Rebuilding Together Supports Make a Difference Day Nationwide

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rebuilding Together, the nation's leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership, is collaborating with sponsor Choice Hotels International to engage Choice Hotel employees, affiliates, and franchisees across the country in support USA WEEKEND's 20th annual Make A Difference Day. Several affiliates are hosting extensive home rebuild projects for low-income homeowners in honor of this national day of community service.

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Make a Difference Day is a national day of helping others and was created by USA WEEKEND Magazine; it occurs annually in October and engages millions of volunteers nationwide to take part in community-based projects on a single day. This year, Choice Hotels International is collaborating with Rebuilding Together to deliver extensive renovations nationwide, impacting several homeowners on a national day of service.

Several Rebuilding Together affiliates are working with local Choice Hotels employee volunteers to rebuild homes for low-income families in their local neighborhoods. Some highlight project rebuilds include:

• Rebuilding Together Oklahoma City will work on a 68 year old woman's home in need of repairs following a severe hail storm in May. Her home is nearly collapsing as she struggles to care for her 30 year old daughter, who recently had a kidney transplant.  The homeowner is partially blind and has heart problems, and is now battling the health hazards of a rat infestation due to the holes in her roof. The ceiling is falling in many rooms of her home and there are numerous electrical and heating problems. Rebuilding Together, and Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn franchisees will assist in the renovation of the home, providing essential repairs.
• Rebuilding Together Montgomery County will work with Choice Hotels on two homes.  The first house belongs to a 66-year-old woman, working a part-time job to take care of her son with special needs. Volunteers will replace her furnace, air conditioning, water heater and washer/dryer, and landscape her yard. The electric connection in her house has become a fire hazard and will also be re-wired. The second home belongs to a young woman with a 9-year-old child and a baby due in November. She bought her grandparents' home two years ago and is struggling to make enough to pay the mortgage and other expenses. She has recently been cited for fire code regulations that need immediate attention. Volunteers will dismantle a garage that has collapsed, rebuild and repair walls, replace windows, construct a driveway and help landscape her yard. Her basement will also be analyzed by a structural engineer and reconstructed.

"We at Choice Hotels are dedicated to serving those in our communities in which our franchisees live and work," said Stephen P. Joyce, president and chief executive officer of Choice Hotels International. "Make a Difference Day is an extraordinary opportunity for us to collaborate with Rebuilding Together and simultaneously fulfill our mission on a national level."

Last year, Rebuilding Together partnered with the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation to lead rebuilding projects on Make a Difference Day. Hundreds of Lowe's volunteers rebuilt 35 homes with an energy-efficiency focus, using grants from the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation.

Due to their amazing efforts, Rebuilding Together and Lowe's community service contributions on Make a Difference Day 2009 were highlighted in the April 18 edition of USA WEEKEND, and they were honored with a Make a Difference Day Award. The magazine is included in more than 700 newspapers for a circulation of 22.6 million, reaching 48 million readers every weekend. Make a Difference Day is the magazine's signature event, inspiring readers to reach out to their communities.

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.

SOURCE Rebuilding Together