that every major event requires. We have volunteers making table centerpieces and decorations, while Van Metre custom-built a stage background for us, which Pulte is staining and prepping for showtime this week. Our emcee volunteers his time, as do our DJ, musicians, and photographer. Our staff works long hours – well beyond the norm, and our Board works to bring in sponsorships and ticket purchases while others commit to donating big-ticket live auction items to help raise additional funds for our mission. I’ll admit these final days can feel overwhelming – but when I see so many of our supporters in an always glittering and beautiful space, I feel like I can see the fruits of all of our hard work before my very eyes. Thank you, to all of you, for being HomeAid’s secret sauce. This Gala is always a shining example of what a team can produce, and I can’t wait to see you there.
With gratitude,
In the Neighborhood
Bidding for a Cause
You’ve marked your calendar, purchased your ticket, and planned your outfit; now it’s time to make a strategy for scoring some silent and live auction items at the ‘Building for Change’ 2023 Gala & Auction, our biggest fundraiser of the year!
We’ll have items to fit every budget price point, but undoubtedly some of our live auction items require coming in with a plan, such as a weekend getaway to Nemacoliln, four nights at the Greenbrier – along with $1,000 gift card – a week at Smith Mountain Lake, a tall ship excursion, and a party suite and batting practice viewing passes with the Washington Nationals! We’ll also offer a wide variety of options at our silent auction, ranging from a GE cooktop to electronics, spa treatments to jewelry, restaurant gift cards to event tickets. All of our auction items can be viewed online, so be sure to check in and plan ahead and so that when it’s time to raise your paddle, you’ll be ready!
Can’t attend the Gala this year but still want to support HomeAid? Many of our silent auction items can be bid on and won online for pickup next – register today and start making your bids!
In Your Community
Home Essentials Drive in Full Swing
Our Home Essentials Drive is in full swing, with K.Hovnanian Homes, First Excel, and NVBIA’s Future Leaders of the Building Industry and Women in the Building Industry already joining the effort to help fulfill our nonprofit partners’ Amazon Wish List – can we count on you to join them?
Everything on the list has been hand-selected by our partners, ensuring that every item will fill clients’ day-to-day needs, including bath and kitchenware, bedding, cleaning supplies, and laundry supplies. The funds our partners save by not having to purchase these household essentials when clients move into stability means more funding for supportive programs and services!
Participating is easy:
- Sign up to host a drive – with your office or community group – by emailing us at ckrupczak@homeaidncr.org.
- Donate funds online or purchase directly from our Amazon wish list (all household essentials will be shipped directly to our office, where the items will be organized and delivered to our partners).
- Print and share our flyer.
- Share our Home Essential Drive information on social media!
Help us make a difference at home this holiday season – the Home Essentials Drive runs through December!
Making It Count
A New Community for FACETS
On October 25, HomeAid celebrated the completion of our most recent construction project for FACETS at a ribbon cutting with Builder Captain Lennar and 16 trade partners. The 5,000-square foot renovation included brand new luxury vinyl plank flooring, lighting, and a fresh coat of paint throughout the space, and five bathrooms were completely renovated with new fixtures and cabinets. The renovation also included a complete transformation of the kitchen with all-new cabinets and stainless-steel appliances. Eight bedrooms, a conference room, and the common areas were renovated, allowing for community activities and one-on-one meetings between the staff and clients.
The project represents $87,980 in community investment, 100% of which was donated by HomeAid, Lennar and its partners – savings that FACETS, which has provided life-saving and transformational services to those in crisis in Fairfax County since 1988, can instead put toward emergency financial assistance for those they serve, such as for rent, utilities, medical bills, transportation, and other urgent needs that can be a tipping point toward crisis.
Be sure to check out our Flickr album to see all the before and after photos.
Support Spotlight
Working Together, Giving Back, and Making an Impact
Capital Mechanical, based in Dulles, Va., has been delivering plumbing to the homebuilding community since they were founded 20 years ago, and they’ve been a loyal partner to HomeAid National Capital Region for almost as long. We recently sat down with Owner and President Chris Carspecken to learn a little more about what has inspired him to work with us, most recently on our FACETS and Communities of Trust projects – read on to find out what the experience has meant for him and his company!
Q: Why do you say “yes!” to HomeAid?
A: We see ourselves as part of the entire community, by providing careers for our employees, plumbing solutions to the home building industry, and giving back to the community in meaningful ways. It is always rewarding to be a part of improvements that matter, whether it’s for one family or a whole community. It enriches us all, and HomeAid’s mission is one I have always believed in and wanted to be a part of. We have never said ‘no’ to a Builder Captain or HomeAid if there is a plumbing need or fundraising event.
Q: What does Capital Mechanical enjoy most about working with HomeAid Builder Captains and other trade partners?
A: Our experience has always been positive. Since most of our projects have been remodeling efforts, we often run into some ‘unique’ challenges, but we always get through them together. It’s great to see the camaraderie among the trades when working on a HomeAid project. It puts a whole new spin on working together and knowing that everyone is there with the same mindset of wanting to give back. It’s rewarding, brings things into perspective, and reminds us what is important – working together and changing lives.
Q: If other trade partners were considering getting involved with HomeAid, what would you tell them?
A: Absolutely do it! It’s a positive for the community, which feels good, but it’s also a positive to engage your employees into doing something charitable and meaningful. Giving back to the community in which we live and work makes everyone feel proud to say, ‘Hey, we did that!’ Capital Mechanical is always all in, and I recommend involving the suppliers, as most of them are willing to support projects by donating materials. I would also encourage trade partners to get engaged with the many events that HomeAid holds throughout the year. It’s a great way to give back, the events are fun and, guess what, a lot of your customers are there!
Q: What do you love most about your career and the homebuilding industry in general?
A: I left a successful career in the IT field to start a plumbing company 20 years ago. Many people thought I was crazy to do it, but it has been a great adventure! I love growing the business and enjoy seeing all the opportunities we provide for our many employees and subcontractors. I have also grown to appreciate the relationships that you can build in our industry. As big as the homebuilding industry is in our area, it feels like a close group of trade partners and homebuilders working hard to deliver the dream of homeownership every day.
Announcements
Thank You & Congrats
Thank you, Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (NVBIA) for your longstanding support and partnership, and for your generous donation of $2,500 at the Great American Living Awards (GALA) in October! We were also thrilled to see that AdsIntelligence Marketing, which redesigned and rebranded our website pro bono in 2022, received the award for “Best Website – Associate” for our new and now award-winning website. Check it out at www.homeaidncr.org.
Welcome
Join us in welcoming Erica Simpson, HomeAid’s new construction program director! Erica joins us from Madison Homes, where she served as an assistant project manager. Since first cutting her teeth in the construction industry at age 19, Erica has spent the last 14 years working in both the field and office. She brings her empathy and passion for helping others succeed to the position, and we are grateful to have someone with a wide range of multi-faceted construction experience in this important role.
In the National News
HomeAid National Capital Region was featured in the October 2023 issue of Builder and Developer, a national magazine published by Builder.Media, with an article bylined by CEO Kristyn Burr about our recently completed Communities of Trust project. Thanks to the HomeAid-led renovation of an abandoned, two-story building, youth in the Hybla Valley community of Fairfax County now have safe and dignified space for after-school and summer programming, including mentoring opportunities, homework help, workforce development opportunities, movie nights, and offices to help enhance youth trust and community engagement with law enforcement. Read the full article on page 32!
Upcoming Events
Building for Change HomeAid Gala and Auction
November 11, 2023
6:30p.m to 10:30p.m.
Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles, Chantilly, VA.
The post Building Hope Newsletter, November appeared first on HomeAid National Capital Region.