Uncategorized – Rebuilding Together

Jon Armstrong Retires from RT-AFF

February 11, 2026

Jon Armstrong’s life of adventure, enterprise and resourcefulness has blended strenuous blue-collar labor with street-smart real estate investing and development.

Jon’s unique combination of skills and experience has helped countless homeowners in Northern Virginia during his seven years as Rebuilding Together-AFF’s Director of Programs. He retired in December 2025.

Born in Montreal, Jon’s family lived in Hamilton and Waterdown, Ont., and Vancouver, B.C., before settling in Toronto when he was a teenager. His father, a salesman for a variety of companies, began buying properties and developing small shopping centers and commercial buildings.

While studying for a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Queens University in Kingston, Ont., Jon worked summer jobs as a miner in Northern Ontario, drilling a mile underground for iron ore with a “jackleg”—a jackhammer operated horizontally while propped up on a hydraulic leg. He loved the grueling physical labor, which paid well and funded his college expenses.

By his senior year, he was already demonstrating a talent for real estate investing in the planned community of Don Mills being developed near Toronto. With a small downpayment of $3,000-$4,000 and his father’s guarantee on the mortgage, Jon bought planned townhouses pre-construction and resold them before completion, making “a handsome return every time.”

After graduating in 1971, Jon worked another year in the mines before four years working for a management consulting firm, helping Ontario municipal governments manage road construction and maintenance projects. That was followed by a year doing public relations work for a French company mining uranium in northern Saskatchewan.

Jon acquired his real estate license and started buying houses to convert into rental triplexes or fourplexes, using subcontractors for remodeling and construction. When a friend persuaded him to build an addition on his house, the project led to more clients and Jon became a general contractor, specializing in commercial interiors for stores, offices, restaurants and other businesses.

A continental shift

In 1993, in his mid-40s, Jon got restless for new challenges. A friend who had moved to Costa Rica suggested he consider that country. After visiting and researching the country with the help of its business development agency, Jon and his family, with two children then 6 and 8, moved to San Jose.

Within a year, Jon had bought a property large enough to subdivide and build houses. When using subcontractors proved to be unreliable, he hired his own tradesmen, often employing up to 60 workers. Over 24 years, he built more than 65 homes.

In 2017, his wife Abby’s job with Amazon Web Services brought them back to the states, settling in Arlington, Va. Then 68, Jon assumed he was retired but quickly got bored. After meeting a former board member of RT-AFF, Allen Schirmer, he started volunteering for home repair projects. In January 2019, he was hired full-time to replace the retiring director of programs.

With RT-AFF Project Repair Coordinator Fritz Sturz, Jon assessed houses needing major repairs and matched them with corporate and church partners. He helped to schedule, plan and equip their teams of volunteers to work on annual National Rebuilding Day in April and other days throughout the year. In addition to homeowners, beneficiaries include some nonprofit agencies such as Hartwood Foundation, which operates residential services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Leaving a legacy, looking ahead

Although he had served on a couple charity boards in Toronto, working with RT-AFF “is in many ways the first time I’ve really seriously given back with my time,” said Jon. “It’s hugely impacting.”

Jon encourages others to volunteer with Rebuilding Together, which has affiliates nationwide. If you lack DIY skills, “they’ll put you with a skilled volunteer who love to teach how to put in a handrail or install a grab bar,” he said. “You can pick your projects, most of which are only a half day.”

And a bonus is “the camaraderie—you meet some very interesting people. You never know who you’re standing beside—there are volunteers with some pretty impressive resumes.”

Now retired for a second time, Jon and Abby moved to North Vancouver to live near their daughter Maddy, a solutions architect for a software consulting firm. Their son Austin works in technology sales in London, England.

Jon’s looking forward to hiking, biking and taking up pickleball. And—not surprisingly—he’ll be hiring contractors to renovate the home they purchased.

Volunteers Build a Lifeline: A Ramp That Makes Home Safe Again

February 11, 2026

The front steps of Ms. C’s mobile home in Alexandria were rotting beneath her feet. With limited mobility, she climbed them carefully, afraid of falling. Then her adult daughter moved back home after developing a serious medical condition that required frequent hospital visits and caused severe dizzy spells. Suddenly, both mother and daughter urgently needed a safer way to get in and out of their home—one that would meet their needs now and in the future.

Ms. C and her daughter called Rebuilding Together–AFF to ask whether we build wheelchair ramps. We did—and even better, we had a donated 40-foot aluminum ramp and rails in our storeroom that could work for their home. A site visit by staff and volunteers confirmed the property could accommodate an ADA-compliant ramp.

But this project was anything but simple. Because of the height of the mobile home’s front door, replacing the failing steps with a sturdy platform and new steps required a building permit. An air conditioning compressor in the yard further complicated the platform’s design.

Our staff and volunteers mobilized quickly. A new volunteer with CAD expertise created the site plan and initial drawings, while another volunteer with decades of experience navigating permits and inspections developed multiple versions of the plans for county review. Approval to use the existing concrete slab for three of the platform’s posts required a professional engineer’s load calculations. Thanks to our past board chair Scott Brideau, we secured this $1,000 analysis pro bono.

Additional hurdles remained. Gaining approval from Fairfax County for the twelve ramp posts to rest on footpads and pavers, rather than traditional concrete footers, required close coordination with the ramp manufacturer and ongoing communication throughout the permitting process. When the permit was approved, it marked a major milestone and a moment of celebration for our entire team.

We took full advantage of unseasonably warm days in early January. Over five workdays, volunteers dug three footers, built the platform and steps, assembled the ramp and rails, and passed county inspections for footers, framing, and final approval. In total, fifteen volunteers contributed 169 hours to make this ramp a reality. Special thanks to Bill Marshall, Marvin Greenberg, Jim Dillon, and Lou Wood for leading the design and construction and supporting our staff throughout the project.

Today, Ms. C and her daughter can safely come and go from their home with confidence. And our work isn’t finished. Once the snow melts, another Rebuilding Together–AFF team will return to repair a fallen gutter and downspout and complete additional health and safety repairs inside their home.

Ramp under construction

completed ramp

Team Leader Profile – David Throckmorton

February 9, 2026

Aerospace Engineer Brings Skills Down to Earth

Repairing homes isn’t rocket science, but Rebuilding Together-AFF Team Leader David Throckmorton has made good use of his aerospace career.

Inspired by the Apollo moon missions while growing up in Richmond and Charlottesville, Va., David majored in aerospace engineering at Virginia Tech and later earned a master’s in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins.

As a civilian employee of the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command and the Defense Department’s Missile Defense Agency, David worked on developing the F-35 and F-18 fighter jets and advanced GPS-guided bombs. As a systems integrator, he worked with defense contractors’ mechanical and electrical engineers to ensure that the jets, their weapons and other components worked smoothly together.

Later as a program manager for the Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, he worked with contractors developing ground vibration sensors for border areas that could distinguish between human and animal footsteps.

The experience managing complex projects has served David well since becoming an RT-AFF Team Leader in 2024. Team leaders do assessments of needed repairs at clients’ homes, prepare work plans, assemble needed supplies and tools, and supervise a team’s work. In 2025, David took on additional responsibilities assessing homes needing stairlifts, scheduling the work, and managing installations with Lou Wood, an RT-AFF volunteer who refurbishes donated stairlifts.

Wide-ranging volunteering

Since retiring in 2016, David has volunteered for a diverse variety of community services in addition to RT-AFF.

“After retirement, I wanted to do things with my hands and things that challenged my brain,” he says. That desire led to serving four years on a backup call center for the national suicide hotline—staffing an early morning shift on Tuesdays—and one year with the Fairfax County domestic violence hotline. He also tutored students at the Fairfax County Adult High School.

David has volunteered for eight years teaching computer skills for Northern Virginia Family Services Training Futures, which provides office skills and career training. And he helps his wife Debbie, who co-manages a food pantry at St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Annandale.

David’s many volunteer activities earned him a 2024 Privilege Award for Outstanding Community Service from the Bernie L. Bates Foundation. The awards recognize Fairfax citizens who embody the values of the late Marion “Barney” Barnwell, a longtime RT-AFF board member and volunteer with many other Northern Virginia nonprofits

Like many RT-AFF volunteers, David acquired do-it-yourself skills working on his home—an Alexandria, Va., condo where he remodeled the kitchen and bathroom. He first volunteered for the Alexandria Rebuilding Together chapter, then transferred to RT-AFF in 2021 when the Alexandria chapter paused operations during the Covid pandemic.

What initially attracted David to Rebuilding Together was “doing hands-on stuff, but the other part of it was I get to do things for folks my parents’ age that I can’t do for them because they live 100 miles away.”

Removing trip hazards on stairs, porches and decks are among the most useful repairs made for clients, he says. “It’s amazing to me how much a second handrail [on stairs] means to people. I’ve done it for my sister-in-law and parents. I recommend to anybody: Before you start thinking about moving, put in a second handrail.” Stairlifts are also impactful, especially in older Arlington homes where the bathroom is upstairs.

What David finds most gratifying about volunteering for RT-AFF is “the homeowners’ thank-you’s at the end. The folks we help cannot really afford these improvements and are just so appreciative of everything we do.

“It’s enjoyable just to be out with the team of people. You get to learn some stuff, and you get to help somebody.”

three photos of David working

Links:

Behind the Scenes with Lou Wood – RT-AFF Stair Lift Expert

https://rebuildingtogether-aff.org/behind-the-scenes-with-lou-wood-rt-aff-stair-lift-expert/

Fairfax County Adult High School

https://www.fcps.edu/academics/alternative-and-nontraditional-schools/fairfax-county-adult-high-school

Northern Virginia Family Services Training Futures

https://www.nvfs.org/assistance/training-futures

St. Matthew’s Ken Jackson Food Closet

https://www.stmatthewsumc.org/mission

The 3rd Annual Privilege Awards and Community Recognition Celebration

https://www.blbinc.org/post/the-3rd-annual-privilege-awards-and-community-recognition-celebration

2025 Year in Review

January 14, 2026

As we begin 2026, we’re taking a moment to look back on the progress, partnerships, and people that shaped our work throughout 2025. Our 2025 Year in Review captures the milestones we reached together and the impact made possible through the collective efforts of our community. We’re proud to share this with you—stories and data that reflect not only what we accomplished, but why it matters as we move forward.

Team Leader Profile – Ken Mittelholtz

November 3, 2025

Ken Mittelholtz

Public Service Is Deeply Ingrained in Ken Mittelholtz

Commitment to public service is deep-rooted in Ken Mittelholtz. The long-time Rebuilding Together team leader has put his altruism to work as a teacher, a two-time Peace Corps volunteer, and a federal employee for the U.S. Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency.

Ken credits much of his public spirit to his parents. His father worked in education and management roles for the Bureau of Indian Affairs while raising Ken and his brother in New Mexico, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota. “My dad was by far the biggest one that influenced me in terms of helping others. And that probably got me also heavily involved in public service.”

After graduating from Bemidji State University in Minnesota in 1967 with a degree in chemistry, Ken taught science in high school for several years. He joined the Peace Corps in the early 1970s, teaching science in junior and secondary schools in the Republic of The Gambia, an English-speaking former British colony.

Ken then taught science in a private school in Maryland for four years before returning to The Gambia for another two years with the Peace Corps, this time working in the attorney general’s office on environmental legislation to protect wildlife.

It takes a village

The Peace Corps left a deep impression on Ken. “You learn more about them than they do about you. You’re enmeshed in the culture and you really do learn the issues that they’re facing,” he says. “Anybody who has come back from the Peace Corps gets involved with service stuff back here.”

Ken notes that “everybody wants to be part of a village [and] have people come and help you. But to be part of a village, you also need to be a villager. You need to do things.”

The Peace Corps was followed by an environmental job with the Coast Guard, issuing permits for bridges. In 1984 he moved to the EPA, doing environmental reviews of roads, airports, military and other federal construction projects until retiring in 2010.

When he worked for the government, people would often tell Ken he could earn more as a consultant. But he always felt that “it’s important for us to do these types of things. The public service has always been kind of important to me.”

In the 1980s Ken began volunteering with Annandale Christian Community for Action, a group of 21 churches in the Annandale area. ACCA sponsors a variety of food pantry, daycare, furniture donation, financial aid, transportation and other programs for Northern Virginia families, as well as partnering with Rebuilding Together.

Ken’s wife Camille and their two daughters are also longtime volunteers with ACCA. Both have served as presidents, and the couple was honored with the Volunteer Fairfax Community Champion award in 2013.

Helping people age in place

Unlike some Rebuilding Together team leaders with engineering and construction backgrounds, Ken’s do-it-yourself skills are mostly self-taught from working on his previous and current homes.

His first project was in 1994 when ACCA sponsored teams to repair two houses on National Rebuilding Day for the nonprofit, then called Christmas in April. He has continued every year since, stepping up his involvement when the organization began repairing homes year-round.

He lauds the nonprofit as ”a very neat program of helping people stay in their homes. As we get older now, it rings true a little bit more of trying to stay in your home for a longer period of time.”

Many elderly clients, he notes, are “house rich and money poor. They’re living on Social Security and don’t have enough money to do any of the maintenance” and are unable to do repairs themselves.

He cites installing grab bars in bathrooms and adding a second handrail to stairways as among the most useful improvements commonly made. He believes grab bars could eventually be required by building codes because “you don’t have to be old to slip in the tub and fall.”

Ken enjoys the camaraderie of working with other volunteers “as we all have this kind of commitment of helping people” to stay in and enjoy their homes.

He tells potential volunteers: “You’ll get a big benefit from it. I think you’ll feel good. It’s a neat feeling of helping people out.”

Links:

County Residents Ken and Camille Mittelholtz Named Community Champions

https://patch.com/virginia/annandale/an–county-residents-ken-and-camille-mittelholtz-nameb0521a1c1e

Annandale Christian Community Action Service Programs

https://accacares.org/service-programs

Volunteer Profiles are a continuing series celebrating the dedicated Rebuilding Together Team Leaders and volunteers, who come from all walks of life—engineering, construction, government, diplomacy, the military, and more.

The profiles are written by Leon Rubis, a retired journalist and editor who started volunteering with us in 2021. A long-time DIYer, Leon says, “I thought I knew a lot, but I’ve learned so much more from working alongside our experienced teams. Every project feels like an episode of This Old House.”

In addition to making repairs and modifications with us as part of the RT Express program, Leon is now using his writing skills to spotlight the amazing people who make our work possible.

Team Leader and Volunteer Profiles

August 11, 2025

Welcome to our new series celebrating the dedicated Rebuilding Together Team Leaders and volunteers, who come from all walks of life—engineering, construction, government, diplomacy, the military, and more.

The profiles are written by Leon Rubis (pictured at right), a retired journalist and editor who started volunteering with us in 2021. A long-time DIYer, Leon says, “I thought I knew a lot, but I’ve learned so much more from working alongside our experienced teams. Every project feels like an episode of This Old House.”

In addition to making repairs and modifications with us as part of the RT Express program, Leon is now using his writing skills to spotlight the amazing people who make our work possible.

Team Leader Profile – Jim Dillon

Jim Applies Do-it-Yourself Skills to Volunteering

When people need help, Jim Dillon doesn’t wait for nonprofit agencies to organize a response. The long-time Rebuilding Together volunteer often jumps in on his own.

After Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast in 2005, Jim leaped into action—ultimately making six trips to Mississippi and New Orleans to repair damaged homes.

He first helped a family friend in Bay St. Louis, Miss., whose two brothers’ low-lying homes were flooded. Jim and a friend stayed for three weeks in another damaged house owned by a sister while repairing it and other homes.

That led to volunteering for a small Catholic church in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward. Many of the parishioners had left their flooded homes, leading the pastor to fund home repairs and recruit volunteer workers “just so we can bring people back to his parish.” Jim and other volunteers stayed on the second floor of the church school. “They found houses for you to work on during the day, and just gave you an address, [saying] go on over and help these folks as best you can.”

All in the family

Jim, raised in Hamburg, N.Y., perhaps inherited some mechanical talent along with a desire to help others. His father was a civil engineer and two older brothers also became civil and mechanical engineers. A sister became a missionary with the Maryknoll nuns and has “traveled all over the world doing all kinds of good things for all kinds of different folks.”

Jim graduated from the University of Buffalo in 1971 with a mechanical engineering degree. He moved to Northern Virginia for a civilian job with a U.S. Army research and development center at Fort Belvoir until retiring in 2003.

Jim initially wrote specifications for construction equipment the Army purchased, and later designed vehicles and systems that could clear land mines. Other work involved retrofitting vehicles like Humvees and cargo trucks with mine blast protection such as deflectors, seats that absorb blast impacts, fragment-resistant floor mats, and extra seat restraints.

Despite his independent self-starter streak, Jim has volunteered with a variety of nonprofit service organizations.

He started working for Rebuilding Together’s predecessor, Christmas in April, after seeing a television news report about one of its local repair projects in 1994 and thinking “Wow, that’s pretty cool. I’d like to do that.”

In 1996, Jim also started working with the Catholic Diocese of Arlington’s Work Camp summer program, in which high-school-age parishioners stay for a week at a school in Virginia while working on repairs for local homeowners referred by local governments, churches and word-of-mouth.

“We started working on maybe a couple of dozen houses during the mid ‘90s. And over the years that has grown to maybe 800 kids working on over 100 homes for four days.”

The teens are accompanied by adult chaperones and “contractors” like Jim who provide technical training and supervision to the work crews. “I hand them all the tools and show them how to do it. And then I watch them for a while and if they feel comfortable with it—go for it.”

A Travellin’ Van

Even with Work Camp, Jim has independently extended his efforts beyond the organized summer program.

He and others visit and evaluate houses in the fall to work on next June. But “when you go into a house and see that the hot water heater’s leaking or the furnace doesn’t work, well, you can’t just tell the family, ‘I’ll be back in six months to help you’—they need it right now. So [with] a few friends of mine that I met at Rebuilding Together, we volunteered our time to go out and do some of these projects ahead of time.

“And then, like with Rebuilding Together, once you get into these projects and sometimes you can’t finish them during the day, you may have to go back a time or two after that. And that was the same thing with summer camp with the high school kids. You got to go back the next week or the next month and try to finish off all the projects.”

Such dedication prompted Jim to buy himself a retirement gift in 2004—a 2003 Chevrolet van that serves as a traveling hardware store. “I learned from summer camp that when you work far away from the local hardware store, you try to bring as much of the stuff as you can.” Jim’s wife Joan, who was supportive of his sometimes lengthy volunteer trips, first saw the van for sale and encouraged him to buy it.

One of Jim’s most challenging projects with Rebuilding Together was a small condemned house it renovated in 2017 in Fairfax City. Foundation leaks from rain and plumbing led to termite infestations and structural deterioration making the house uninhabitable. Rebuilding Together volunteers worked more than 2,400 hours on the house—1,000 of them by Jim—aided by volunteers, funding and supplies from many other local nonprofits, government agencies and contractors. While Jim credits “a whole team effort for all the different things that needed to be done in the house,” his own contributions earned him the 2018 Senior Volunteer award from Volunteer Fairfax.

A Job For Everyone

Jim emphasizes that you don’t need extensive knowledge or tools to volunteer for Rebuilding Together. He encourages amateur handymen and women at all skill levels to volunteer and learn on the job. “There are always projects, parts of a task that can be done by people who have little or no skills. So, don’t be afraid that you don’t know how to do all these things.”

Even with Jim’s extensive background, “Every project I work on is a learning experience, whether it’s the technical aspects or just dealing with different groups of individuals.”

Jim enjoys the “challenge of going into different situations and being able to finish it all in a relatively short amount of time.” And he appreciates that Rebuilding Together offers flexible scheduling and local opportunities. “One thing that made it attractive for me was that these are my neighbors that I drive by quite frequently. You’re helping your local neighbors.”

Links:

Catholic Diocese of Arlington Work Camp

Nonprofit welcomes Fairfax City resident back home

Love Your Neighbor Made Manifest – Community Rebuilds Fairfax Home

‘Celebrating the Magic of Giving Back’ in Fairfax County

Bill Marshall’s Impact at Rebuilding Together AFF

February 6, 2025

After retiring from a successful home-building career, Bill Marshall was eager for a new way to channel his energy and expertise. He found the perfect fit with Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church (RT-AFF) through Volunteer Arlington and quickly became a dedicated member of our Rebuilding Together Express (RT Express) program. Bill’s extensive background in construction and business management made an immediate difference and he became an active member of our Board of Directors as well as Chair of the Program Committee. During his six-year tenure on the Board, he played a vital role in shaping RT-AFF’s repair and modification initiatives.

“Bill was instrumental in leading RT-AFF’s repair program through the pandemic,” said Executive Director Patti Klein. “He worked in partnership with staff to develop a solid plan to implement COVID safety protocols, allowing a small group of our most experienced RT Express volunteers to continue making critical home repairs for those in need.”

Beyond his leadership on the board, Bill has worked on more than 120 homes, improving the lives of countless neighbors. He has also designed and led teams in building more than 15 wheelchair ramps—one of the most transformative modifications for homeowners with mobility challenges.

Bill was especially touched by a project he led in Arlington, where a team of volunteers modified a bathroom in a small home to make it fully accessible for twins with disabilities. This transformation gave them the independence to use the bathroom on their own as they grew into their teen years.

Reflecting on his service, Bill shared, “I am grateful for my time on the RT-AFF board. My experience running my own construction business and serving on other boards allowed me to contribute meaningfully. The Jesuits in high school instilled in me the belief that we should be ‘men (and women) for others,’ and I’m proud to uphold that value with this incredible organization.”

Though stepping down from the board, Bill remains deeply committed to RT-AFF’s mission. As an RT Express team leader, he’s continuing to roll up his sleeves to help homeowners in need. “It’s amazing what a small group of volunteers can accomplish in just a few hours with a few hundred dollars in materials,” he said. “I’m constantly impressed by the impact we make, the camaraderie we share, and the dedication of everyone involved.”

We are incredibly grateful for Bill’s leadership and ongoing contributions. His work continues to make a lasting difference, and we look forward to seeing him in action with our RT Express program for years to come.

Celebrating our 500th Rebuilding Together Express Project

February 6, 2025

Rebuilding Together-AFF recently celebrated the completion of its 500th RT Express project, a significant milestone for a program that now makes up two-thirds of our total work. The steady need for repairs within our standard RT Express service list has not only allowed us to assist more homeowners but has also helped us build a dedicated base of individual volunteers. These volunteers contribute regularly and continually hone their skills, becoming highly proficient in delivering our most common repairs.

In 2014, we faced a pressing challenge: many homeowners in need of minor repairs and safety modifications couldn’t wait months for National Rebuilding Day or for a match with a corporate team. Recognizing the urgency, we used seed funding from The Falls Church Episcopal to develop a faster, more efficient solution. With additional support from the Northern Virginia Health Foundation, we defined, tested, and refined what became Rebuilding Together Express (RT Express)—a program designed to deliver essential health and safety repairs and accessibility modifications for people with disabilities and older people who want to age in place.

How RT Express Works:

Small teams of 4-5 volunteers dedicate 4-5 hours and about $400-$500 in materials to provide a range of approximately 40 common home modifications and repairs. These repairs are tailored to each homeowner’s needs and based on a thorough assessment of the home. RT Express enables Rebuilding Together-AFF to respond more quickly to homeowners facing urgent risks, such as falls or other safety concerns.

The Key to Success: Volunteer Team Leaders

Our volunteer team leaders are the cornerstone of RT Express. They:

Conduct home assessments with staff.
Develop realistic scopes of work.
Purchase materials and assemble tools.
Coordinate repairs while ensuring safety for both homeowners and volunteers.
Track project outcomes.

After years of relying on six dedicated team leaders, we expanded their ranks to 10 in early 2024, ensuring we can meet growing demand. Our Team Leaders are pictured above.

Recognition and Growth:

In 2018, RT-AFF earned the Commonwealth Council on Aging’s top statewide Best Practices Award for RT Express. Since then, we’ve expanded the program to include additional services such as installing stairlifts and building wheelchair ramps.

Our volunteers describe RT Express projects as deeply fulfilling, while the homeowners we serve express their gratitude with heartfelt hugs and words of appreciation.

Multi-year sponsorships by West Financial Services and Sandy Spring Bank have sustained RT Express and supported its steady growth.

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Bard teaching Chloe how to install a wired smoke/co alarm

Don, Bob and Mrs. W with her new railing

2024 in Review

January 2, 2025

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our incredible volunteers, partners, and donors for making our 2024 fiscal year a resounding success. Together, we are building safer, more affordable, and thriving communities for neighbors in need.

In FY2023, our volunteers contributed an astounding 6,200 hours to complete 117 projects, benefiting 176 individuals living in 110 homes and supporting six non-profit housing organizations. The value of this donated labor amounts to $361,800.

Remarkably, 93% of the households we assisted qualify as Very Low or Extremely Low income—families, older adults and people with disabilities who could never afford these essential repairs and modifications without your support.

We couldn’t achieve this impact without you. Take a moment to explore our Year in Review and see how your contributions—whether time, funds, or partnerships—are transforming lives and creating a lasting community impact.

Here’s to another year of meaningful change, together!

RT-AFF Addresses Heat Emergency at Harmony Place

August 29, 2024

Extreme heat is a silent killer, and this was the hottest summer on record. During the heat emergency Rebuilding Together – AFF partnered with the Fairfax County Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination, Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions and the office of Supervisor Rodney Lusk to provide relief to residents at Harmony Place Mobile Home Park. Some of the homes had insufficient cooling, and some had no A/C at all.

We started with a group of RT-AFF volunteers who have strong electrical skills. They assessed each mobile home and tested the electrical systems to ensure they were adequate and safe for running new air conditioning units. After addressing needed electrical repairs, our installation teams put in the new A/C units. During installation, we discovered other issues. In one home the floor was rotted due to the old A/C unit draining into the home. Volunteers rebuilt the floor and wall, then installed a new a/c unit to keep the home cool. Another home had an unsafe stove, so we installed a newly donated stove, allowing the family to safely cook meals. We also installed 16 smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Harmony Place residents were grateful for all the work to make their homes safe and healthy.

27 volunteers gave 405 hours to install 31 A/C units in 29 homes

“As the temperatures soar once again, I’m feeling especially grateful for all of you,” wrote RT-AFF Executive Director Patti Klein in a note to the volunteers. “Your dedication to providing relief and comfort to the families at Harmony Place is truly heartwarming. In times like these, your efforts make a significant difference, ensuring that our community stays safe and comfortable. Thank you for your unwavering commitment to our mission and for being such an essential part of the RT-AFF family.”

You can read more about the project on the Fairfax County website. Please check out the photos on our flickr too.