Wharton Journal

Issue date: 3/19/07 Section: Insider

On February 17th, the house managers representing each cohort for Rebuilding Together (RT) got a chance to meet the Rebuilding Together staff. The staff consists of the Non-Profit Board members that help provide financial support for Wharton's involvement and the 2nd year Wharton students who manage the homeowner selection process and volunteer organization and coordination. Perhaps more important, we got a chance to meet the owners of the houses that will benefit from this year's RT project. The morning started with a quick overview of Rebuilding Together's history and mission, which is "to preserve and revitalize houses and communities, assuring that low-income homeowners, from the elderly and disabled to families with children, live in warmth, safety, and independence." Jennifer Shropshire, one of the founding members of the Philly chapter, reiterated her thanks for our support and how much she benefited from her experience with Rebuilding Together as a house manager. Following breakfast, the house managers were each given the name and location of their respective houses and headed out to meet with the owners.

This proved to be an emotional experience both for the house managers as well as the homeowners. They were letting us come into their private lives and opening themselves to our help. The house managers were full of energy but anxious about the prospect of scoping projects that could be accomplished in four weekends or less. In many of these houses there are so many projects needing attention, ranging from collapsing ceilings to missing or broken door knobs, that determining which is the most important has proved to be a challenging task. Fortunately, a professional contractor was with us to provide guidance and help set realistic expectations for both the owner and the house managers.

In one house, we met Thyssen, a disabled woman living on her social security check and her daughter's income. She has trouble walking up and down the stairs and could barely make it down to meet with us. She was really thankful to be part of the Rebuilding Together project this year and is looking forward to having her ceiling fixed along with the leak in her bathroom (which caused her ceiling to collapse). She is also anxious to have a hand rail installed to assist in going up and down her steps as well as a few other projects that will make getting around easier. Meeting Thyssen and knowing that this project will make a big difference in her life got me excited about the upcoming weekends. Thyssen, and the other homeowners need our help but also want to partner with us to improve their homes. These weekends provide a unique opportunity to make a true impact on someone's life. And if giving back isn't enough, working with power tools, painting, and free lunch should provide an added incentive to get out of bed on Saturday mornings.

This year the Wharton Leadership Team for Rebuilding Together is working with the MBA Program office to supply transportation to and from West Philadelphia and lunch will be provided on most weekends. March 17th marks the kick-off weekend and work will continue until April 7th. There will be some special events planned as well, including a Big-Little Cohort work weekend set for March 31st and April 1st (so you second years who missed your chance last year have no excuse). If the next four weekends are as rewarding as meeting the homeowners and seeing the hope on their faces, I hope that each of us here at Wharton is able to partake in that experience. For more information and to sign up please contact your cohort house manager.

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