HomeAid Houston’s
2020 Annual report

A MESSAGE FROM HOMEAID HOUSTON
PRESIDENT, JAMES MILLER

Dear friends and supporters of HomeAid Houston. I debated whether or not to address the pandemic in this message, as the topic can become weary as it continues to dominate the headlines and the conversation whenever you turn on the TV or read a news article. But I thought, that’s all the more reason, as it also continues to make an impact on the world, in every corner and every arena. HomeAid has felt the pandemic’s impact since February of 2020. But as always, when transitions and challenges arise, we embrace them as new opportunities to design different strategies, modify the processes that have worked throughout our history and seek new ideas that will allow HomeAid to continue to build toward a greater future.

The HomeAid Board of Directors, the staff and our generous Builder Captains and contributors were brilliant in maneuvering the pandemic’s fallout through thoughtful, intelligent and optimistic brainstorming. This resulted in a Charity Golf Tournament that went beyond our expectations in funds raised, and a playhouse that was showcased at The Woodlands Children’s Museum when Minute Maid Park was closed. Our largest annual fundraiser, HALO, was recreated as a virtual event that raised nearly as much as HALO 2019, and our HomeAid Heroes also stepped up and raised over $12,000 more than in 2019.

HomeAid’s larger construction projects were impacted, but as of December 2020 are still in the early stages of construction or awaiting continued conversations by potential Builder Captains. Boys and Girls Country cottage was dedicated in 2020, and several HomeAid CARES projects were completed.

We also made new agency friends and identified new potential projects for 2021 that are a different look than a traditional HomeAid Build, and we are excited to share more details of those early this year.

To our supporters, your contributions have been a lifeline to us and to the communities we serve. We are indebted to your generosity, and we offer our deepest gratitude for your time and commitment in selecting us. To those just getting to know us, we invite you to learn more about our mission and how you can partner with us to continue our arduous and fruitful work.

WHO WE ARE

HomeAid Houston, a 501 c 3 charity, sponsored by the Greater Houston Builders Association, is one of 19 chapters of the national organization, HomeAid. With the mission to build new lives for homeless families and individuals through housing and community outreach, HomeAid Houston was established in 2003 to work with Houston non-profit care providers to build and renovate shelters that transform lives.

By partnering with GHBA builders, remodelers, developers and suppliers, HomeAid Houston is able to effectively multiply the impact of gifts provided by generous donors.

Our Builder and Remodeler Captains often donate their construction management services, overhead and profit to HomeAid Houston’s projects. The Captains also work with their vendors to secure additional donations of labor and materials.

HomeAid Build Projects typically save the care provider 45% – 58% of the project’s retail cost, HomeAid Connect Projects typically save the care provider 20% – 35%, and HomeAid Care Projects are typically no cost to the agency.

We are proud to report that since HomeAid Houston was established in 2003, we have completed 26 Build Projects, 10 Connect Projects and 41 Care Projects. These projects have added over $16 million in housing and renovations to the community and have impacted over 1,800 beds for men, women, children and veterans facing homelessness.

Our agency partners collectively serve over 46,000 individuals each year.

2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jim Muska
President
Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc.

Bill Dalton
Taylor Morrison/Darling Homes

Bob Carroll
CrossFirst Bank

Brian Stoker
Treasurer
Amegy Bank

Casey Morgan
Houston Apartment Association

Chad Stine
CenterPoint Energy

Chris Hawkins
Bayou City Risk

Cindy Hinson
Lennar & Village Builders

Dana Rodgers
First American Title Homebuilder Services

Doug Carman
Wells Fargo Bank

George Guattare
Bank of America

Greg Madrey
Builders Post-Tension

Greg Tomlinson
Builders Post-Tension

James Miller
Vice President
Empire Communities

Jon Paul Hoelscher
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, LLP

Jordan Mack
Concourse Companies

Kathleen Stadler
Eric L. Davis Engineering

Kendall McDermott
Allpoints Surveying

Lawrence Dean
Zonda

Lisa Clark
Ryko Development, Inc.

McCalle Fryar
2-10 Home Buyers Warranty

Nicole Keown
Secretary
Allura Financial

Patrick Mayhan
Immediate Past President
M/I Homes

Tasha Steiner
On Target! Marketing & Advertising

Tom Frank
Partners in Building

Toner Kersting
TONER Home Matters

HOMEAID HOUSTON STAFF

Carole Brady
Executive Director

Emilee Proctor
Operations and Event Coordinator

Kirsten Robbins
Director of Development

Lisa Gentry
Accounting Manager

Terry Swenson
Director of Public Relations and Marketing

HOMEAID BUILD PROJECTS: COMPLETED

Boys and Girls Country Cottage

Eight boys who had faced crisis situations moved into their brand new 8100 sq. ft. cottage that provide each with their own bedroom for the fi first time in their lives. This was made possible by the partnership between HomeAid and Empire Communities who began construction in 2019. This is HomeAid’s third cottage we have facilitated for the campus located in Hockley, Texas. The cottage also houses the children’s teaching parents and is designed to instill security, warmth and a nurturing environment for as long as the children need a safe haven, many times through high school. Funding was provided to Boys and Girls Country from the Woodforest Charitable Foundation.

HOMEAID BUILD PROJECTS: UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Family Promise of Lake Houston Life Skills Day Center

Site work and engineering details were the scope of the work in 2020 for Family Promise of Lake Houston’s Life Skills Day Center. HomeAid and First America Homes, a Division of The Signorelli Company, helped Family Promise of Lake Houston (FPLH) break ground in December 2019 on a family-oriented Center, designed to provide a caring and positive environment for children and their families facing homelessness. This 5800 sq. ft. Day Center is called The Promise House. This Day Center will offer individual counseling, higher education & training classes, mentoring and admin offices. Families will have access to bath facilities, a family room, a teaching kitchen, children’s playroom and dining room. The Promise House will also provide a safe haven for the four-legged family members as well thanks to the PetSmart Foundation building a Pet Condo on the property. This will be the first homeless shelter that also provides accommodations for the entire family unit, including the furry ones!

HOMEAID BUILD PROJECTS: IN DEVELOPMENT

Fort Bend Women’s Center Rio Bend Phase II

In 2020, HomeAid was in discussions with several potential builders to secure the Builder Captain to construct a 3225 sq. ft., one bedroom four-plex unit for Fort Bend Women’s Center’s Rio Bend Phase II Project. The unit will provide four new beds for women who have experienced domestic abuse or human trafficking. The entirety of Phase II at Rio Bend will be to build 23 new buildings and a new emergency shelter providing over 100 new beds in their community.

1
COVID-19 PPE Donation Drive
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, HomeAid Houston promoted an industry-wide donation drive, facilitated by BMC and David Weekley Homes, to collect personal protective equipment to donate to local hospitals/health care providers. The drive collected about 3,000 masks and 1,500 eye protection units.
2
COVID-19 Agency Assistance Initiative
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, HomeAid Houston donated a $300 gift card to 8 Agency Partners to use as needed: supplies, unexpected expenses, etc.
3
RMC Garage Sale Donation
When the GHBA’s Remodelers Council (RMC) canceled their annual garage sale, which sold donated home supplies/materials, due to COVID-19, HomeAid connected RMC with Family Promise of Lake Houston to donate the items to the agency for their own garage sale at a date of their choosing.
4
Annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive
HomeAid Houston hosted its 2nd Annual Thanksgiving Basket Drive to collect dinner items and $25 HEB gift cards for turkey to assemble and donate baskets to 2 Agency Partners, Abigail’s Place and Attack Poverty. 80 baskets were donated along with 175 blankets, thanks to Page’s Blanket Drive, and over $1,500 in gift cards, thanks to Taylor Morrison / Darling Homes.
5
Adopt-A-Family Gift Card Drive
Thanks to the GHBA’s Frank Aranza Adopt-A-Family Project, HomeAid Houston was able to provide over $11,000 in gift cards to Abigail’s Place, Angel Reach, and Krause Children’s Center.

HOMEAID CARES PROJECTS: COMPLETED

Angel Reach

New flooring was installed by America’s Home Place and Fix My Slab and the pool was repaired by Stanley Pools for Angel Reach, a transitional housing campus for youth aging out of Foster Care. Because of numerous distressing reasons, many of the youth in the community live in alternate homes away from their natural birth parents, including foster care and kinship care. These children are at extreme risk of life-long poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, early death and unproductive or underproductive lives. Thirty percent of male foster care alumni are incarcerated by age 19 and nearly half of all girls who live in foster care are pregnant by age 19, many producing children who join the cycle of abuse and neglect. Angel Reach is dedicated to serving these at-risk children and the youth aging out of foster care and transitioning into society.

SEARCH Homeless Services
House of Tiny Treasures – Play Area

SEARCH Homeless Services provides hope, opportunity and transformation to homeless men, women and children. Their House of Tiny Treasures (HTT) is Houston’s first nationally accredited early childhood development center dedicated to serving homeless children and families. HomeAid partnered with New Patio Inc. to improve the play area for the children at HTT. New Patio Inc. provided and installed, at a discounted price, two shade sails designed to protect the children’s play areas from direct sun and rain.

Agape Development

HomeAid Houston and Sandcastle Homes joined together to convert a 950 square foot home into an office and counseling center for Agape Development. The renovation included installing new drywall and flooring, painting, adding cabinets and lighting, finishing the powder room and renewing the exterior of the home. Agape Development, located within Houston’s historic Third Ward, assists children and young adults, experiencing or at risk of homelessness or in crisis, by providing a pathway to success. Agape Development offers afterschool programs and events and an array of services. Agape Development’s Gateway Program assists young adults, ages 18 to 25, transition to healthy adulthood.

The Women’s Home

Remodeling services were performed at Barbara’s Place, one of several homes on the campus of The Women’s Home (TWH), a rehabilitation facility that addresses societal issues such as homelessness, substance abuse, mental illness, poverty and crime. The project included demoing a 1600 sq. ft. floor area that was a combination of wood and tile and installing new tile that looked and felt like finished wood, ultimately lasting for many years. Builder Captain Matt Moriarty of Moriarty Construction, LLC worked with his subcontractor Ralph Ortiz on the renovation.

HOMEAID CARES PROJECTS: COMPLETEDIN DEVELOPMENT

SEARCH Homeless Services
House of Tiny Treasures – Interior Additions

Design, consultation and permitting began in 2020 for SEARCH Homeless Services’ House of Tiny Treasures educational facility remodel and renovation projects. In partnership with the Greater Houston Builders Association’s Remodelers Council, the project includes reconfiguring the interior to add a breakroom and space for dance and occupational therapy.

Krause Children’s Center

Design, consultation and permitting was launched in 2020 for a bathroom remodel for Krause Children’s Center. Allen Griffin, president of Gryphon Builders, and Jeff Hunt, owner of Jeff Hunt Construction, will be working with several other remodelers to update and enhance the restroom in the public area of the Center for the visitors and volunteers. Krause Children’s Center serves girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who have survived extraordinarily hard circumstances. Many of the girls arrive at Krause after experiencing severe abuse or neglect. At Krause, they begin to grow and heal through in-depth clinical therapy, personal development activities and spiritual care in a safe setting.

HOMEAID CONNECTS PROJECTS

Fort Bend Women’s Center

HomeAid Houston connected Fort Bend Women’s Center to Bozeman Design/Build to renovate several existing homes, Phase I of the agency’s multiple phase construction project. Work included converting eight single family homes into homes that can accommodate up to 3 families. Fort Bend Women’s Center provides free, integral support services for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors. The agency offers 24-hour emergency shelter and a crisis hotline, as well as long term support services, including counseling, case management, legal advocacy, employment and education assistance, children’s services, rape crisis services, rental assistance and transportation. The agency’s programming focuses on healing the trauma of their abuse and moving forward to live independently, free of violence and fear. Over the past ten years, Fort Bend Women’s Center has served survivors with increasingly complex emotional, psychological and physical needs.

FUNDRAISING

2020 was a great year for fundraising, with our Development Committee and staff raising a total of $299,192.

Though our three ongoing fundraising projects were impacted by COVID-19, we were still able to modify them to meet the social distancing requirements. We were able to move forward with our fourteenth Annual Charity Golf Tournament “Driving Out Homelessness,” our fourteenth Annual Project Playhouse and our 12th annual HALO Luncheon – these events were successful in terms of generating proceeds, creating awareness and having fun!

Gross proceeds from the golf tournament were over budget, at $93,517. First America Homes, the homebuilding division of The Signorelli Company’s Project Playhouse launched their space-themed playhouse with $36,240 in gross revenues, down from 2019 but impressive as the traditional venue at Minute Maid Park was not available due to COVID-19. Our HALO (HomeAid’s Amazing Ladies Organization) Luncheon was held virtually and raised an impressive $107,225.

2020 saw the continuation of our fundraising initiative, “HomeAid Heroes”. This program enables builders, developers, real estate agents and associates to rally behind HomeAid Houston, as they committed to donate a specific amount per home sale, lot sale or product sale or simply donate a certain amount each quarter or year. During the ninth year of “Heroes,” HomeAid raised $62,210, an increase over 2019 at $50,110.

 

Additional Funds Raised

Grant Writing: $100,910
Individual Unrestricted Funds: $22,471
Corporate Unrestricted Funds: $40,559
Third Party Fundraising: $19,250
CRA Funds: $2,500

Total Income: $492,982

Foundations & Grants | 20%
Golf Tournament | 19%
Project Playhouse |   7%
HALO | 22%
HomeAid Heroes | 13%
Board/Individual Giving |   6%
Corporate Contributions |   8%
Third-Party Events |   4%
Miscellaneous |   1%

Total Expenditures

Fundraising | 15%
Admin |   5%
Programs |   80%

MARKETING

2020 was another successful year in our public relations efforts. HomeAid continued its 17th year in the Houston Chronicle with coverage on a near-weekly schedule in the Real Estate section with additional online coverage. Additional print coverage included a monthly two-page spread in the Houston Builder Magazine and periodic mentions in Community Impact News. In addition, articles about HomeAid appeared in various local community newspapers, magazines and in the quarterly Texas Association of Builders’ publication Texas Builder.

OUTFRONT Media kept three billboards, designed by Johnnye Barrera with AdMangination and printed by BrivicMedia, in rotation for us throughout 2020 in various locations. In addition, Perfect Image Signs provided beautiful signage for HomeAid.

HomeAid’s legendary fundraiser, Project Playhouse, built by First America Homes, a Signorelli Company, met the challenge of finding a temporary “Space Station” where the playhouse called Mission Control could be on display. Through a partnership with The Woodlands Children’s Museum, the playhouse was delivered to the museum where families could see it up-close. The drawing for the playhouse winner was also held there.

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