WASHINGTON, DC -- Teams of Realtor(R) volunteers from across the country are putting on their work boots and heading to the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast to help construct new Habitat for Humanity homes for families displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The volunteer groups are part of the Realtor(R)-Habitat Partnership for Gulf Coast Recovery program, in which the National Association of Realtors(R) and state and local Realtor(R) associations have committed to generate more than $4 million to build as many as 54 houses along the Gulf Coast. In addition to raising $75,000 per home for the cost of land and building materials, Realtors(R) are also volunteering their time and skills through disaster relief trips to the Gulf Coast to help build additional Habitat homes in some of the hardest hit areas. Construction is currently underway on 24 of the homes.
"Realtors(R) build communities, helping families find their dream homes every day," said NAR President Pat Vredevoogd Combs, of Grand Rapids, Mich., and vice president of Coldwell Banker-AJS-Schmidt. "More than 18 months after the storms hit, thousands of homes in the affected areas remain untouched because many of their owners cannot afford to rebuild them. We are committed to helping those families find a new place to call home."
For five days, teams of up to 20 Realtor(R) volunteers will work side-by- side with the future homeowners and local Habitat crews to frame exterior and interior house walls, install windows and doors, hang drywall, and paint.
As many as 30 Realtor(R) teams are expected to travel to the Gulf Coast to volunteer in the builds. Realtors(R) from Texas recently sent small teams of volunteers to Beaumont, Texas, to work in three-day shifts from February 19 to March 10. Members of the Connecticut Association of Realtors(R) spent a week building a home in Slidell, La., earlier this year, and a team of 19 volunteers from the North Carolina Association of Realtors(R), led by the association's executive vice president, Tim Kent, went to Slidell to participate in another weeklong Habitat build.
"Over the course of five days, we dug foundations, poured concrete, cut lumber, assembled buildings, pounded nails and put roofs on the buildings. It was a lot of work, but it also was a rewarding and educational experience to build something from scratch," said Realtor(R) Parker Creech, Prudential Carolinas Realty, Raleigh, N.C., who participated in the North Carolina Association of Realtors(R)' home build. "We had a terrific time and many of us feel like it was one of the best overall life experiences we have ever had."
The homebuilding trips will occur throughout 2007. Two of the 24 homes currently under construction will be ready for deserving Gulf Coast families by the end of March, and the remainder will be completed by August 2007. NAR and state and local Realtor(R) associations hope to have all 54 homes under construction by the end of 2007.
Realtors(R)' support for rebuilding the Gulf Coast began immediately in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. Realtors(R) and Realtor(R) organizations across the country contributed supplies, volunteer labor and more than $4.6 million to directly help victims of the hurricanes.
In November 2006, the National Association of Realtors(R) and nearly 25,000 Realtor(R) members and guests gathered in New Orleans for NAR's annual meeting. During the conference, as many as 2,800 Realtors(R) and guests provided hands-on assistance to the recovery and rebuilding efforts in New Orleans in an endeavor to help bring the city back to its former glory. Participants volunteered more than 10,000 hours to various community projects, from building and rehabbing homes to sorting food and restocking bookshelves at a public library.
The National Association of Realtors(R), "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Information about NAR is available at http://www.realtor.org/. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section. Statistical data, charts and surveys also may be found by clicking on Research.
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Source: National Association of Realtors
CONTACT: Sara Weis of NAR, +1-202-383-1013, sweis@realtors.org
Web site: http://www.realtor.org/
ASHINGTON
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