[West Tampa, February 18, 2009] – Super Bowl came and went a little over two weeks ago, yet one West Tampa neighborhood is still feeling its effects and will continue doing so for generations to come.

On Friday, January 30, over 1,000 volunteers from more than fifty corporations and organizations made needed repairs to 20 homes in a Historic Old West Tampa.  A five-block historic neighborhood was selected by Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay to hold its Kickoff to Rebuild, an NFL sanctioned event for the recent Super Bowl that included home repairs, residential and street landscaping, traffic flow improvements and the beautification of Howard and Armenia Avenues between I-275 and Columbus.

Despite economic downturn companies and volunteers came together to contribute to the revitalization of this historic community. The event focused on home rehabilitation and restoration. Repairs ranged from exterior landscaping and painting to extensive roofing, plumbing, electrical, structural repairs including the complete demolition and rebuild of a new home. Homes were made more energy efficient including the installation of several new windows and new appliances. All repairs were at no cost to the homeowners.

Investment Value of Kickoff to Rebuild

Kickoff to Rebuild was a significant community revitalization project that represents an investment of over $600,000 dollars market value into the revitalization of this historic Old West Tampa neighborhood (market value is determined by the sum of donated building materials, appliances, labor and other goods and services provided at discount or no cost.) This project brought over 1,500 volunteers to West Tampa throughout the month of January, with an army of 1,000 volunteers on January 30, 2009 alone. This project was the largest of all Kickoff to Rebuild events held in the 14-year partnership between Rebuilding Together and the NFL to hold this event in a Super Bowl host city. The magnitude of the project attracted much media attention, which resulted in over $5,000,000 in media coverage. Fox 13, reporting live from the event achieved higher ratings than NBC’s morning show, which aired at the same time

Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay is a nonprofit organization, which provides home repair services to low-income families, the elderly, military veterans and their families, and persons with disabilities in the Tampa Bay Area. The focus of Rebuilding Together’s work is to make homes safer, healthier and more energy efficient for their owners. Rebuilding Together provides an array of home rehabilitation services including emergency services, home repairs, home improvements, weatherproofing and barrier removal. To make a donation, get involved, or learn more about Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay please visit us online at www.rttb.org or call 813-878-9000.

CONTACT: For more information about Rebuilding Together or Kickoff to Rebuild or to interview persons mentioned in this press release, please contact RTTB at 813-878-9000.