It's Christmas in April

by Don Wheeler

At least it used to be called that.

Several years ago the Christmas In April program affiliated itself with a nationwide event - Rebuilding Together. Here's a bit of background from the House Captain Handbook:

Rebuilding Together is devoted to the repair and rehabilitation of the homes of low-income, elderly, or disabled homeowners. The approach is simple: months of planning and preparation culminate in a National Rebuilding Day - when volunteers, both skilled and unskilled, in communities across America come together to repair and rehabilitate the houses of needy residents in their community.

Rebuilding Together performs most types of work on the homes of its beneficiaries, including carpentry, painting, plumbing, electrical, roofing, weather stripping, trash removal, and cleaning. Our goal is to leave each home safe, warm and dry. The program aids to add a bit of joy and dignity into the lives of the homeowners.

Volunteers do not need to be skilled in home repair, but any skills will be well utilized. Numerous community-minded organizations participate in Rebuilding Together, donating skilled help, as well
as trucks and tools. Without such skilled workers, many of the repairs could not be undertaken.

All repairs are paid for by Rebuilding Together.Homeowners are not expected to pay for services provided. They are asked, if able, to work with us on Rebuilding Together Day. Rebuilding Together receives money from churches, business, corporations, foundations, associations, and individuals. All donations are tax deductible. Rebuilding Together has affiliates in hundreds of communities across
America.

Here's the national website: http://www.rebuildingtogether.org/

The local angle:

Christmas In April - St. Joseph County began in 1989. In August of 2002, its Board of Directors voted to change the organizations name to Rebuilding Together, St. Joseph County. The name change
aligned the local effort with the national program and better reflects its mission of a community working together to rebuild neighborhoods.

In its history, the Rebuilding Together with Christmas in April program has had over 34,000
volunteers donating their time and skills, worth millions of dollars in market value, to rehabilitate 721 homes in South Bend. Rebuilding Together has worked in neighborhoods across the city.

The Rebuilding Together program succeeds based on its partnerships. Program funding and donations, in terms of volunteer hours, materials, and money, come from the City of South Bend; the St. Joseph Valley Building and Construction Trades Council; other trade contractors; the Home Builders Association; local businesses, churches, and synagogues; students from The University of Notre Dame, St. Mary's College, Holy Cross College, Bethel College, and Indiana University - South Bend; and from the community at large.

This is a nice story about Us. And it's a really big deal -judging from how many people keep it going locally.

The tradition here is that most of the trade work is done a week prior to the main volunteer day. This year Saturday April 5 has been designated for that, with April 12 as the large group work day.

There are something in excess of 25 homes located on northwest side, north of Lincolnway which will be involved in the event this year. These were picked from a much larger number of applicants for the program.

Jeff Young inspects all potential Rebuilding Together properties and homeowners. He mentioned to me that it (the selection process) sometimes is a bit tricky. You want to work in situations where the work will have a lasting benefit and the homeowners need to meet the qualifications for the program.

In a later conversation, Jeff pointed out that we only have this huge workforce for one day - there is no rain date - and everyone needs to be clear about that.

Soon I'll explain my impressions about and experience with (highly limited) the program, how I got involved, and about the project for which I will be House Captain.

Oh, and I'll ask you to join me.