Rebuilding Together, Lowe's and Carter's Kids Revitalize Denver Neighborhood Ahead of National Healthy Homes Conference

Volunteers to repair homes and build playground during Rebuilding Together's Building a Healthy Neighborhood

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rebuilding Together today announced plans to host a special pre-conference event, Building a Healthy Neighborhood, leading up to the National Healthy Homes Conference, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110603/DC13428LOGO)  

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090421/REBUILDINGLOGO)  

On June 18 and 19, more than 250 volunteers from Rebuilding Together, Lowe's and Carter's Kids and other community organizations will descend upon the Barnum neighborhood to provide critical community and home repairs that parallel the goals of the National Healthy Homes Conference: safe, healthy and affordable housing. The Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation provided a $350,000 grant to Rebuilding Together towards the Healthy Neighborhoods initiative.  

Volunteers will make renovations and landscaping improvements to more than 30 homes, and distribute educational materials and homeowner resources to local residents. The diverse work scope includes: major home rehabilitations, basic improvements, accessibility modifications, energy efficient upgrades, and community landscaping. In addition to the home and neighborhood projects, volunteers will also install a new playground for Lakewood and Gulch Park. Carter Oosterhouse, celebrity carpenter and host of Carter Can, in association with his foundation Carter's Kids, and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation will build the new playground in just one day on Friday, June 17. The playground will be built by Carter and Lowe's volunteers to encourage healthy behaviors and regular physical activity among children.

The hands-on work of the weekend will culminate with a community celebration for volunteers and local residents on the afternoon of Sunday, June 19 at 1 p.m.

Additional supporting corporate and community organizations include; CBRE, Cricket Communications, the DIY Network, HGTV, HUD, K-Mart, EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships, and Wells Fargo and will join in revitalizing the Barnum community.

The Barnum community revitalization and playground build at Lakewood and Gulch Park is the second of six community revitalization projects and playground builds that will take place in 2011 through a new partnership between Rebuilding Together and Carter's Kids with the support of the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation. Lowe's Foundation has donated $400,000 to the community revitalization projects that will take place across the U.S. during 2011.

The National Healthy Homes Conference is an event that brings together leaders from a range of government and nongovernment entities, whose common goal is to create real and sustainable solutions for safe and affordable housing. This incredible cross-section of leadership and organizations is hosted by: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control, with the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 

Building A Healthy Neighborhood

WHAT: Volunteers will work together to revitalize the Barnum neighborhood in Denver as a special pre-conference event that highlights the transformation of housing stock into safe and affordable housing – a mission of the National Healthy Homes Conference.

WHEN: June 18 and 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Daily

WHO/INTERVIEW OP:  CALL FOR DETAILS ON SPECIFIC TIMES FOR EACH GUEST

• Ron Simms, Deputy Secretary, Dept. of Housing and Urban Development
• Gary Officer, Rebuilding Together, President and CEO
• Carter Oosterhouse, Host of HGTV's Carter Can
• Steve Schultz, Lowe's, Regional Vice President
• Dan Villareal Regional Sales Director
• Homeowners in the  Barnum neighborhood

WHERE: Media Check-In is located at the Corner of W. 3rd Avenue and Grove Street in the Barnum

Neighborhood  

Building a Healthy Neighborhood is Rebuilding Together's event that will showcase the positive effects of a neighborhood that is transformed into a viable and sustainable community. On the eve of the National Healthy Homes Conference, an incredible cross-section of leaders focused on developing America's communities by way of several avenues, Rebuilding Together's project serves as the official pre-event to reflect the power of change in a home.

About Rebuilding Together

Rebuilding Together is the nation's leading nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods by providing extensive rehabilitation and modification services to those in need at no cost to those served. With the help of everyday citizen volunteers, skilled trades people, the support of local business and major corporate partners, Rebuilding Together affiliates in America's largest cities and smallest towns make life considerably better for thousands of low-income homeowners and the communities in which they live by completing 10,000 projects per year. Rebuilding Together has programs dedicated to, energy efficiency, veteran's housing, aging in place and gulf coast reconstruction. For more information, visit www.RebuildingTogether.org. You can also follow Rebuilding Together on Twitter @rebldgtogthr or become a fan on Facebook at Facebook.com/RebuildingTogether.

About Carter's Kids

Carter's Kids is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating and promoting awareness of fitness and self-esteem for America's youth. The purpose is to increase the activity level of kids by building and developing community parks and playgrounds in their neighborhoods. The kids then have the opportunity to take an active part in building up their community by using, sharing, and caring for these public spaces. www.carteroosterhouse.com

About Lowe's

Lowe's supports the communities it serves through programs that focus on K-12 public education and community improvement projects. The company's signature education grant program, Lowe's Toolbox for Education, has brought more than $5 million in grants to K-12 public schools every year since its inception in 2005. Lowe's Heroes employee volunteers support local community projects and our national nonprofit partners such as Habitat for Humanity International and the American Red Cross. In 2010, Lowe's and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation together contributed more than $30 million to support communities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.  To learn more, visit Lowes.com/socialresponsibility.

SOURCE Rebuilding Together