Rebuilding Together Seattle Programs
Spring Rebuilding Day (National Rebuilding Day)
Rebuilding Together Seattle's largest program event is Spring Rebuilding Day, also know as National Rebuilding Day. Every year, on the last Saturday in April, Rebuilding Together Seattle partners with corporate sponsors and over 1,500 volunteers to repair 25 homes in one day. Approximately 3,000 homes are restores across the nation.
Team Build Program
The RTS Team Build program refers to group rebuilding day events that take place throughout the year, outside of Spring Rebuilding Day. Team Builds are carried out by community sponsors and volunteers and require funding to cover the costs associated with the rebuilding day.
Safe at Home Program
In the Fall of 2010, Rebuilding Together Seattle launched a new program to address homeowners' repair needs year-round. The Safe at Home program (formerly Year-Round Program) is volunteer-driven and achieved by individuals or small groups of volunteers. Typically, Safe at Home projects consist of safety-related repairs that often require skilled volunteers (carpentry, electric, plumbing, etc).
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
On Saturday, March 24th, 2012, Rebuilding Together Seattle partnered with 40 volunteers from Foster Pepper PLLC and Vulcan Inc. to clean, rebuild, and repair the home of Buford and Evelyn Neal, a disabled veteran and his wife in SeaTac. Buford, who served in both World War II and the Korean War, is a double amputee who needs his wheelchair to move around. His wife, Evelyn, does everything she can to keep the home safe and clean but decided to apply to RTS earlier this year to receive extra help at home. On March 24th, volunteers widened doors to allow for wheelchair access, replaced carpet and kitchen flooring, installed new ADA height toilets and grab bars in the bathroom, replaced the stove and microwave, repaired gutters, added installation to the attic, swept the chimney, and completed yard work—all in approximately 8 hours!
After the big day, Evelyn had this to say about the help provided by RTS:
“Your help meant so much to us. It was wonderful to see my husband use his wheelchair to get into the bathroom and be able to help himself. I really enjoyed cooking breakfast on our new stove and heating up soup in our new microwave. Thank you so much for all you’ve done! My husband had both of his legs amputated during the Korean War and I think RTS really is what they call in our community, ‘giving back to our veterans.’”