(Tampa – January 22, 2009) On January 30, 2009, 1,500 volunteers from more than 50 corporations and organizations will bring about needed repairs to 20 homes in Historic Old West Tampa. Repairs will range from exterior landscaping to the complete demolition and rebuild of a new home. All repairs will be free to the homeowners. Several NFL players, state and local officials will join Rebuilding Together and volunteers for this project.

Carmen Gonzalez’ home at 2310 Walnut Street, is one of the homes in need of extensive repairs. Ms. Gonzalez, age 84, has lived in this home since she was 2 years old, and she shares this 101-year-old home with her daughter Margaret, granddaughter Elicia, and Elicia’s three young children. As the family matriarch, she inherited the home and feels it is her responsibility to preserve her family’s traditions and the history of the home, which is her most valued possession. The age of the home has presented extensive upkeep and repairs, which Ms. Gonzalez has been unable to afford.

The home is sponsored and adopted by Honeywell and the Hispanic Professional Women’s Association. The home needs repairs throughout and the goal is to make this home safer and more energy efficient for the Gonzalez Family to enjoy for years and generations to come. Volunteers from both organizations will be working on the home on January 17, 24, and 30.

Marcia Pita, President of the Hispanic Professional Women’s Association, said, "This project is a wonderful way to give back to the community. We selected this home because we made an immediate connect with Mrs. Gonzalez and her plight to keep her family together under one solid roof. The HPWA is glad to be a part of this special Super Bowl Project.”

For more information about Kickoff to Rebuild or to interview persons mentioned in this press release, please contact Olga Gonzalez at 813-842-4306 or via email at ogonzalez@rttb.org.

REBUILDING TOGETHER TAMPA BAY
Rebuilding Together, the nation's leading non-profit organization preserving affordable homeownership, will celebrate the 14th Annual Kickoff to Rebuild, an NFL-sanctioned event for Super Bowl, on January 30, 2009. This block party project will be a day of rehabilitation and renewal for local homeowners who do not have the means or ability to make the repairs themselves.

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. For more information, please visit Rebuilding Together Tampa Bay at www.rttb.org.