Owens Corning and HomeAid Coming Together for a Greener Future
HomeAid America and Owens Corning Join Forces to Implement Energy-Efficiency into the Nation's Homeless Shelters
Owens Corning and HomeAid America are teaming up to make HomeAid's existing shelters more energy efficient. With a $15,000 grant from the Owens Corning Foundation and a commitment to provide insulation and roofing products, Owens Corning will help support HomeAid's efforts to retrofit existing shelters for homeless families and individuals around the country. Through HomeAid's Environmental Sustainability Program, initiated through a grant from the Walmart Foundation, homeless care providers can deliver their services in a more environmentally conscious manner. Funds previously spent on power bills can instead be used to serve the specific needs of clients. Homelessness in America has increased during this economic downturn. More children and families are on the streets. Owens Corning's support for HomeAid's Environmental Sustainability Program will assist us to provide a much-needed service to the nonprofit organizations that shelter America's homeless and offer valuable life skills and job training needed to regain self-sufficiency. As a result of green retrofitting, these organizations can stretch their resources to help many more of our nation's homeless men, women and children. Jeffrey Slavin, CEO, HomeAid America. Over the past decade, Owens Corning - a global leader in residential and commercial building materials, glass-fiber reinforcements and engineered materials for composite systems - has donated time, money and resources to support HomeAid's mission "to build and maintain dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives." Owens Corning employees have served in leadership roles at HomeAid America and at a number of HomeAid's regional chapters. One of Fortune's "Most Admired Companies," Owens Corning has become one of HomeAid's most important donors. Owens Corning was a major supporter of HomeAid's efforts to rebuild a portion of the New Orleans Rescue Mission in the years following Hurricane Katrina. The mission's family center was the first structure rebuilt following the hurricane and subsequently earned LEED Silver status. In addition, Owens Corning helped HomeAid construct new shelter facilities in Houston, TX, and Atlanta, GA, after both areas experienced the significant immigration of families made homeless by the ravages of Katrina. Owens Corning also donated product and volunteers for HomeAid projects in Downers Grove, IL, Seattle, WA, and San Diego, CA. And now, the innovator in the field of green building will use its expertise and product donations to help HomeAid expand its operations, retrofitting existing shelters in Portland, OR, Las Vegas, NV, St. Petersburg, FL, Reston, VA, and Fullerton, CA. To each of these facilities, Owens Corning will contribute an array of roofing and insulation materials designed to minimize energy usage. At Owens Corning, we recognize the devastating effects of homelessness. We are proud to play a key role in helping HomeAid reach out to the organizations who provide hope and the services necessary to bring our homeless back into the mainstream. With HomeAid's efforts and Owens Corning's green products and resources, we are going to continue to make a difference in people's lives. Don Rettig, President, Owens Corning Foundation. HomeAid is among the nation's largest providers of housing for the suddenly homeless. At the heart of HomeAid's Shelter Development Program is the generosity and commitment of America's homebuilders, their trade contractors and their suppliers. HomeAid was founded in 1989 by representatives of the Orange County Chapter of the Building Industry Association of Southern California. Today, 22 years later, HomeAid has completed the new construction and major renovation of 275 shelter facilities for the homeless around the country. These facilities provide emergency housing and services for the transitionally homeless, and permanent supportive housing for longer-term residents. In addition, HomeAid conducts numerous community service efforts such as Essentials for Young Lives, Painting a Better Tomorrow and HomeAid Care, all programs offering volunteer services to homeless shelters and their residents. HomeAid's 18 chapters are located in major metropolitan areas in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Washington, DC. HomeAid's inventory of 275 homeless shelters totals 1,750,000 square feet of space and costs in excess of $175 million, nearly 50 percent of which was donated by the homebuilding industry. To date, more than 140,000 people have sheltered in HomeAid-built facilities to prepare themselves for the next chapter of their lives.
|
Email