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RTTB Events

  • January 14, 2012 MLK Day of Service This year RTTB participated in the MLK Day of Service by assisting a very deserving family in Sulphur Springs. Mr. Gastmann, a Naval Korean War veteran, has been living in the same home for 39 years. Three years ago a fire raged through his home and destroyed it, inside and out. With some doing and a grant that will have a lien on his home for the next 12 years, Mr. Gastmann was able to repair the interior. A heart condition and lack of funds have prevented him from being able to erase the signs of the tragedy from the outside of the home. read more
  • November 16, 2011 Home Depot and RTTB Team Up To Help A Vet Home Depot and RTTB are teaming up to celebrate Veterans Day by helping a Viet Nam veteran in Progress Village. On Tuesday and Wednesday, November 16 and 17, Home Depot employees and volunteers will descend on Mr. Danilo Acosta's home in Progress Village. We'll be making his home safer, healthier and more energy efficient. read more

RTTB News

  • January 14, 2012 RTTB Participates in the MLK Day of Service Every year Rebuilding Together and its local affiliates participate in the MLK Day of Service. This year with 45 volunteers from The Temple Synagogue in Atlanta, RTTB helped a Sulphur Springs resident and Naval Korean War veteran rid his home of the three year old damages a fire left on his home in 2009. Through the efforts of the volunteers, the home has been cleaned of any sign of fire damage on the exterior and the fence has been repaired and painted. The owner is unable to perform this type of maintenance on his home due to a heart condition. In one day, these volunteers changed the way the family looks at their home after such a long time. They can be proud of the house they call home, once again! read more
  • December 16, 2011 The Buccaneers Partner With RTTB To Help A Veteran Andreas Bernt and his family live in South Tampa. Mr. Bernt is a U.S. Air Force veteran where he served as Firefighter and Emergency Rescue Responder. In 2005, he contracted cancer which he survived but not without lasting symptoms. Mr. Bernt's spine was seriously weakened and he is no longer able to get around without the use of a wheelchair. read more
  • September 28, 2011 Carter Oosterhouse is visiting the Village! …Progress Village, that is! Carter Oosterhouse of HGTV fame has an organization, Carter's Kids Foundation, that is dedicated to a mission of keeping children healthy and active. Along with Lowes, Carter's Kids Foundation will be erecting a playground in SImmons Bowers Park in Progress Village. You can join the festivities on Wednesday, September 28th at 1pm for the ribbon cutting. Carter, representatives from Lowes, Rebuilding Together and their local affiliate, Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay and Commissioner Les Miller, Jr will be opening the new addition to the park and letting children from one of the local schools run in and start playing on their new playground equipment! read more

Feature Story January 14, 2012

MLK Day of Service, The Temple and Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay

Every year Rebuilding Together takes part in a day of service to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

From Rebuilding Together, “Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a National Day of Service and an opportunity for Americans to honor his legacy through community service. The MLK Day of Service provides the means in which to get involved. This National Day of Service is led by the Corporation for National and Community Service, with projects occurring across the country.”

This year we combined forces with The Temple group from Atlanta. From their website, “The Temple is Atlanta's oldest synagogue, founded in 1867. The Temple-Hebrew Benevolent Congregation is one of American Judaism's most famous religious institutions. Centrally located in the heart of Atlanta, The Temple prides itself in offering a diverse program of worship, learning, and social justice opportunities. We are a Reform congregation -- rooted in tradition, and blessed with a keen eye focused on the present and future needs of the Jewish people.” Every year they perform a Social Action project in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and this year they were back in Tampa.

The home chosen this year for our Day of Service project was for a resident in Sulphur Springs, the Gastmanns. Mr. Gastmann is a Korean War veteran who served in the Navy in the mid to late 1950’s. He has lived in his home in Sulphur Springs for 39 years. In 2009, the home was damaged by a fire and sustained in excess of $50,000 in damages.  He was able to obtain most of the funds to repair his home through personal savings and a grant, which required a lien to be placed upon his home for 12 year after which the lien will be forgiven.  The home’s exterior still needs to be pressure washed and painted.  In addition, there is some yard cleanup and fence repair to be done.  He is not able to do the work himself as he has had to undergo two heart stint operations and needs knee replacement surgery, which the doctors will not authorize, because of the condition of his heart.     

President Obama asked all of us to use Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a Day of Service to honor the legacy of him. Rebuilding Together uses that day as an annual project to assist a resident that otherwise would not be able to help him or herself.  Thanks to the efforts of forty-five 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th graders from Atlanta, Mr. and Mrs. Gastmann finally have a home that no longer shows signs of the fire that ravaged it three long years ago.  They left Tampa to go back to Atlanta on Saturday afternoon but they will never leave the hearts of the Gastmanns who are thankful for the help and grateful to finally have erased that tragedy from three years ago.

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  • The Buccaneers and RTTB Team Up To Help A Veteran

    Mark Dominick, GM of the Buccaneers, meets with Andreas and Brenda BerntAndreas Bernt and his family live in South Tampa. Mr. Bernt is a U.S. Air Force veteran where he served as Firefighter and Emergency Rescue Responder. In 2005, he contracted cancer which he survived but not without lasting symptoms.   Mr. Bernt's spine was seriously weakened and he is no longer able to get around without the use of a wheelchair.

    Mr. Bernt is no complainer and does more than many able bodied people do. On Friday, December 16, 2011, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers gave him one the best presents he has ever recieved. They donated $40,000 to get the Bernts' home remodeled to meet ADA standards. In the early part of next year, due to the generosity of the Buccaneer organization along with Roger Schatzel of Top Dog Contracting,  Joyce Knarr of Diversified Design Consultants and Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay, Mr. Bernt will be able to get around his home without help from anyone else.

     

     

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  • Mike Ryan, Scott Paint and the Spirit of the Holidays!


    Scott Paint

    During the year we hear many stories in the news, the paper and on the radio about what’s wrong in our community and the people who live in it.  It’s nice to hear a story about what’s right in our community and the people who live in it. We have such a story like that to tell you. 

    About a month ago, RTTB and many volunteers were painting homes in Progress Village. Due to the enthusiasm of one group, a part of a driveway and front porch were splattered with paint.  This left the home incomplete and obviously needing additional attention.

     

    Enter Mike Ryan of Scott Paint. This past weekend with out fanfare, press releases or attention from anyone, Mike spent his Sunday painting that same driveway and front porch without any help from anyone else.

     

     

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Keeping Progress in the Village Keeping Progress in the Village

Keeping Progress in the Village

Since March 31, 2011 RTTB has been in Progress Village addressing 43 home renovation projects and several energy-efficient upgrades!

Residential.Rehab.Repair Hillsborough Residential.Rehab.Repair Hillsborough

Residential.Rehab.Repair Hillsborough

Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay will be embarking on an ambitious project to revitalize incorporated Hillsborough County residences.It is currently scheduled to begin in October of this year after final approval from the RTTB Board of Directors.

Healthy Homes for Sulphur Springs Healthy Homes for Sulphur Springs

Healthy Homes for Sulphur Springs

RTTB will be tackling a new project right in it's own backyard of Sulphur Springs, Florida. This project will be addressing homes in need of rehab to make them safe and healthy for families to live in.

Rebuilding Together South St. Pete Rebuilding Together South St. Pete

Rebuilding Together South St. Pete

Toward the end of 2011, beginning of 2012, and with the approval of the RTTB Board of Directors, RTTB will begin working in and around South St. Petersburg.

Local RTTB Headquarters Local RTTB Headquarters

Local RTTB Headquarters

This is a project that will allow us at RTTB to be more productive, efficient and make a bigger difference in our community. We have been given a building that has become our warehouse and after some build out will also become our permanent headquarters. The building still requires much work and retrofitting before we can get into it. This is where volunteers, sponsors and donations come into play. With your help, we can make this dream come true…remember, it's not just for us but also for all the local communities we work in and with.