Builders Care did a lot of good work in 2016

Realty Builder
NEFBA

In December, Builders Care Executive Director Justin Brown reflected on the challenges and successes of the charitable arm of the Northeast Florida Builders Association.

In a letter to the board of directors, Brown began with a discussion of Builders Care’s mission.

“Even as it was necessary to change our model as we adapt to functioning with minimal staff and overhead, in true Builders Care fashion, we have been able to stretch our resources to maximize the number of people we were able to help,” Brown wrote.

“As our focus is on critical home repair, most every homeowner we help is living in a desperate situation. Our work restores peace of mind and, for many, their dignity. On behalf of every family we have been able to help in 2016, let me thank you all for your prayers, resources, service and compassion,” he continued.

Brown provided statistics to describe the impact Builders Care had on the community:

• Repaired roofs on 39 homes

• Installed four new roofs

• Built 18 wheelchair ramps (about half with volunteers and the other half with contractors)

• Helped five families with critical HVAC repairs

• Assisted four families with critical plumbing issues

• Widened bathroom doors for a man recently diagnosed with ALS

• Created a roll-in shower for a paraplegic who had been showering out of his sink for two years

• The 2016 Veterans Project, led by Lennar Homes, turned over the keys to a handicap-accessible home to an injured Marine and his family.

Brown also recounted the successful partnerships Builders Care has established with other community agencies serving Jacksonville’s most vulnerable citizens.

“Builders Care successfully managed six HabiJax rehabs. The majority consisted of roof replacements, plumbing repairs and HVAC issues,” he said. “Those numbers are not included in the Builders Care totals, but we were blessed to be able to help restore these six homes and bring them back into livable condition.”

Brown said Builders Care worked with several other nonprofits to help them complete their missions: Angelwood, the Independent Living Resource Center, Five Star Veterans Center, Mission of Mercy, Epoch Church, City Rescue Mission, Truway Church, the Nest, Pulse Ministry and the Disabled American Veterans.

Looking at 2017, Brown is excited about projects already in the works.

“Providence Homes will be completing the Home from the Heart project, with the benefits to go to Builders Care. This should be wrapped up in February/March,” he said.

“We are going to aggressively move forward with the Caring Members Campaign. Our goal will be to secure 10 percent of NEFBA’s membership as a Caring Member,” Brown said. “Having 125 companies pledging $100 a month will meet our annual overhead and give us enough money to repair two roofs and build one ramp per month.”

Brown expressed his gratitude for support from the 10 board members who have become Caring Members.

“Thank you to the board members who have signed up so far and I look forward to having 100 percent participation from the Builders Care board of directors by next year,” he said.

The letter closed on a personal note from Brown.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of you. I am so proud of the work Builders Care does within our community and I am deeply honored to be able to serve in this capacity. I welcome all of your ideas and constructive critiques,” he said.

“Builders Care definitely fills a critical gap in our community and is truly a force for good, spreading God’s love and compassion to our most vulnerable citizens. Thank you to each of you for making this possible,” Brown said.

This recent project illustrates the difference Builders Care makes in a family’s life with volunteer labor, donated materials and a heart for the mission.

While building a wheelchair ramp, a group of volunteers who were students in a class taught by David Hacker, a NEFBA board member and president of Construction Specialties of North Florida, discovered extensive damage to the interior of the home.

The student who made the discovery, Ben Wood, volunteered to come back on the weekends to work on the kitchen.

The family initially declined the assistance, but as it deteriorated, they reached out for help.

Builders Care fixed the floor and installed four donated cabinets and a donated sink, completing the project for a few hundred dollars. And, the family received a kitchen they could actually use.

Thank you, CARING MEMBERS

• Providence Homes

• LENNAR

• Eagle View Windows & Doors

• Wells Fargo

• CSX

• Chet and Sarah Skinner

• Miranda Contracting

• Matovina & Co.

• MasterCraft Builder Group

• Wood Development

• Synovus Bank