How will 1,000 Booz Allen Hamilton employees, their friends, and families be spending the day on April 24, 2010? They will be painting; replacing windows, ceilings, and floors; planting gardens; and much more as they partner with Rebuilding Together to transform homes and community buildings across the country for low-income homeowners and veterans. On National Rebuilding Day, volunteers will also be making those homes a little greener—through the use of low VOC paints, recycled and sustainable building materials, native plants and more.
“National Rebuilding Day is by far one of the largest volunteer efforts we take part in as a firm,” notes Senior Consultant Meredith DeDona. “People really want to take part and they come back year after year. It’s an excellent opportunity to do team building, and it’s so tangible. Employees immediately see the impact they’ve had. This year, the firm is providing an additional 25% in financial support to incorporate sustainable supplies.”
Booz Allen has a long-standing relationship with Rebuilding Together, the leading national non-profit working to preserve affordable home ownership. Gary Officer, CEO of Rebuilding Together says, “Booz Allen has been a terrific supporter of Rebuilding Together going back at least ten years, when the firm provided us with pro bono strategic planning. The firm has also been helpful in underwriting our annual golf tournament in DC, which raised $2 million and brought in unrestricted support to our bottom line. Now, as a natural evolution, we’re working together to incorporate key energy efficient upgrades into all of our projects.”
Booz Allen Senior Vice President Herbert MacArthur, who worked with Rebuilding Together on the strategic plan, ended up serving on the National Board of Rebuilding Together. He notes, “Because Booz Allen is walking the talk when it comes to going greener, our partnership with Rebuilding Together provides a great opportunity to show how green building and sustainable project work can be applied – at a slightly higher cost, but with less impact on the environment.”
Booz Allen designates a House Captain for every participating office to develop renovation plans, determine necessary materials, direct their teams, and oversee projects. This year marks Associate Debra Nipe’s fifth year as House Captain. Located in Rome, New York, Nipe is also president of the local Rebuilding Together Board and, for the second year in a row, has been successful in obtaining a Homes for Heroes Grant to help with renovations of veterans’ homes. “This year, we’ll co-sponsor the veteran’s home with a $10,000 grant, and we will be incorporating sustainable materials. We’ll be replacing the ceilings, floors, and windows, kitchen and electricity, and we’ll make sure that all of the new materials are energy efficient.”
Senior Consultant Douglas Devlin, House Captain for the San Diego office, has also led a team for the past five years. “We typically get 80-120 volunteers for National Rebuilding Day, so we’ve outgrown working on houses,” said Devlin. “Since 2005, we’ve helped to renovate a YMCA, a Head Start facility, a neighborhood community recreation center, and a Girl Scout regional use facility. This year, we’ll be working with San Diego Youth Services to renovate a transitional facility for youth who have aged out of the foster program.”
Devlin continued, “We’ll be using low EVO paints and incorporating native plants in our renovations. In fact, one of the neighbors to the facility is a landscape architect who specializes in canyon revitalization – the facility is located right by a canyon – and he’s providing advice.”
story posted April 16, 2010
