HBF Hits the Highway
Will Taylor, Brenda Ketah, and Drew Roberts
Home Building Foundation received a very sweet donation right near Valentine’s Day. Executive Director Brenda Ketah received the keys from Parr Lumber’s Tim Jefferies and Drew Roberts for a gently used GMC truck. Parr’s Brian Kegg says they are happy to help “We at Parr have had a long-term relationship with HBF and are big fans of their work.”
HBF's Work Covers Many Miles
Having a designated vehicle has been a long time need for HBF. The Foundation and the other affiliates of HomeAid America work with service providers that are building or remodeling their facilities to help people experiencing homelessness. We ask builders and suppliers to donate their time and materials to get the job done. As the conduit to these partnerships, HBF’s project manager Chris McDowell is often driving from one end of the Portland Metro to another to pick up donations, and to deliver supplies to our shelter building sites.
HBF’s Brenda Ketah explains, she reached out to Parr last summer when attempts to receive grant funding for a truck fell through. Brian says “It was easy for us to say yes. This presented a perfect opportunity for Parr to lend a hand in making Chris’s job and life easier by repurposing one of our older lumber pickups. “
Glencoe High Drop Off
HBF’s transportation needs ramped up the past 18 months, as we expanded our outreach to local high schools. Students from nine area high schools from St. Helens down to Yamhill-Carlton are building small projects for our shelter partners. Parr helped by delivering a stack of lumber to Glencoe High for a shed that students will build for Project Homeless Connect.
With a busy spring of projects ahead, Parr's donation comes in the nick of time. In spite of good intentions, the tight market for new trucks led Parr to have to delay. When a new truck was delivered Parr’s Redmond Truss Plan in January, Brian arranged for a retired truck to come right here. “It was our pleasure to present the truck as a gift to the HBF and are honored to be a small part of the impactful work the foundation does.” HBF Executive Director Brenda Ketah is thrilled with the donation. “Having a designated HBF Truck will be a huge time saver, and will potentially save us money in rental fees, which will allow us to help more agencies that really need our help.”
The truck will become an advertising vehicle for Home Building Foundation as Chris drives it around town. Fund Development Manager Kyle Ellerbe is looking forward to wrapping the truck with our new Home Building Foundation logo. Of course, the truck will also feature a thank you message to our friends at Parr as well. We cannot do our work without the support of the Home Building Industry. If you’d like to donate materials, or your time, please reach out to Chris at Chrism@hbapdx.org