Major Partners
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The thousands of volunteers who participate in HomeFront Day every year are the face of the program: their enthusiasm and hard work transform houses in need of repair into homes that are a source of great pride to their owners. There is also valuable support behind the scenes, and in this issue of the newsletter, we pay tribute to one of our most steadfast supporters, MetLife Foundation.
Since 1995, MetLife Foundation has been providing HomeFront with financial support, making a great difference in our program’s capabilities. Since 2000, the Foundation’s contributions have supported the HomeFront Fund, which enables volunteer teams in need of funding to participate in the program. The impact: more homeowners are able to be helped.
“MetLife Foundation is committed to building healthy communities and recognize that housing and civic engagement are vital components of healthy communities,” says April Hawkins, director of the Civic Affairs program for the Foundation.
“We are proud of our longstanding partnership with AmeriCares on the HomeFront program, which enables individual volunteers and teams to improve the housing of their neighbors in need.”
MetLife Foundation promotes volunteerism at all ages. HomeFront attracts volunteers across generations. Since 2000 alone, the Foundation has enabled over 3,040 volunteer teams and individuals to participate in the annual home repair blitz; helping to revitalize 76 properties. Without MetLife Foundation’s support these volunteers would not have been able to make a difference in the lives of homeowners throughout the community.
Experts from the Emmy Award-winning home improvement series This Old House are joined by team members from the magazine of the same name and web site on HomeFront Day to renovate the dwelling of one deserving homeowner each year. They travel from offices in New York City and Boston to participate.
Throughout their ever-expanding support, one note has remained constant: the basic desire to help people. The words of This Old House Master Carpenter Norm Abram best sum up the philosophy behind the Homefront program, “Homes are not just roofs over our heads. They are an expression of who we are, a place where we spend time with our families. Building, improving and maintaining a home gives us a sense of warmth, stability and comfort. To be able to extend these things to other people in need through our volunteer efforts is immensely satisfying to all of us.”
The partnership with This Old House began in 1998. Since that time, the team has come to the aid of eight homeowners.
At HomeFront, partnerships are built to last. One long-standing and valued collaborator has been the Office of Urban Affairs of the Archdiocese of Hartford (OUA). Since 1994, the OUA has been responsible for organizing thousands of volunteers to help revitalize homes and community centers.
OUA-supported volunteer teams are comprised of single parishes, multiple parishes from within the same geographic area, and interfaith partners who are joined by local businesses to work on projects demonstrating the greatest recipient need in the Greater Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury regions.
According to the OUA, it’s a meaningful partnership in that a community of volunteers walks away from a project with a sense of having helped a neighbor and changed lives for the better, raising spirits and restoring hope, by making essential home repairs for those who are unable to do so on their own.