Volunteer Day at our HomeAid project Cordero House
On June 4, members of the Professional Remodelers Organization (PRO), HBA staff and several companies came together for one day to contribute a total of more than 210 hours of community service to the Cordero House. In the summer of 2009, the Home Builders Foundation and Builder Captains Mike Arnett and Jim Feild broke ground on the shelter for abused boys, which will be remodeled and expanded to house 14 abused boys and will cost more than $900,000.To start the day, Builder Captain Jim Feild led the group by explaining how he came to be involved with the project, how passionate he is about the work that he’s doing to help the boys of Cordero House, and how the appreciative he was to have others getting involved. Groups of people then broke out to complete different areas of work. Projects included tearing down and replacing a deck attached to their school house located on the adjacent lot where the boys participate in a specialized education program in partnership with the Tigard School District. Staff members from DR Horton led the deck replacement, with students from PCC’s Building Construction Technology program helping alongside them.PCC students also worked to remove wood piles, while HBF Board Member and HomeAid Chair Scott Haskin removed old railroad ties from the ground to prepare the surface for sod later this year. Members from PRO were scattered around the almost 6,000 square foot house, clearing out joist cavities, removing electrical panel walls, digging trenches, landscaping, removing fixtures, debris and old appliances, prepping for drywall and rock removal.HBA staff also joined in on the community service by giving their time for the afternoon to address the hundreds of nails in the ceiling and beams, prepping for drywall and painting, and weeding the gardens in preparation for a food garden that will go in. All of the work completed by the more than 35 people who came out saved the project thousands of dollars in labor costs that would have otherwise been charged to Janus Youth Programs and the Home Builders Foundation, who are funding the project.Janus Youth Programs operates Cordero House, and has helped thousands of abused boys to successfully complete their programs towards becoming healthy, successful citizens to society. Due to its long-standing track record in the community, the Home Builders Foundation selected Janus Youth Program’s Cordero House as a project to adopt through its HomeAid Portland program.HomeAid Portland is the shelter building arm of the Home Builders Foundation. The program seeks to help build shelter by partnering with homeless care providers already working in the community to build or renovate shelters and increase bed space. Through HBA members, local companies and the community’s generosity, HomeAid Portland is able to procure 50% of the cost of materials and labor of a project, so that homeless care providers’ resources can be spent on direct services.
More work days are being planned for later this summer. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact HBF at 503-684-1880.
