Special to Realty/Builder Connection
Any builder will tell you that in a family-friendly community with good schools, leading-edge arts programs, effective children’s services and accessible healthcare, selling homes is easy.
That’s certainly one reason northeast Florida’s builders have been leaders for years in enhancing the region’s quality of life through volunteerism. But there’s more to the story than “doing well by doing good.” Indeed, the First Coast building community has embraced a shared philosophy of helping simply for the sake of helping.
Perhaps the most high-profile example was in 2000, when the Northeast Florida Builders Association partnered with HabiJax, the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, for a project called 101 Home Build. NEFBA and HabiJax, along with 10,000 volunteers, built 101 homes in 18 days, transforming the site of an abandoned public-housing project into a vibrant neighborhood teeming with families, many of who had never been able to purchase a home before.
“When our builders say they’re going to do something, they get it done,” says Ken Kuester, owner of Lumber Unlimited and coordinator of the nationally recognized effort. Kuester now chairs Builders Care, the nonprofit organization founded by NEFBA.
More recently, Builders Care joined ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” team, building a new, custom-designed home for a down-on-their-luck family in Hastings — rural St. Johns County. The home, which was completed in 96 hours, involved teams of designers, contractors, suppliers and hundreds of individual volunteers.
There’s no question such high-profile events make a big splash. But it’s what builders do on an ongoing basis—sometimes through Builders Care, sometimes on their own—that inspired Jacksonville Homebuyer to launch a recognition program called the Good Neighbor Awards.
The inaugural class of 20 Good Neighbor honorees is introduced in this issue. And it certainly wasn’t difficult to find enough qualified companies. Local builders have spearheaded construction of showcase homes for an array of charities, raised funds for children’s organizations, awarded scholarships to deserving students and even initiated projects to help entrepreneurs in emerging countries. And they’ve tirelessly participated in walk-a-thons, benefit runs and a smorgasbord of other events to benefit good works.
Indeed, virtually every major nonprofit in the region has enjoyed support from the home-building industry. In some cases, entire social or cultural programs have been underwritten by builders.
“Most people involved in the new-home industry are aware of the charitable and community efforts of area builders,” says Penelope Geismar, Jacksonville Homebuyer publisher. “But many of those efforts go unrecognized by the public, and we want to change that. Builders do a lot, and they deserve to be acknowledged.”
Adds builder Bryan Lendry, president of NEFBA, “When the neediest of the needy need help, there’s really no better group of people to turn to than builders. We have the resources to help, and we’ve shown that we have the will to help.”
NEFBA has for years honored a “Member of the Month” for outstanding service to the association and the community. But the 2,500-member organization—the largest builder association in the state and one of the largest in the nation—has never held a recognition program on the scale of the Good Neighbor Awards.
“Because we have so many generous builders, it’s difficult to select just one member each month,” says Arnold Tritt, executive vice president of NEFBA. “From financial contributions to donations of time, labor, goods and services, NEFBA members are tireless workers on behalf of the less fortunate. That’s why we’re so glad that Jacksonville Homebuyer has taken this initiative.”
Local builders’ contributions continue to make a huge impact in the community, say non-profit organizations that have benefited from their largesse. “Builders have made a tremendous difference in our ability to uplift the needy in our community, especially during the holiday season,” says Major James Siler, area commander for the Salvation Army of Northeast Florida.
The Salvation Army and its outreach programs—including the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless—have been supported by Providence Homes, D.R. Horton Homes, W.G. Pitts and North Florida Builders, among others.
Quigley House, the Clay County domestic violence shelter, has received construction help for its facilities as well as fund-raising support and donations of model home furniture.
“Several builders and subcontractors were very involved in helping us build our shelter, doing much of the work pro bono or at cost,” says Sharon Youngerman, executive director of Quigley House. “That help has been critical to our ability to provide services. Builders have an important skill base that we can’t provide ourselves.”
Youngerman notes that some companies have contacted the shelter and offered to hold fund raisers while others have simply answered “yes” when asked to repair storm damage or renovate thrift shop space. In addition, there are several children’s charities that wouldn’t exist without the help of local builders.
• The Monique Burr Foundation for Children, which aids and protects abused children, was founded in memory of LandMar executive Ed Burr’s late wife and continues with the support of LandMar and other local companies.
• Safe Harbor Boys Home, a residential and vocational program for at-risk teens, has a wing staffers dubbed “the White House” because it was made possible by North Florida Builders owner Howard White and local subcontractors.
• Seamark Ranch, a home for children in state care who have no hope of being reunited with family, is taking shape on 462 acres donated by developers Chester Stokes and Hawley Smith. The project’s nearly-completed boys’ residence is being built by Beazer Homes.
“Beazer helped us, and many subcontractors and suppliers gave us materials and services either pro bono or at tremendously reduced costs,” says Hugh Mathews, vice chairman of the board of directors of Seamark and president of England, Timms & Miller civil engineers. “We want to take every opportunity to compliment the entire building community of Northeast Florida. They’ve given us a jump start. The program isn’t about buildings, it’s about helping kids. But without the facilities, we can’t do the things we want to do.”
There are many other stories of good deeds done by the award-winners, including:
• Admiral Homes’ custom-designed playhouse, built and sold to benefit Hope Haven Children’s Clinic.
• Classic American Homes’ “Give Hope a Home” house, built and sold to benefit the Donna Hicken Foundation.
• Providence Homes’ “House for Hope,” built and sold to provide micro-loans to families in impoverished countries.
• Matovina & Company’s $100,000 contribution toward HabiJax’s Superbuild 39 project.
• Brylen Homes’ role of “extreme sponsor” and coordinator of the Extreme Makeover project.
For many Jacksonville Homebuyer Good Neighbor Award winners, community service is part of their corporate philosophy. Here’s what several winners wrote in their application packets:
• “Beazer Homes believes that good communities foster good neighborhoods. We do not shy away from helping worthy causes, and employees get involved by volunteering time during their work week to benefit others.”
• “The Vintage Group does not participate in community service projects for the sole purpose of gaining recognition or winning awards. We participate in order to build, support and strengthen the communities, neighborhoods and relationships in which so many people have invested so much.”
• “Brylen Homes’ dedicated employee volunteers aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and clean leaves out of gutters, weed the yard or plant and mulch flower beds. When it comes to charity work and community services, no job is too big or too small.”