September 12, 2020

Planting Roots on the Westside

Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio teamed up with a group of [Re]builders from Gilbane Building Company for a great day of helping our communities. Backed by generous contributions from both Spectrum and Gilbane Building Company, this year we transformed the outdoor space at the Julia de Burgos Cultural Arts Center on Cleveland’s Westside. This project was a special one. Not only was it the only project we were able to complete in Cleveland in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it also kicks off our focused efforts in the Brooklyn Centre, Old Brooklyn, and Clark-Fulton neighborhoods.

Our team of [Re]builders radically transformed the Julia de Burgos outside space in just one morning. Old trees and bushes were taken out, fresh paint was applied to doors, the light pole and signs, garden beds were put in, and a garden border with a gate was put up to protect the flowers. For a treat, swing by in the evening to see how brightly lit it is now as well!

Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio has worked closely with the executive director of JDBCAC over several months to plan and execute this project. Here is what our [Re]Builders said about the project:

“I am so grateful for what Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio and the volunteers from Gilbane have done to transform our space! It looks so good!” – Letitia, Executive Director of JDBCAC

“We appreciate the work Rebuilding Together NEO does to help in our communities and cherish our partnership with your organization. Gilbane Cares is a principal we apply throughout the company. The shared value of caring makes for a great partnership and we look forward to this service event each and every year.” – Matt, Project Manager at Gilbane Building Company

“Those empanadas from Half-Moon Bakery were amazing!” – Every [Re]Builder on the project after lunch was served

This wonderful project was no accident. Over the last few months, we have been hard at work building substantial relationships with the organizations in these neighborhoods to help concentrate resources and help our communities even more. As a result, we are excited to also announce that Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio has joined the Healthy Housing Pilot Committee lead by Old Brooklyn CDC. This multi-organizational partnership was assembled to leverage a variety of strengths to centralize efforts and resources for the maximum amount of community impact possible.

Even more is in the works, so stay tuned to keep up to date!

August 20, 2020

Safe at Home is Expanding for 2021

Thanks to a generous grant by the Ohio Housing Trust Fund, Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio will be able to bring the Safe at Home program to residents in Portage, Stark, and Summit counties for 2021. This program is foundational to the organization and it is incredibly exciting to expand its reach outside of the Greater Cleveland.

For information on eligibility requirements click here.

july 8, 2020

RTNEO is back to work

On June 1st, our Rebuilders got together and had a meeting to discuss how we would move forward with serving our communities with consideration for the threat that COVID-19 poses for many of those we serve. After reviewing the statistics with both the virus and the demographic data on who we serve Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio has come to the conclusion that our communities not only have a great need for us to continue our work , but that we also must be incredibly diligent in ensuring we protect our neighbors and our Rebuilders from any avoidable risks. The vision of Rebuilding Together is one of safe homes and communities for everyone. To that end we have adopted a strict set of policies and procedures to ensure we can still help our neighbors in need while doing our best to prevent transmission risks.

You can read our policies and procedures for our Rebuilders, contractors, and homeowners by clicking here.

With that in mind, Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio has resumed serving our neighbors through our Safe at Home and City of Akron Minor Home Repair programs, as well as some of our other home repair programs in northeast Ohio.

Unfortunately, like many other organizations, Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio has made the decision to postpone many of our large project days for the rest of the year due to the number of volunteers that participate on those days. We are using the time normally reserved for such events to plan and design our endeavors for 2021. There are some new and exciting ideas that our Rebuilders are coming up with and they are eager to share them when the time comes.

Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio continues to monitor the status of our service area, the risks, and CDC recommendations to continue making decisions that are in the best interest of our neighbors and our Rebuilders.

MArch 19, 2020

As an organization, Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio is deeply connected to our community and work every day to improve the safety and health of our neighbors. Rebuilding Together was started under the idea that every person should help their neighbors and give back to their community. Those values remain true today.

At this point, we have made the difficult decision to postpone work on homes and postpone all volunteer projects to prevent homeowner exposure and the exposure of volunteers and staff to the Coronavirus.

During times like these we must continue to care for one another and protect one another, especially our older neighbors. The spread of COVID-19 has made our work more challenging, but we will persevere. Our work remains critical as we help our most vulnerable neighbors shelter in place and will remain critical beyond this time. As we face a possible economic downturn, the need for Rebuilding Together’s critical safe and healthy housing services will be needed more than ever.

Should you need to contact me, I remain available via phone at (330) 773-4100 ext 2110 or email at pams@rebuildingtogetherneo.org

Sincerely,

Pam Schuellerman
President & CEO

september 16, 2019

Rebuilding Together and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Partner to Serve Those Who Have Served

Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio in partnership with the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Stark County Honor Court, Welty Construction, Dominion Energy, Marathon Petroleum, and Erie Insurance joined forces for an annual Veteran and Military Family Day of Service on November 15th and 16th to give back to those who have given so much.  

The Veteran and Military Family Day is a National Day of service dedicated to giving back to veterans and their families by “serving those who served”. Over 2 days, nearly 100 volunteers, many of whom are themselves veterans, mobilized to perform critical health and safety repairs on the homes of four veterans and military families. Tasks included home decluttering and organizing, roof repairs, walk in shower installation, grab bar and handrail installation, plumbing repairs, and more.

Dumpsters.com generously donated 3 dumpsters to the effort, the greatest number donated to a single project yet, and the Canton staple Thatsa Wrapp graciously donated lunch for our Saturday work crews to ensure our volunteers had the energy needed to finish their work.

The project was a wild success, with repairs at 2 of the homes being completed in the first day. The remaining 2 homes saw a return of their respective crews who diligently worked at their tasks until everything that could be accomplished was accomplished.

A big thank you to all who gave their time for this project!

SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Kent Senior Service Day with Riverwood Chapel

Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio, in partnership with Riverwood Chapel, mobilized volunteers for their annual Kent Senior Service Day. Every year Riverwood Chapel recruits volunteers to spend a Saturday serving seniors in the community by performing a host of Fall “clean up” activities in preparation for the chilly Northeast Ohio Winter. These tasks include raking leaves, trimming bushes and trees, cleaning gutters, and minor home repairs or modifications such as weatherizing drafty doors and windows, replacing light bulbs, checking smoke detectors, adjusting doors to ensure proper closure, and more. Preparing homes for the harsh Winter weather of our region is vital to ensuring our community members have safe and healthy homes throughout the cold months and to avoid unexpected Spring issues during the thaw.

Historically this event takes place in October when the weather is warmer, but this year Rebuilding Together Northeast Ohio and their partners wanted to ensure that they launched their service day late enough in the season that most foliage and yard debris had already fallen to ensure the greatest impact possible. This meant volunteers needed to bundle up and brave the low November temperatures to serve their community as effectively as possible - and they did so in greater numbers than ever! This year 118 volunteers served 24 homes in Kent, drawing more volunteers than any year previously.

 August 24, 2019

South Sound [Re]Building Event and Training

The newest cohort of AmeriCorps service members met in Tacoma, WA for their training and orientation to AmeriCorps and Rebuilding Together. In addition to their class time, they were tasked with direct, hands on repairs for Tacoma residents in need alongside the hosting affiliate Rebuilding Together South Sound. Several service members from the January 2019 class joined the August 2019 class in the Pacific Northwest to assist in mentoring the new cohort and in working on 5 homes in Tacoma. AmeriCorps Program Coordinator, Chris Seamon, joined everyone to lend a hand, to share stories, to learn about the strategies other affiliates use for success, and importantly – to make new friends while repairing homes and rebuilding lives!

His advice to incoming Rebuilding Together AmeriCorps members?

“Your greatest skills are going to be compassion and humility. Everything else you need to know to execute your role at your affiliate can be learned in time, but as long as you’re compassionate and humble, you’re going to excel at your role with Rebuilding Together. We don’t work - we serve.”

- Chris Seamon, AmeriCorps Program Coordinator ‘19