Forum One hits the streets of Alexandria for Rebuilding Together’s Rebuilding Day
Posted by Chris von Spiegelfeld
Forum One took a break from web design to help rehab a home for someone in need on National Rebuilding Day. In back-to-back years, a team of Forum One volunteers joined Rebuilding Together of Alexandria to repair a home for an elderly resident in the area. This year Forum One proudly rose to the challenge after learning of the repairs needed for Ms. Edith Threat’s home. Led by Forum One’s team captain, me, the team of volunteers dropped their PHP scripts and wireframes to pick up hammers and paint brushes. Their unselfish efforts to make Edith’s home a little nicer that day helped contribute to another successful Rebuilding Day in Alexandria, Va.
National Rebuilding Day is the annual signature event of Rebuilding Together, the leading national nonprofit working to preserve affordable home ownership by bringing volunteers and communities together to rehabilitate the homes of low-income homeowners. Affiliates such as Rebuilding Together Alexandria, work with captains and their teams by providing home rehab projects that fall within the team’s expertise and comfort level. Rebuilding Together then sends the captains out with an Affiliate representative to scope out the home and come up with a task and resource list. Afterward, the captain heads to a Rebuilding Together partnered hardware store like Lowes or Ace Hardware to procure the necessary supplies.
This particular year, the team had a single day to crank through some serious work of weather stripping a door, caulking and painting moulding throughout the house, securing a shaky banister, and replacing a bathroom fan. There was very little time to get so much done, but for the cracked team of Forum One volunteers, it was a piece of cake.
Upon arriving at Edith’s house, the volunteers knew immediately they were earning their community service hours that day. It was an unseasonably ninety degrees in April and there was no air conditioning in the home. Those that worked upstairs could not even open a window. Despite having ample amount of Dunkin Donuts and coffee, it took a tremendous amount of boosting from the team captain to keep the morale on high.
The bathroom fan was the first thing to get fixed. I immediately recognized the dangers of lingering bathroom odors and prioritized this task above the others. As the crew was getting set up, I singlehandedly mounted the fan in place.
Those armed with caulking guns and paint brushes hit the moulding with a fury. Within two hours the entire moulding in the house was sparkling white and properly adjusted against the ceiling and the wall. Never has such speed and precision been seen. Not a single drop of caulk or paint left the work area.
The weather strippers didn’t have it so smooth. Faced with the challenge of a shoddily designed door frame and eroding concrete, the weather strippers had to improvise. Using the resources at hand and angling the strip, the volunteers managed to storm proof the door without having to rebuild a whole new door frame.
The last task to fix was the railing. While the Forum One crew had the steady hands to drill into the banister, the work required a specialized drill which the team lacked. However, all was not lost. Forum One reached for a lifeline by having Rebuilding Together affiliated contractor, Kevin Grim, come with his tool belt. In no time that railing was capable of supporting whatever came its way.
At the day’s end, Edith thanked the team and put into perspective how much the volunteer work means to her and her community. Edith has lived in Alexandria for over forty years. She has seen her neighborhood through hard times and good times. As the neighborhood continues to develop, it is becoming harder to afford essential services such as food and home repairs. It is through the help of community minded organizations like Rebuilding Together and the efforts of volunteers and neighbors that have helped her get the services she needs for very little or no money at all.
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