On the Level, March 2008
By Mike Arnett, 2009 HBA President

Download PDF
Back to Media List

HBF: Our link to doing good things

A few years ago, a Washington County Housing Services official called to invite me to bid on a home repair project for a low-income homeowner. Her description of the bathroom rehab wasn’t very glamorous, but I was curious about what kind of markup this work could have.

I made the appointment to visit the site and was greeted at the door by an elderly woman in a worn robe. Her husband, bound to a wheel chair, sat in the living room, pulling air from an oxygen tank. The one bathroom was only steps away, but it may as well been countries away. The tile floor sagged under the weight of the pedestal sink, the faucet leaked and the toilet was busted. I don’t know how or why it fell into third-world status, but the current owners had little resources to fix it.

It didn’t take me long to understand that I had the resources, however, to repair the bathroom…and at no cost to the couple. Two phone calls later, the repairs would be made in one week, and the old woman cried when I told her there would be no charge. Driving away from her house, I felt great, valuable and humbled. I thought I should be giving like this once a year, at least. But work and life and stuff got in the way, and my phone never rang like that for me again, as if it was divine instruction. Given how busy I was, I didn’t go out of my way to find it.

Thank goodness for the Home Builders Foundation. It’s now my link to doing good things. In a variety of ways, made easy and convenient because of the Foundation’s relationship with the HBA, I don’t go far to find ways to make my connections and resources work for those who could really use them.

On the bottom of this page is an advertisement for the HBF’s annual auction April 5. This year’s event, dubbed “The Journey Home,” will no doubt be a great success and an evening you won’t want to miss. I attend this event every year, and I encourage every HBA member to attend.

Sure, there’s excellent food, good company and spirited competition for some great auction prizes. Last year’s dinner and auction was host to a soldout crowd of more than 300, who together brought in over $175,000 to help fund the Foundation’s programs and projects in our community. The money raised goes to help people in our community that really need the help.

The Foundation’s goal is to be the charity of choice for all HBA members. It was started more than a decade ago on a simple premise: Our members provide housing, one of the most essential elements of a community. And our members are, by our nature, a charitable bunch. Whether it’s a local little league team or cancer research, the individuals who make up the HBA’s membership are actively involved in making our communities better places to live and work.

The Foundation focuses that energy by bringing the industry’s talents and generosity to address community challenges. If you haven’t yet been introduced to the Foundation and what it does, here are some examples:

Painting a Better Tomorrow: Each summer, the Foundation assembles teams of workers who donate time and materials to do painting and light carpentry projects at local shelters around the area. The shelters provide critical support for thousands of our most vulnerable residents, but these operations often find themselves in need of repair without budgets to address things like worn staircases, leaky roofs or worn wall coverings. Last year, more than 300 volunteers worked at more than 20 shelters. This program makes a huge difference in the lives of people who need it.

HomeAid: Portland’s chapter of this national program works with specific shelters on large-scale construction and remodeling projects that increase or improve bed space at area shelters.

Many people don’t know that there are more than 25 shelter facilities operating in the Portland Metro area. I’m not talking about the local mission, where homeless folks get a hot dinner and an overnight stay. These shelters offer refuge and hope for women and children – your neighbors and mine – who are the victims of abuse. Many have unpublished addresses. While their work is hugely important to helping people recover their lives, their operations are mostly out of the public spotlight to help protect people they serve.

Scholarships: The Foundation works to promote tomorrow’s generation of builders by offering scholarships for those who are getting an education in the building trades.

The HBF leverages what we do best – residential construction – to improve areas of the community that need us most but can’t afford it. There are plenty of great charities out there. Some are making the world better one home owner at a time. Our Foundation supports short-term shelter for future homeowners around the community.

And the annual auction is the primary fundraising event to fuel all this great work. So, come for the chance to bid on great prizes like a two-night luxury stay in Bend, an enticing Hawaiian getaway, or a Sonoma wine tour with lush weekend accommodations. Come for an evening of laughs with your friends and associates in the home building community. Or come because you know that the effort will help us do good things in the community. Whatever the reason, I look forward to seeing you downtown on April 5.

Back to top
Back to Media List It will define your family's tastes