By Carole Hawkins, [email protected]
Bill Wilson remembers the height of the homebuilding, when 100 workers would bring hammers, saws and willing spirits to charity work days.
In March, there were about two dozen.
“There should be 50 people out here,” said Wilson, founding director of Builders Care.
Not that he’s discouraged. Wilson sees the modest turnout as a beginning. The rebirth of what once was a powerful force for good in the industry.
Builders Care, the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s charitable arm, in March held its first monthly volunteer work day since the recession.
The small force brought big hearts. A breakfast of eggs and hash browns grilled from the back of a truck.
Tools and strong hands that repaired a fence, replaced rotted siding, built a new picnic table and painted the exterior of a group home that serves five youths from Angelwood.
The nonprofit helps people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Todd Knowles of Quick Tie Products built a new gate for the fence. A miter saw whirred to life, drowning out the radio gospel music he had playing in the background. Knowles admits he’s not a carpenter. But he has enough skills to lend a hand.
“I like helping people. It’s just what I do,” he said.
Around the corner Mike Bianchi was painting the house. The general manager for Adams Homes had brought an entire crew — his wife Lisa, two daughters and two sons.
Justin Brown said since coming onboard to lead Builders Care last summer, he’s focused on roof and ramp projects. Wilson convinced him to bring them back the regular once-a-month work days.
“It’s about everybody, getting people out here to work together,” Brown said.
A former mortgage company manger turned “entrepreneurial do-gooder,” Brown found the work has changed his world.
“Every night I go home and think about what I’ve done to help someone,” he said. “I’ve never had a job like that.”
It’s a feeling others before Brown have experienced.
Builders Care was founded in 2001. Builders in Northeast Florida had a rich history of giving back to the community, but their efforts had been scattered between individual companies, Wilson said.
It was former NEFBA Executive Director Arnold Tritt’s idea to consolidate those efforts.
The nonprofit’s inaugural project was a Blitz Build, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The two groups built 101 homes in 17 days.
In the early days, Wilson’s construction company doubled as Builders Care’s first office. The group’s independent 501c3 status freed up large builders from the liabilities of sponsoring charity builds through their own companies.
The heart of the program became the once-a-month volunteer work day. It became so popular, a friend once joked that Wilson had the ear of the homebuilding industry’s most important players.
People who had trouble gaining access to building veterans could find them by donning a tool belt and working with them side by side on the weekend projects.
The real estate downturn that slowed building business also quieted the volunteerism.
Now, with the industry in recovery, there’s a pent-up desire to give back, Wilson said.
But it’s become fragmented once again between individual companies. Builders Care can pool resources and channel builders’ good intentions.
The years running Builders Care gave Wilson unique insights into the building community.
There are people who want to do something, and there are people who want to appear to do something, he said. Builders Care is a place where that difference shows up.
“People say, ‘Why didn’t you call me?’” Wilson said. “Here’s your call. We’re making it one time — it’s the third Saturday every month.”