On National Rebuilding Day this past April 29th, three local Dutchess County homeowners received critical home repairs and/or accessibility modifications at no cost to them through Rebuilding Together Dutchess County’s (RTDC) Rebuilding Day program. With the support of volunteers from four local organizations and businesses, and the generous donation of in-kind materials and services from five local businesses RTDC was able to make a positive difference within our community.
Approximately 100 community volunteers, RTDC staff and board members, elected officials, and Darcy McCourt, Executive Director of RTDC, were present. “We are privileged to make this day happen each year,” she explained. “The homeowners and families are so appreciative and honored by the volunteers’ attention and service to them and their homes.”
The teams who lead the projects on site were the Arlington Teachers’ Association, Central Hudson Gas & Electric, Poughquag United Methodist Church, and the United Methodist Church of Hyde Park. Other supporters who made the day possible with their generosity included: Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, Dutchess County, Dyson Foundation, Forrest Green Landscaping, Herring Sanitation Service, KeyBank Foundation, Lyndsey Roofing, Lowe’s, MJK Solutions, Recycle Depot, Veith Electric, Wells Fargo Charitable Foundation, and Williams Lumber.
Rebuilding Together Dutchess County provided roughly 70 different critical home repairs across the three projects on April 29th. The local recipients included Elizabeth, an 84-year-old widow of a veteran, who has lived in her Poughkeepsie home for 56 years. She expressed great gratitude for the work RTDC, the Central Hudson volunteer team and all their supporters managed to complete during the day. “They are doing an amazing job in making my home safe and healthy for me, even with the rain,” she exclaimed. Repairs included installation of grab bars in the bathtub; repairs to flooring in the basement; painting of the foundation; the installation of basement window well coverings; and power washing. “It makes me feel happy that these repairs and modifications are being made. She will be safe and healthy and that is priceless, absolutely priceless,” her daughter Deborah concluded.
Other project sites that day included the home of Janet who has lived in her Wappingers Falls home for 50 years and the home of Ann, a 90-year-old widow of a veteran, who has lived in her Poughkeepsie home for 57 years. All three homeowners served on National Rebuilding Day have a desire to remain in their home independently for as long as possible. RTDC’s Rebuilding Day program enables qualified low-income homeowners the ability to live in a safe and healthy home. Without such assistance, many of the homeowners RTDC serves would be forced to leave their homes or continue to be cost burdened by the needed critical home, safety and accessibility repairs.
The open application period for the RTDC home repair program runs from June through August. Applications received during this time are considered for service in 2024. For more details, call (845) 454-7310 or visit www.rebuildingtogetherdutchess.org.