AmeriCares and the HomeFront program

July 2009

AmeriCares founded HomeFront in 1988 and for more than 20 years the program has helped people in need in Connecticut and New York rehabilitate their homes to make them safe and livable.

HomeFront has been dedicated to “raising spirits and restoring hope” through an annual, volunteer-driven, free day of essential home repairs. Through the hands-on work of thousands of volunteers and the generous support of dozens of product and professional service donors, the program primarily benefited senior citizens living on fixed incomes, people with physical or mental challenges, those facing chronic or life-threatening illnesses, and single parents..

Now, driven by the impact of the global financial downturn on charitable giving, a decision was reluctantly made that AmeriCares would no longer operate the HomeFront program. Instead, we will focus our work on our primary missions of health care initiatives around the world and in the U.S., our medical gift-in-kind model, and emergency response to natural and man-made disasters.

With the full support of AmeriCares senior leadership and Board of Directors, the HomeFront team is committed to finding an alternative future so the program can continue to deliver assistance to homeowners in need. We are presently exploring the feasibility of creating and funding an independent HomeFront organization. We are also in active discussions with organizations with similar missions to HomeFront.

If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about how the HomeFront program is evolving, please contact Sean O’Brien, Executive Director of HomeFront at 203-658-9664 or sobrien@americares.org. We will keep our district and team leaders informed of developments and expect to have an update for the HomeFront volunteers by September 2009.

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AmeriCares Homefront Day May 2, 2009

AmeriCares HomeFront Day 2009 was an amazing success with 4,100 volunteers fixing up 94 properties in Connecticut and Westchester County, N.Y.

This year, 116 teams from local corporations, religious organizations and civic groups participated. Volunteers painted, fixed plumbing and electrical problems, installed safety railings, replaced broken windows, cleared debris and more. Senior citizens on fixed incomes, disabled residents and single parents struggling to make ends meet were among those who benefited.

Thanks again to the thousands of talented and hard-working volunteers who make our program possible!