Habitat for Humanity Of South Palm Beach County And City Of Delray Beach “Rock The Block”
Ten Companies Sponsor “A Home of Their Own”
While Leadership, Employees and/or Members “Teamed It Up to Spruce It Up”
While the neighborhood revitalization concept has long been a City of Delray Beach tradition since 1989, this year the City partnered with Habitat for Humanity of South Palm Beach County (HFHSPBC) for a new and enhanced “Rock the Block 2018”. The partnership brought together a new opportunity for 10 businesses and service organizations to become “Rock the Block Home” Presenting Sponsors and revitalize a “house of their own”.
Delray Beach Commissioner Bill Bathurst, Delray City Manager Mark R. Lauzier, Habitat for Humanity South Palm Beach County Chief Development Officer Kari Oeltjen
Through HFHSPBC, each donated or raised $2,500 to underwrite the construction materials, tools, paint and painting equipment and landscaping costs and brought out volunteers to “roll up their sleeves” and do the work. Presenting “Rock the Block” Home Sponsors brought out employees or members — totaling 250 volunteers — to transform their actual “Rock the Block” home together as a team while working alongside the homeowner.
Within a three-block radius, homes were identified and qualified based on the homeowner’s financial need to be “Rock the Block” homes available for sponsorship. Homeowners ranged from seniors, veterans, people with disabilities or health issues to families with young children who live in Delray Beach and own their homes.
“Rock The Block” Opening Ceremony where HfHSPBC Chief Development Officer Kari Oeltjen addresses 250 volunteers
Onsite work was led by HFHSPBC’s team of construction professionals and crew including, Habitat Neighborhood Revitalization Coordinator Crystal Spears and Crew Leader Partners from Home Depot’s ”Team Depot”. To prepare the selected homes for the big day of impact, volunteer groups spent the entire month of March doing the advance priming and preparations.
The 2018 “Rock the Block” Presenting Home Sponsors were Apple Inc.; Assurance Power Systems; Connected Warriors, Inc.; Cosmetic Solutions; Delray Beach Community Improvement; MotionPoint Corporation; Shamrock Restoration; Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc.;Wells Fargo and Ziree Thai and Sushi.
Supported by long-time Program Sponsors Delray Beach CRA, Home Depot, Sunflower Landscaping and new partner House of Ladders, the day was powered by food donated from Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza and refreshments served by the City of Delray Beach Police Department. Over the past 29 years, thousands of individuals have worked together to paint more than 200 houses for low-income residents in Delray Beach.
This year’s “Rock The Block” partnership was created following HFHSPBC’s successful 2017 Veterans Build Neighborhood Revitalization done in participation with City Officials, including former Mayor Cary Glickstein, Chief of Police Jeffrey Goldman and Community Improvement Project Administrator Jennifer Costello. It was a logical alignment of expertise and a great new partnership to benefit the community now with new City of Delray Beach Mayor Shelly Petrolia.
The initiative revitalized 10 homes on three blocks of a neighborhood while providing companies and service organizations a meaningful and impactful way to sponsor and bring out their teams of volunteers to personally connect and get to know the neighbors they are partnering with in the community through their charitable contributions of funds and hands-on volunteer work.
“Partnering with Habitat is an excellent way to achieve corporate social responsibility and service organization missions while making a lasting impact,” shared HFHSPBC Chief Development Officer Kari Oeltjen. “’Rock The Block’ is just one opportunity of many that HFHSPBC offers in which Presenting Home Sponsors can bond while participating together in helping to revitalize or build safe, affordable homes while strengthening whole communities.”
HFHSPBC embraces the global mission of Habitat for Humanity. Oeltjen added that Habitat’s decades of work illustrate that individuals and families thrive when they have a safe and stable home in a safe and stable community. Its neighborhood revitalization efforts launched in 2010 as a response to the worst economic and housing crisis in decades. Low-income families experienced heavy job losses, leading to increased housing insecurity and seriously deferred home maintenance.
HfH Team Apple
“Integrating housing with other community development measures helps us continually work toward a world where everyone has a decent place to live,” continued Oeltjen.
For more info on HFHSPBC, contact HFHSPBC Chief Development Officer
Kari Oeltjen at koeltjen@hfhboca.org or (561) 819-6070.
