Volunteer Shout Out

An Extra snazzy THANK YOU is due to all of the professional photographers that participated as mentors in this year's RTA Doc.Crew, generously donating their patience, time, and talent. Each of these fine individuals led a team of 3-5 high school students, documenting RTA's volunteers in action on the last day of our April Rebuilding Event and capturing the community each of their project sites sits in.

Jimi and Kate Allen of Jimi Allen Productions
Keir Briscoe
Rich Hayhurst of Studio One Photography and Video
Pawel Kowalczyk
Brandi Martin of West Aurora High School (instructor)
Jeffrey Ross of Jeffrey Ross Photography

The students commonly responded that they would like MORE of these events, giving their mentors a whopping average of 4.5 / 5 on the helpfulness scale--- 100% said they would participate again.
So, thank you, thank you for making this event a huge success!

Volunteer Shout Out

We here at RTA (and especially those of us who coordinate volunteers) are incredibly grateful for the skilled master craftsmen that donate their time year after year, often bringing in material donations and building our professional network by bringing in their own skilled comrades to help on project sites... an invaluable resource to our organization and our efforts in the community.

Emily Stern, Executive Director of RTA, nominated both the Plumbers Union and instructor Don Stunkel this month for yet another season of exceptional giving. She writes:

The Plumbers & Pipefitters Union Local 501, under the direction of Don Stunkel, have been instrumental in helping us provide important repairs for low-income homeowners. For the last several years, they have partnered with us on our April Rebuilding Event and have provided free labor for at least 3 full replumbing jobs. Each day they helped us was at least a 10 hour day but they never complained and jumped from site to site, addressing important plumbing needs, with a smile on their face. On top of their ARE support, they have volunteered on various emergency projects throughout the year whenever asked. The value of their support as volunteers is, without a doubt, invaluable. We simply could not do the extensive repair jobs that we do without them. The whole group has hearts of gold and sincerely inspire people to serve on a higher level. I can't stress enough how wonderful these plumbers are. We are blessed to have them in our community.

The Union took on several major projects with this year's April Rebuilding Event, including: heavy repairs on Oak St, a full replacement at W New York St, and extensive repairs for a second floor bathroom on Benton St.

Volunteer Shout Out

RTA is nothing without its dedicated House Captains who organize and run every project. House Captaining is the most time consuming and responsibility laden volunteer position with our organization, and it is only through the generous donation of each House Captain's time, talent, and tenacity that every project is completed successfully.

An anonymous Grace United Methodist volunteer nominated Thatch Irwin for his dedication to RTA, writing:

Thatch has organized the Grace UMC group for many years. He has worked to coordinate the Grace Team, plan the work and make sure we have plenty of hands to make the work go smoothly. He has been at the project evey year from start to finish and has been the person we all look forward to working with. Thatch's hard work and attitude of giving has made the many houses that Grace Church has worked on a success. Thatch does not stop once the work day is done, he has stayed in touch with some of the home owners to help outside of the weekend work. His example of giving and the grace he shows to those in need set a fine example for all to live up to.

Thank you again and again for your patience and selfless service to the Hope for Tomorrow project.

Volunteer Shout Out

April Rebuilding Event is full of unexpected or dirty jobs, and we owe the volunteers that take on those unsavory positions a HUGE THANK YOU for sparing the rest of us fainter-at-heart from the woes of crawling in muck, slithering into cobwebby crawlspaces, or teetering on the tops of twenty foot extension ladders.

Sean Gaskill, Brian Lemmon, Joel Nagle, and Kevin Koran (all of IHC Construction) deserve a HUGE extra special THANK YOU for their efforts with Fox Valley Associated General Contractors at 25 N Loucks.
These fine fellows embraced the undesirable task of sealing and insulating the very dank crawlspace of this home, wading through several inches of standing water for the majority of the day on April 30 when few else were willing to do it. Their work was very much appreciated by RTA staff, YouthBuild participants, and FVAGC volunteers who were saved from the task, and the homeowner who's house is now considerably more warm and dry.

These guys were nominated by both Mike Cweinkala and Mike Hampson, house captains for the project.

Volunteer Shout Out

A huge rowdy THANK YOU to the outstanding efforts by Jason Ball for the Calamos Earth Day project. Jason went above and beyond in helping prep for the landscaping project by collecting mulch in a late night thunderstorm, building and donating flower boxes, and pulling more than his weight on the project site.

His efforts were very much appreciated on site. As RTA project coordinator Erin Carlisle said, "Jason was like the Incredible Hulk when he lifted the railroad ties and threw them over the fence. He had help, but Jason basically carried those trees himself."

Thanks Jason!

Volunteer Shout Out

Boyscout Troop 53 did an outstanding job last Saturday, and RTA appreciates every ounce of effort given by the members and their leaders. The troop was one of the most focused, hardworking, and reliable groups of youth RTA has had the pleasure to work with.

While every member deserves a pat on the back, a very hearty extra Thank You is due to David Castillo, Boyscout Troop 53 member for his work at Union Street. When asked what made David really stand out during the project day, John Aguilar, troop leader, said that David was "really focused. He took charge of painting the deck; he didn't need direction and stayed motivated til the very end of the day."

A few of the members at work

Volunteer Shout Out

Doug Carlisle, Production Lead of Construction at ServPro of Lombard in Addison, was nominated by Mike Frankino of the Aurora Noon Kiwanis group for his outstanding energy, cool head in the face of unexpected challenges, and overall contribution to the project last Saturday. As Frankino wrote:

Clearly, Doug Carlisle was the guy for the day at Hinman Street. Although he was not a Kiwanian, I feel he made the most impact on the project. With his experience, he helped turn that scary-looking situation with the front stairs into a sensible project for he and a few helpers.


An additional nod must be given to two Kiwanians for their dedication to the projects: Hal Beebee and Dave Bohman.

"Through Hal's efforts for the day in working on the front porch, on top of the trailer full of tools he brought, he shined," writes Frankino.

"Dave spent a lot of time with me before the day of the project discussing what tools he could bring from his expansive collection. He then proceeded to load up his truck with tools, which he brought to the job site. Dave immediately identified the garage door as needing a lot of help. It was simply hanging there, off its track, upon our arrival that morning. This was an extra project not identified on our list of project to do. I almost took him off of it in order to be assured we would finish the list we had made, but changed my mind when I saw how passionate about making this right. This was a tremendous thing to add, and then complete, for the sake of these property owners."

Volunteer Shout Out

A big hearty Thank You to Gideon Haynes, Monarch Landing's house captain from last year's April Rebuilding Event.

"Not only has Gideon been a long-time supporter of our organization," says Executive Director Emily Stern, "he's an amazing house captain. He managed to do an "extreme home make-over" with just $3,000!"

Gideon went above and beyond in his house captain duties by finding additional local sponsors to support his team's work and provide very needed updates for a deserving homeowner. Without additional help from RTA staff, he received: kitchen cabinets from Skyline Restoration, a new bath enclosure from Bathcrest, a range from ABT electronics, and all new appliances from Monarch Landing.

In addition, he will be donating all proceeds raised from the sale of his artwork at the upcoming exhibit of his work at the Paramount Theater in Aurora, February 1- March 31.
Check it out on facebook or the Paramount's website!

On the eleventh day...

...eleven of our longest-standing volunteer leaders:

Ken Holland
David McChristian
Norm Ellsworth
Ben Stammis
Jim McHale
Thatch Irwin
Mark Camp
Mike Doll
Paul Veach
Joe Wehr
Frank Martin

These guys make it happen. They are the faces of Rebuilding Together's mission. They bring the skill, the know-how, and the tireless dedication to make every project successful. Thank you for all you've done for our organization over the years. We can't do it without you!

Volunteer Shout Out

A big hearty Thank You to Chuck Rhodes, individual volunteer from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, for his help on a recent bathroom conversion with the Year Round Repair Program.

"Chuck helps out on almost every project Rebuilding Together does," says Executive Director Emily Stern. "Often, I don't even know he's going to show up! He's just there, working his tail off!"

Chuck is extremely and uniquely generous with his time, always willing to step in when there is need. He has shown himself time and again to be a dependable, hardworking, and amiable volunteer; he has been a crucial component to the success of so many RTA projects.
Thanks for all your hard work!