Subject:                          Your Hard Work = Homeowner Happiness

 

 

 

 

  Rebuilding Together Greater Des Moines' Fall 2016 Newsletter 

 

Through our Safe At Home program and Workdays with Midwest Heritage Bank Insurance Services, Blue Compass Interactive, Clifton Larson Allen, Iowa State Bank, Waukee Community School District, Shazam, Sears Heroes at Home, Kingdom Hoops, and Meredith Corporation, Rebuilding Together Greater Des Moines has enjoyed another busy summer and fall of helping low-income families, veterans, disabled individuals and the elderly live in safe, dry and healthy homes.

 

 

2016 Meredith Workday Marks 15th Anniversary

 

Meredith Corporation employees donate their time annually for the Meredith Workday, but our 2016 Workday was extra special, marking the 15 year anniversary of our collaboration! The Meredith Workday has long been characterized as a true community improvement effort, repairing and revitalizing public spaces and non-profits in addition to homes. Over 15 years of service, volunteers from Meredith have contributed to more than 400 projects in the Greater Des Moines community. 

 

Last Thursday, over 200 Meredtih employees worked together to transform five homes of Boys & Girls Club members in the Capitol East Neighborhood of Des Moines. Our 2016 Workday is the third year of working with the Boys & Girls Club. The partnership helps build better futures for the children and families involved in the organization.

 

Employees also enhanced the community garden at Capitol View Elementary School and replaced the playground equipment at historic Redhead Park. The park's basketball court got a new look as well with a new hoop and a mural at center court conceptualized by Meredith's graphic design team and Capitol View Elementary School students. 

 

Our annual Meredith Workday would not be possible without the generosity of the Meredith Corporation Foundation. The impact of their continued philanthropy can be seen in the testimonies of this year's families, volunteers, and friends of the project:

 

"You guys are my angels. Thank you, Lord, for sending them to help. We are so blessed today," said homeowner Barbara Browder as she welcomed volunteers and cleaned during her day off from her full-time job working third shift and school as a student at DMACC Urban Campus. Gazing appreciatively at her new gutters and landscaping, Barbara — an aunt raising her niece, 7, and nephews, 9 and 11 — exclaimed, 'I'm so excited to come home now and say, 'I live here!'" 

 

Thursday was one of the few "good days" that the De Avila family has had as of late. Margarita spends a lot of her extra hours worrying about her son who has been missing in Mexico since May and about how her 13-year-old grandson, Ares, is coping as teachers call home with concerns. Such leaves little time for tending her roses and gardens, something that usually brings her joy. As Meredith volunteers planted flowers, spread new mulch, pulled weeds, and installed a wooden hand rail, Margarita beamed. "It looks beautiful," she said. "It makes me want to keep everything looking nice." At a loss for words, Margarita showed the volunteers just how much her family appreciated their help the best way she knew how: with a home-cooked lunch traditional of her Hispanic culture. 

 

With mulch in his hair and a shovel in his hands,  when asked "What is your favorite part of today?" a Boys and Girls Club member and Hiatt Middle School student, age 11, answered: "Helping the community. I know I am doing something good."

 

There are few people in Des Moines who know more about Redhead Park than Wesley Dale Redhead, World War II veteran and great grandson to the land's original owner, Mr. Wesley Redhead, who donated the front lawn of his terrace-hill-esque mansion in 1886. Now in his 90's, Wesley has always known the space as a place to play; he fondly remembers playing football and baseball with the neighborhood kids there while growing up. Having ridden on the shoulders of famous Redhead family friend and founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, P. T. Barnum, Wesley thinks that the circus-themed playground equipment is a fitting tribute to his family and Redhead Park's history. 

 

Check out photos from the jam-packed day on our Facebook album. 

Rick Kozin Joins Board of Directors

 

Rick Kozin, Director of Public Health at Polk County, joined our Board of Directors in June. His expertise in public wellness will help us further grow our healthy homes initiative. After serving as a community organizer for over 20 years in rural Southern Illinois, New York City, Hartford, Connecticut, central Nebraska and Des Moines, Rick joined the Polk County Health Department in 2001, being appointed Director in August 2012. 

 

Rachel Wegmann Joins Board of Directors

 

Rachel Wegmann, Marketing Director at Lincoln Savings Bank, is the newest member of our Board of Directors. Rachel will be a pivotal member of our Marketing Committee as we grow our brand awareness within the Greater Des Moines metro. Previously a senior account executive with a Des Moines marketing agency, Rachel has spent her career helping train and coach multiple businesses, organizations and individuals. 

 

New Team Members

 

Meet our newest team members (from left): Katie Evans, Katie Brown, and Jamie Lamb! 

After crisscrossing the country and globe for AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps and Habitat for Humanity International, Katie Evans is excited to be serving the people of her hometown, shining light on our volunteer experience and working with homeowners. 

Katie Brown is excited to use her passion for people to connect businesses and thought leaders with grateful families in the metro. Katie B.'s passion for the Des Moines area runs deep, having previously worked at the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. 

Originally from Medinah, Illinois, Jamie joins us as a part of Drake University’s Engaged Citizen Corps, a curriculum-based service-learning experience for first year Drake students that provides real-world experience working with non-profit organizations. Jamie will be assisting with community outreach while recruiting and managing volunteers.

 

 

Art Over Wine - Sept. 13, 2016

Over 100 people from the Greater Des Moines community joined us for our annual Art Over Wine fundraiser on September 13. Party-goers enjoyed hors d'oeuvres and Jasper Winery wine while browsing a silent auction featuring furniture, gift certificates­, and fine art items created by more than 25 Central Iowa artisans. New this year: a live art installation by Ben Schuh of Plum Forward! Ben created an original oil painting from start to finish during the event that was auctioned off during the live auction.

 

Local art paired with local flavors spoke to Rebuilding Together's community-based mission, one that will continue on thanks to the success of the event. Thank you to all who helped us celebrate another year of keeping homeowners safe, warm and dry, especially our sponsors: Meredith Corporation, Prairie Meadows, the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Iowa Clinic, Van Meter, Inc., Turner Construction, Berkshire Hathaway Home Services First Realty, BrownWinick and Dickinson Law.

 

Mark you calendars for next year's Art Over Wine event Tuesday, September 12, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Jasper Winery.

 

See if you can find yourself in our event album here!

 

 

 

"Helping Homeowners Together" with Iowa State Bank

During our 2nd year of "Helping Homeowners Together" with Iowa State Bank, bank employees volunteered on four homes located along the SW 9th corridor. 

 

One of the participating homes is owned by 84 year-old widow Frances Pay. Her husband, a Korean War veteran, helped build the large deck to the rear of her home on SW 2nd Street. Describing the deck as what "she is most proud of," Frances appreciated volunteers helping reinforce the deck and its handrails to make it sturdier and safer overall.

The workday wasn't Frances' first experience with Iowa State Bank: we learned at the job site that her family won a color television from the bank in the 1950's! 

 

Lila Lacona's home also received help from Iowa State Bank volunteers. The volunteers — or as Lila called them "angels here on Earth" — replaced ceiling tiles and installed smoke detectors, fixed the basement door and the storm door at the home's rear, and did landscaping outside. While admiring the revitalized home, Lila's daughter said it best: "A little kindness goes so far." Lila added, "Today was one of my special days."

 

The day's work scope included everything from yard cleanup and landscaping to power ashing and painting and the crew from Iowa State Bank did it all with smiles on their faces. 

 

Special thanks to Friends of SW 9th Tri-Chair & City Council member Chris Hensley for her continued efforts in revitalizing the SW 9th corridor.

 

See more photos from the workday here.

 

 

 

Homeowner Story Spotlight: Pi Family

 

Ka Nu Pi’s life growing up didn’t reflect much normalcy. Alongside her parents, Paw Htoo and Watt Paw, she fled conflict in her homeland Burma and escaped to Thailand, hiding in the jungle for weeks to avoid capture, before settling in a refugee camp. Paw Htoo and Watt lived in the refugee camp for 23 years until they immigrated to the United States in 2007. Ka Nu would remain in the camp with her husband, Kyaw Pi, and their seven children before immigrating in 2012. 

 

Together once more in Des Moines, the Pi family has attempted to establish what they lacked for most of their lives: a home. They’ve found a roof, floor and walls in a 100-year-old formerly-foreclosed property. The home is in poor condition though and the inability of 9 of the 11 family members to read or speak English has made home repair a challenge. 

 

Thanks to Pi family friend Paulette Valdez, a Catholic Charities volunteer, who helped the family apply to Rebuilding Together, an outstanding group of volunteers from CliftonLarsonAllen Wealth Advisors, the Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) for providing translation services, and our longtime house captains Dick Mullen, Chuck Kunkel, and Rick Hubbard, Rebuilding Together has been able to help the Pi family. Inside the home, we’ve installed two window air conditioners; stripped the kitchen ceiling paint; cleaned and painted walls in the kitchen, living room, and three bedrooms; fixed sheetrock in a bedroom; and installed a toilet downstairs. Outside the home, we installed a new mailbox; cleaned up the yard and removed debris; removed an electoral hazard on the property; and installed an awning over the front door and a wooden hand railing on the front stoop. Extermination services were brought in as well. 

 

Over the summer the house has been transformed, and with it, so has the Pi family. Now Ka Nu can watch her children grow and help her parents as they get older in a home that is safe, healthy and dependable.  

 

View more photos from the day here.

Safe At Home Success Story

Rebuilding Together Greater Des Moines has been administering the Safe At Home program since 2009. Formerly known as the Senior Emergency Repair program, Safe At Home provides critical and timely repairs year round to low-income seniors homeowners, age 60 and older. 

 

Elaine Barker, 71 and living alone, contacted Rebuilding Together Greater Des Moines asking for assistance with leaking pipes in her kitchen. Within a few days, one of our longtime contractors, Donnie Whisenand, was at her front door in Beaverdale ready to assist on behalf of our Safe At Home program.

 

Donnie repaired and replaced pipes connected to the kitchen sink to fix the current leak and prevent flooding in the future. Elaine called us later on the verge of (happy!) tears. “I just want to cry,” she said as she expressed her gratitude for Donnie’s work. “He’s such a great person. He cares as much as I do about doing a good job. You just don’t see that very often,” Elaine said, adding that Donnie was very professional, nice and knowledgeable.

 

The repairs required just two short visits to the home, but Safe At Home's impact on Elaine’s life will stretch far beyond the repair itself.