Rebuilding Together
By Pastor Tom Anderson
In 1992, a small group of people in Highland, Michigan founded “Christmas in April” for Oakland County and began completing home rehabilitation projects on the last Saturday of April every year. They grew the program to provide free home repairs for homeowners across all of Oakland County and eventually changed their name to Rebuilding Together to provide year-round services to the community.
Since inception, teams have completed over 1,100 home repair projects throughout Southeast Michigan for low-income seniors, veterans, individuals with disabilities and families with children ensuring that they have a warm and safe home to live in. 33,000 community volunteers have performed over 415,000 hours of volunteer service, delivering $8.8 million in market value.
Thrive Church has been involved with Rebuilding Together since its inception. Last summer our men’s fellowship took on painting the mobile home of one of our own church family. Two years ago we built a ramp and did major landscaping work for one of our families. Four years ago we painted and raked leaves for one of our own families. It’s been a labor of love and an increase of kindness in our community. Praise the Lord!
Rebuilding Together is always held the last Saturday in April. This year it’s April 29. It’s a blitz. Teams of 20-30 come together to paint, rake, build ramps, repair lights and faucets, cut brush and fill dumpsters. It’s a celebration of neighborliness.
We are going to do it again! Right now our focus is in finding deserving homeowners who could use a helping hand. Do you know someone? Perhaps a senior, a single parent, someone grieving a loss or an unemployed person who could use a hand? Recruit them to apply to be a Rebuilding Together project.
They can download an application here:
or apply online here:
It’s free, it’s amazing, it’s rejuvenating, and it connects people in a day of hope. If you have questions or need help with the application, please contact me.
Our Second Mile offering is designated for Rebuilding Together. Please consider a special gift towards this gracious ministry in our community. Set aside April 29 on your calendar to serve on our team. Pray for a nice sunny day and a deserving family! More information will be coming as the projects are lined up.
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